My first dig in Arizona was basically just me and a tiny trowel

Back in 2018, I spent a whole week on my knees at a site near Tucson, scraping dirt with a 4-inch trowel. Now I use a total station and photogrammetry software on my tablet to map everything before I even touch the ground. The change happened after my professor saw my 'careful' hand-drawn grid and just started laughing. Who knew you could spend more time setting up tech than actually digging? Anyone else have a field method that got totally flipped on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

sanchez.kelly2mo ago

Honestly, that hand drawn grid was probably teaching you more. All that tech setup feels like a way to avoid getting your hands dirty. I've seen people spend a whole day fighting software glitches and drone batteries just to map a single test unit. Sometimes the trowel and your own eyes are the best tools you've got. You can't feel a subtle change in soil texture through a tablet screen.

kim_martin2mo ago

Switched to drone mapping after my own grid sketches got the same pity laugh.

angela_carter1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, they laughed at your grid sketches? That's messed up lol. I've seen some of those hand drawn maps and they're honestly works of art sometimes. The detail people put in is crazy. It's one thing to prefer tech, but laughing at someone's field notes feels super unprofessional. Makes me wonder what kind of site that was.