If you are talking about Middle School and younger students, by all means
use a mock site. I have had many young student groups on sites and each
time I do I swear never to do it again. Archaeology is construction work,
not child's play. If you're talking about university students, or some
high school students, by all means use the opportunity to get some digging
done. The teaching is better if the site is good, and you can accomplish
real work.
 
As for Jeannie's worry about somebody lifting souvenirs...well, it
happens, doesn't it. I doubt the age or experience level of the excavators
makes a great deal of difference. I "lost" a gold 18th-c watch fob out of
the screens many years ago. What could I do? Strip-search the students? I
had some volunteers remove artifacts from a site one time while supposedly
helping me rescue the site. Had I known their names and addresses, I would
have had them arrested. So now I make sure I know who the volunteers are.
 
Over the past 15 years or so I have excavated five sites entirely with
field school students (mostly university undergrads, but some special high
school groups as well). These have been some of the most important sites,
with the most rewarding research results, of my career. Keep the sandboxes
for the kiddies.
 
Dan Mouer
Virginia Commonwealth University
[log in to unmask]
http://www.freedomnet.com/~dmouer/homepage.htm
 
On Sun, 7 Sep 1997, Jeannie K. Yang wrote:
 
> Having attended field school where we excavated real sites AND seen an
> archaeological methods class where a mock site was used, I understand the
> benefits of both methods.  However, I am still concerned with students
> working on sites with real research potential.
>
> Here is a real-life problem from the field school I attended (which shall
> remain anonymous):  A couple students stole some artifacts, such as an
> early 19th-century penny (a dateable artifact!), on the last night of the
> project.   Apparently they just wanted them as keepsakes.  I only learned
> about this myself a few months after the fact from another student, and
> wondered whether the TAs and the project manager ever realized what
> happened.
>
> Has anyone else encountered this situation?  If so, how have you dealt with
> it?
>
> Jeannie K. Yang
>
>
> Graduate Student, Webmaster Extraordinaire, Procrastinator
> http://www.wco.com/~genie/
>