One more Mesoamericanist making a living in CRM. I started when the kids were small and I was in grad school at SUNY Albany, and am now a grandfather working as a project director at the New York State Museum Cultural Resource Survey. My special interests have gone from Mayan folklore to industrial and twentieth century archaeology over the years, and I recently returned to work on my dissertation. Dream on... Dirtiest... in what way? What comes to mind was the first artifact I found in field school, discarded in the previous season's backdirt. It must have been a very entertaining season!!! Clothing? I wish I actually got to dig often enough these days to worry about that! >>> [log in to unmask] 09/28/06 1:39 PM >>> Who am I? I am an archaeologist, trying like mad to finish my dissertation! Although all of my academic work to date has been Mesoamerican and prehistoric in focus, I have also worked extensively in CRM related projects in New England. One of the last projects that I did in CT involved archival research and testing on a piece of property where I discovered the remnants of an early (ca 1760) house. That experience got me really interested in Historic Archaeology. I like that there is some written materials that can be compared and contrasted with what is "in the ground". I also find that historical work is easier for students to understand; they can look at a broken piece of ceramics or glass, or a rusty nail and at least have a general understanding of what it is, and what it might have been used for. At the moment I am living in Ohio (moved for husband's job), and I am teaching part time at a local college, and working with a research organization through that college that does local historic research and archaeology. I am gearing up to run a small field school type project next summer on a house that had ties to the Underground Railroad. Dirtiest Moment in the Field: Probably when I was doing survey work in Veracruz during the rainy season. Everything was covered in mud...it was so bad I actually lost a shoe in the mud (and then had to put it back on again.....). There was also a project or two where we told a lot of dirty jokes...but I digress. Most useful things you can have in the field: 1) Bandannas; I have used them to cover my neck and head, wash my hands, even wrap up lunch, and afterwards, artifacts. 2) Back-up sharpies and pencils; (if I had a nickle for every pen that has been lost by me or someone on my crew in the field I would be able to buy a lot more sharpies and pencils...) 3) Toilet paper....enough said! -Elizabeth Hoag, MA, RPA