Artifacts

Artifacts

One day while we were touring the Manu Rainforest our guide told us we were going to have to change camps because a big group of people was coming. While we were going down someone spotted some monkeys in a tree. We pulled over and our guide got out his telescope. Later on he spotted a strange rock and identified it as an ancient Incan ax head.

River Ax

It is very fun and exciting to find an artifact and I wished that I could take it home even though I knew I shouldn't. I was excited and interested. The rock was heavy and had a hole in the center probably to attach it to the handle which must have rotted years ago. Since it had been picked up and the context was gone I brought it to the next camp and left it in the dining hall for people to enjoy. That was not the first time we had encountered an artifact. A couple of years ago before we started our adventure we had an archeologist come up and look around at our cabin up in Debeque Canyon.  He found a Native American meat scraper used to take the meat of animals. Since there was nothing around it we moved it to a window in our cabin where it is to this day.

What do you do when you find an artifact?

Context is very important. Context is the story of an artifact. An artifact in its original place is a piece of history and beauty. An artifact in your house is just a sharp pointy rock with no meaning. Preserving the context of an artifact is the most important part of preserving the artifact itself. The location of the artifact is important too. The reason you shouldn't pick up an artifact and move it is because there are sometimes other artifacts around. Artifacts 

are clues to how people lived many years ago and that is why you should get help from a professional who knows what to do. 

Why are artifacts important?

Artifacts are important because research and inspection can help scientists learn about the past.  Preservation is also important because it is easier to study an artifact in one piece than an artifact that broke while being transported to the laboratory.  That is why mummies are wrapped in cloth, to preserve them.  Finally, location is one of the most important things about context.  For example an ancient Incan ax wouldn't make sense in the Pyramids of Egypt, or a sarcophagus in Machu Picchu. 

In my opinion artifacts are an interesting subject.  In the past I have had fun discovering artifacts. I hope you have enjoyed this long boring essay. Now you still don't know anything more about artifacts; in fact this essay has probably shrunk your knowledge of artifacts but I guess it's too late now. Thank you for reading this essay!

Cat that I played with in Manu