Undeclared? Unhappy with a major? Bored?

‘Discover’ is a new article series here to help give a voice to student clubs, societies, and opportunities that are unknown to much of the campus. Who knows, you may just Discover your passion and cure boredom.

“As a student you take the things you learn and apply them out of the classroom. That’s what many students are hungry for,” Dr. Jared Wood, a professor for the archeology department said.

Dr. Wood wants to give to students what his professor gave to him many years ago: appreciation and passion for a subject. “I still get up and love my job. If you integrate what you love into a career, life is good.”

If holding Native American arrowheads in your elementary school history class or watching the opening scene of ‘Jurassic Park’ made you wide-eyed as a kid, archeology may be a life changer for you. In the past three years, the department has been expanding and offering fantastic hands-onclasses that really embody the whole college experience. The anthropology department focuses on historic and prehistoric time periods to learn about, while other schools focus on either one or the other.

Two of the highest ranked classes in the department are Field School and Fire, Stone, Hide and Bone. Both classes are available for all students, in any major or grade and can count as great electives.

During Field School, students learn about dig sites, how to use all of the tools and are bound to dig up small pieces of history every day, as shown in the images here. The most amazing thing is that all of these things can be done right in our own backyard. It’s not your average history lesson.

“Southeast Georgia is still unexplored but contains just as much archeology as anywhere else on the planet,”Dr. Wood said. “It’s like a time capsule, full of evidence from human behavior that you can’t find anywhere. Actually discovering and contributing new data to history is amazing.”

Which is exactly what students can do from sunrise to sunset on Fridays this coming Spring semester. Luckily this semester it’s not too late to drop/add and, if seats are available, join in on the unique Fire, Stone, Hide and Bone class. Offered for the first time by Dr. Wood, this hands-on class teaches students about basic human technologies and explores the manufacturing and use of tools out of stone, bone, and cordage. The students will also be able to practice fire-making, traditional hide-tanning, and projectile use.

If the field and lab work side of school interests you, join the Anthropology society.  A good place to start for those who want to meet and hear stories from fellow students. Stay tuned for Sept. 3rd’s paper to read more about the field experience from the society members themselves.

As Dr. Wood said, “now is the time to experiment with your life”.