Times Ain't Got Time

During class, we talk a lot about how archaeology is both intended on being portrayed, and how it's actually received. Is the dog in that picture a symbol of something else? Is the fact that the white guy is kneeling roughly a foot above the black guy a commentary on race in the archaeological field? Sometimes it's tough to discern what's intentional and what's not.

One thing present in almost every archaeological photograph, that everyone can agree on, is dirt. Look at all these guys, scrounging around in the dust looking for pottery shards and whatnot. As we've also discussed, website appearance is very important, especially because of how it may attract people to the field of archaeology. An engaging picture can really make or break a website.

While browsing through The New York Times' website's archaeology articles, I couldn't help notice the main photograph encompassing the whole section: a bunch of people in wide-brimmed hats, backs to the camera, in a big ol' pile of dirt. The Times seemed to really be sending a message: regardless of what you make of their findings, the pictures, the discoveries, whatever, the people down there in the dirt are busy, and they don't have time to be worried about what you think. Archaeology is a very take-it-or-leave-it kind of field, and the Times does a great job of encapsulating that.