Author Archives: Flinders Archaeological Society

By Holly Winter

____________________________________________________

This post of ‘From the Dig It Archives’ includes three interesting articles from Issue 6 1999 that explore the endeavours of the Flinders ArchSoc and the experience of a student studying overseas.

In ‘Presidential Address’ (1999:3-4), President Gordon Copland discusses the success and activities of the first semester, 1999, for the Flinders University Archaeology Society, with social events like a BBQ in the Botanical Gardens and a trip for first year students to Belair. Many of these events have carried their tradition into the present day, such as fair/market days and the revival of the newsletter.

The second article, ‘Coronation Street on Crack’ by Bianca DiFazio (1999:11-12), explains what it is like to study and live overseas. I found this article particularly interesting, since I went on the same exchange program to the University of Leicester during semester two of 2012. Bianca discusses the history surrounding Leicester and its association with King Richard III, commenting that it would be interesting to locate his remains. While I was at Leicester, the remains of King Richard III were found and were successfully identified earlier this year. It is interesting to hear the thoughts of a past Flinders student living in Leicester where it all happened, considering the parallels between our experiences.

Lastly, Susan Piddock’s (1999:14) ‘The History of the Flinders University Archaeology Society’ unravels the beginnings of the Society. Susan discusses the numerous efforts it had accomplished to provide students with field trips, conference funding, library displays, and an active newsletter.

What is your favourite memory about Flinders, the Archaeology Department and ArchSoc?

References

Copland, G. 1999 Presidential Address. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 6:3-4.

DiFazio, B. Coronation Street on Crack. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 6:11-12.

Piddock, S. The History of the Flinders University Archaeology Society. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 6:14.

____________________________________________________

Presidential Address

Hi Di Ho Campers,

Well here we are halfway through the year again and before we know it 1999 will be a part of the Archaeological Record. I hope you have enjoyed the activities my hard working committee and myself have put together so far. There is more to come and perhaps a little more organised. We took a bit of time to get going but I feel that it is coming together now. I won’t go into the coming events as they are mentioned later so I will address some of the activities already held and perhaps give you some idea of the direction I hope the Society is taking.

Thanks to the foresight and help of Susan Piddock, our trusty treasurer, the year started with enrolment where pamphlets were given out to the enrollees. This was followed by a stall at Fair Day where we raffled a slab of beer, gave out and sold sausages, had a caption competition and a lucky “sieve your own prize” dip. The latter was not as successful as hoped but the rest went well thanks to the help of club members and particularly chefs and chefets; Chris, Jacob and Donna. Chris, mild mannered reporter for  Dig It, won the caption comp. and in the raffle Bianca won the beer, Tracy the wine and Amy the Zirconia she if oft seen wearing about the Uni. We didn’t make a lot of money but it was a good promotion as well as good fun.

We had the AGM and have had a number of meetings since. I think I will try to get a set day to have these meetings as trying to pick different days has been really difficult. The intention of different days has been to allow as many as possible to attend but it still hasn’t worked. At the meetings we have talked about future activities and funding plus; we had Bianca tell us of work in Archaeology in the UK and her time at Leicester, and a video on Mummies which was kindly lent to us by Gwen Fenton.

Social events so far have been the BBQ at the Botanic Park and with the First Years at Belair as well as an introductory free tea and coffee during the break of the First Year’s lecture. As a new idea some of these events have been recorded on video with the intention of using this as a promotional video for future events and membership recruitment. as for archaeological events we held a trench squares and excavations workshop and although it was not well attended, probably due to the torrential rain, those that did attend seems to enjoy themselves in the comfort of my shed with an ale and a chat. The time was also spent folding the invitations for one of the tow public lectures the Society has co-hosted with the Archaeology Department. I’m sure that those who have attended these lectures will agree that as well as being stimulating, the chance to meet the both Howard Morphy and Michael Morwood plus friends from the Art, Anthropological, Archaeological’, Museum and associated Government and Agency fraternity, makes the events well worth attending . Networking never hurt anyone. There are many thanks to be given to those in the Society who have helped in the preparation of these lectures particularly as the Society i s able to raise funds at these events. Look out for the next two in Semester Two. This semester, through the Archaeology Society and with assistance from the Archaeology Department, Society Members, First Year Students and equipment from the geography Department, I have been able to run an excavation at Chinamans Hut in Waterfall Gully.

This event has provided well needed experience for myself in running such a project from beginning to end. While such events benefit the State Heritage Department, who provided the permits, with the provision of the final report, it was the actual activity of practical experience that benefited the Society members and other students. Under the watchful eye of Trench Supervisor Darren Griffin with the assistance of Bianca DiFazio, plus myself and during the First Year workday Keryn Walshe and our leader Vincent Megaw, we all had a fruitful and enjoyable experience. Even if some were heard to say “please don’t find anything else to record!” and later others had nightmares of setting up squares. With approximately 160 visitors so far and over 60 Society members and students involved, both the Archaeology Society and the Archaeology Department, and others such as the Division of State Aboriginal Affairs and the National Parks who gave approval to the excavation, have gained a wider exposure and well deserved higher profile. It is hoped that the Archaeology Society will he able to provide such experience again in the near future as part of its commitment to providing an avenue for developing skills and implementing the academic knowledge provided by the Archaeology Department.

Which brings me to our future directions for the Society and those, apart from on-going development as previously mentioned, will take the form of; continuing social events, trips and conference funding which can be increased by the funds we can raise, talks and seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and the possibility of considering making this members’ newsletter into a journal, creating an Archaeology Society Badge, and even possibly funding training aids and equipment for the department which ultimately benefits ourselves. So remember if you have any other ideas or suggestions don’t hesitate to pass these on to a Committee member or put them in the Archaeology Society In Box in the office as your input assists our output.

I will close this overly long missive by wishing you all the best for the next semester, hope you enjoyed the last, and the the Committee and myself will see as many of you as possible at future events.

Cheers

Gordon Copland

President, June 1999

____________________________________________________

Coronation Street on Crack

Bianca DiFazio

I said I would write an article about my experiences at Leicester University for this edition of Dig It, but as I sit here in front of my computer I am wondering which parts of it to write about. Quite a few of you have tracked me down on the plaza, or in the Tav, to ask me questions about going to Leicester, with the emphasis mainly on the logistics of it. How much will it cost, where will I live, do I need a British passport, and so on. These are, indeed, important questions, and I myself asked them many times over before I left in 1997. However, I think on this occasion I will talk about how it felt to live in Leicester, and how it felt to be a local in an English city.

Leicester itself is pretty interesting. Admittedly you have to look a bit harder for the interesting stuff than you would in, say, Oxford or Bath, but once you start looking beneath the layers of grime that coat all industrial cities in this part of the world, it is quite amazing what you find. Firstly we found the Richard III Society, which acts out the Battle of Bosworth Field every Saturday during the summer. Unlike most other parts of England Leicester has a soft spot for Dirty Dick, and in fact, do not think of him as having been so dirty after all. Which of course he wasn’t. Shakespeare was simply writing propaganda for Elizabeth I, and the stories of Richard’s hump, and his murder of the Princes in the Tower is all pure fiction. In Leicester, Richard is a hero. The Battle of Bosworth field took place just outside the city, and when Henry threw Richard’s body in the River Soar afterwards the local monks of the Greyfriars fished it out and gave it the honourable burial that befits an honourable king. Just as an aside, it should be noted that somewhere under an island of factories in the river the body of Richard III is still buried, but nobody knows where. Exciting thought for an archaeologist, eh? Leicester has some lovely Tudor buildings, also, and it played an important role in the Elizabethan period…

Speaking of Tudor … We lived on Paget Road in Leicestcr (very near the canal and the town) and Paget Road was as offshoot of Tudor Road which had an interesting claim to fame, apart from having our local pub on it (called The Tudor Hotel, surprise, surprise). The claim to fame of Tudor Road was that it was the longest street of connected up terrace houses in the world. It went for miles , rooftop after rooftop, front door after front door, and not a bit of greenery on sight. Still, we lived with a bunch of lads who were great. Big Martin the Geordie, Mike the Hippie, Rich who never stopped looking in the mirror, and Little Martin who had the best grin and would greet people by saying “Eeeasy!” All this and three Australians made for a pretty crowded house, but it could never be said that it was boring.

So Leicester has just as much history as any other English city, more even, and although our area looked like Coronation Street on Crack it was cool. But what was it like to live there and be part of it? I don’t know how to describe it, although, I suppose, it’s like living anywhere. You have good days and bad days, days when you love the place and days when you hate it. One occasion I really hated it was when, during a minor dispute about the volume of next door’s stereo, we had all ore front windows smashed in with a baseball bat. Cheery stuff, however, afterwards we antipodeans all agreed that there was an element of living in an episode of The Bill. The English lads we lived with did not seem nearly so surprised as we were that such a thing had occurred. At the other end of the spectrum there were days that I loved Leicester and didn’t want to leave. When the sun was shining we would head into town along the canal bank for some retail therapy in the excellent Leicester marketplace, and when it was snowing we would head up North Walk to the Uni having snowball fights all the way, and feeding grey squirrels that followed us in the trees above.

So what has this told you about Leicester? Not much probably. Where you live is what you make it. If you still want to know the other stuff, the how and where and who of getting it together to go, just give me a yell next time you see me. But I just want to say, before I finish, that an exchange is the best study year you can give yourself, so if you have the means I highly recommend taking yourself off and doing it.

____________________________________________________

The History of the Flinders University Archaeology Society

The Flinders University Archaeology Society was born in 1991. At the time the FU. Visual Arts was transforming itself into the Department of Visual Arts and Archaeology with three archaeology courses on offer. In tis first year of operation, the Society actively sought to promote a wide range of activities including study groups, seminars and trips to conferences. One of the first conferences the Society attended was the inaugural Women in Archaeology at Arrnidale. The Society was also active in promoting student access to other institutions to widen the pool of archaeology courses available. From the very beginning, the Society sought to make its own links with archaeological departments and individuals outside of the University as these people are an important resource.

Over the last eight years the Society has been very active in trying to get students access to field work. With the then State Heritage (now Heritage SA) Maritime Unit the Society helped excavate a dry dock at Mannum in 1994 and provided written reports to the Unit on the work done. This helped identify the Society as an important part of the Flinders University archaeology culture. The Society has undertaken field trips regularly, including those to Kangaroo Island and the Flinders Ranges in 1996-97 so that students could see archaeological sites outside of the text books. Over the last eight years, Flinders archaeology students have contributed to a wide range of excavations run by consultants and department staff. The Society has fulfilled the important role of being a conduit linking theory with practice.

The Society has regularly contributed large contingents of students to conferences and helped run the Australian Archaeological Association Conference held in SA – showing that, if there is a way, we will be there!

For the last four years or so the Society has regularly held archaeolgy displays in the F.U. Library. These are major undertakings and are based on the work of students. In 1997 and 1998 the Society played host to groups of school students touring the Dig It exhibition organised by lecturers and students as a component of their Museum Studies course. Also, over these last four years the Society began a simple newsletter which has developed into something more substantial. Complete with photos and graphics, the publication goes out, not only to Flinders students but a wide range of archaeology professionals.

Susan Piddock.

____________________________________________________

To continue reading from Dig It 6, click here: DigIt6

Look out for the next edition of ‘From the Dig It Archives’ on Wednesday 19th of June!

By Leah Puletama
____________________________________________________

Controversy abounds in this issue of Dig It, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a bit of controversy? The President’s message opens with a very positive view of the Society, ‘known as a group of students without parallels to be found in any other similarly focused student body in Australia’ (Richards 1998:2), a lofty self assessment indeed.

The Editorial does not share the Presidential assessment and questions are raised about the decision for the Society to assist ‘select members from the society to attend conferences’ (Saeki et al. 1998:2). Balancing spending money with raising money, as well as satisfying a diverse membership, isn’t always easy and is a continuing issue in any group.

The two articles on the National Archaeology Students Conference (Stankowski 1998:10; May and Richards 1998:11), or NASC, are timely for current students and recent graduates. I suggest you take note of that acronym, since we are in the preliminary stages of NASC planning for 2014. Some of you may also notice familiar names in the Flinders delegation.

Finally, the Letter to the Editor (Anon 1998:19), again questions the NASC funding decision of the Society. Hopefully, as the host University, this may be one controversy we will be able to avoid. Happy reading.

References

Anonymous 1998 Letter to the Editor. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 5:19.

May, S. and N. Richards 1998 National Archaeology Students Conference. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 5:11.

Richards, N. 1998 President’s Message. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 5:2.

Saeki, P., C. De Leiuen and C. Duncan 1998 Editorial. Dig It: Newsletter of the Flinders Archaeological Society 5:2.

____________________________________________________

President’s Message

1998 has been a successful albeit different year in the society’s history. We have seen for instance a greater emphasis on the archaeological side of the coin with a concentration on making ourselves known nationally.

By December of this year members of our society will have attended the majority of major archaeological conferences in Australia in 1998. We can now justify ourselves in the belief that we are known as a group of students without parallels to be found in any other similarly focused student body in Australia. The experience of these events to all involved will have long-standing benefits personally and professionally.

Despite some criticism, I still believe that the decision to send a large body of students to a National Archaeology Students conference was a good move. The networks that were set up for individuals and for the society as a whole are already starting to be seen with requests for articles to be submitted to the newsletters and publications of other Archaeology Societies interstate. Although a major goal of our exodus to Canberra in September of hosting the conference was not achieved, the possibility of the society hosting our own Archaeology conference is something that I personally think is worthwhile. Such a commitment is undoubtedly huge and really only requires a group of hard working and dedicated individuals willing to give it a go (and a little bit of money of course). It must also be remembered that the good publicity we have gained for ourselves we have also gained for our University and department. This is something that we can pat ourselves on the back for. The society continues to be an asset to and effective ambassador for the Archaeology department, not only because of our support of events such as the ‘DigBox’ but also our contributions in making Archaeology at Flinders University seen to be productive, worthwhile as well as entertaining. The fact that the society took on the responsibility of organising and carrying out a teaching excavation is something that proves our commitment to the furthering of our University as a major centre for the study of archaeology in Australia.

On a purely social level the society has also accomplished much, with record attendance to the Annual Society Dinner and the Annual Society Barbecue. All of our other social events, have additionally been successful with good attendance to our other barbeques, the Inferno Band night, the Honours and postgraduate dinner and Pub- Crawl.

I would like to thank all of those people who have gone out of their way to attend our events this year. It must be said that these are the people who have singlehandedly created all of our successes in 1998.

Nathan Richards

____________________________________________________

Editorial

The archaeology society, last seen/heard of 1998?

The year kicked off strongly with a broad membership on campus and plenty of capital and resources for new and exciting ventures. 1997 was a very good year for the society in terms of student involvement, increased membership and generating capital through fund raisers, the establishment of annual social events such as the ‘Digger’s Plate’ (against F.U. Palaeontology) and the development of ‘Dig It’. Much of the momentum that was generated in 1997 flowed onto the first semester 1998 carrying the society into the new year.

What happened after that?

The editors aren’t entirely sure. Meetings were not well advertised and apparently there were over zealous handouts of society money (over $1,000) to fund select members from the society to attend conferences (the outcomes of which are in this publication). It was decided by the current incumbents that the ‘Digger’s Plate’ be either scrapped or a ‘tennis ball’ cricket match be played in a local park instead. The outcry of scrapping the ‘Digger’s Plate’ resounded amongst the rank and file who thought the idea was ‘rank’. The primary reason for this was largely due to financial problems within the society, as most of the capital generated in 1997 and funding grants from Clubs and Societies went on financing the student conference trips. There was barely enough money in the bank to put this issue of ‘Dig It’ together, let alone the review issue due to come out in February of 1999. But fortunately the cricket match is still on, thanks to a small but determined number of members forcing it through, even though some committee members had decided to ‘wash their hands’ of involvement.

The lack of fund raising activities of the current incumbents, contrasted to their level of expenditure is the major point of criticism on the behalf of the editors. While various advantages have been generated by showing a strong attendance at the conferences, it has placed the society in a much more difficult position for 1999 for the new president and committee.

Paul Saeki
Cherrie De Leiuen
Chris Duncan

____________________________________________________

National Archaeological Students Conference

This year marked the first National Archaeological Students conference held at the Australian National University from the 28th to the 30th of September. A large group of 18 people from Flinders attended this conference with some presenting papers. The conference was held so students could gain experience in presenting papers in an informal environment without the pressures of renowned academics shouting at them. It was hoped the experience gained would allow students to go on in the future to present papers elsewhere with greater confidence. The conference also highlighted the diverse range of topics researched by fellow students.

The conference was held in the highly exciting capital of pornography- Canberra, and while none of us go to see any porn (not for want of trying), we did all get to visit Parliament House (yeah). Other exciting places visited by Flinders students included the War Memorial, Telstra Tower, the Markets and quite a few dodgy bars, pubs and restaurants.

The organisation and effort put into the conference by the participating students and the volunteer committee was impressive. Each day was split into four sessions, featuring three to six speakers. These sessions were arranged around specific theme such as stone tools or skeletal analysis. Six students representing Flinders University- Cassandra Philippou, Simon Coote, Nathan Richards, Tim Owen, Phi Czerwinski and Stewart Gregory presented papers, with the award for best presentation (a six pack) going to Tim for his extraordinarily vibrant, last minute live action performance on gendered cranial deformity.

Two dinners were arranged as part of the conference for the students. One was an informal pizza night in the bar at ANU where the other students were badly beaten at drinking and pool playing. The other dinner was a more formal arrangement at a local Thai restaurant where Rhys Jones, the guest speaker, gave a highly informative and entertaining talk on archaeology today. After the meal, revelry continued at a bar conveniently located below our hotel, making it easy to stagger home after we beat the other universities at drinking again.

The conference was concluded with a plenary discussion where the details of next years conference venue was talked about. The possibility of Flinders holding a conference was raised and is still being debated.

While the other Flinders delegates left Canberra in the days after the conference, for the people in Nuggets car, that is, when things all went horribly wrong. On attempting to leave, the Budgie Bus had an absolute spit and both rear wheel bearings had to be replaced as well as the rear axle. This meant we had to stay in Canberra an extra two days and did not leave for the ASHA conference until the night before it started, but that trip is another story.

Katrina Stankowski

____________________________________________________

National Archaeological Students Conference

From the 28th – 30th September eighteen students of archaeology at all stages of their study at Flinders University participated in the inaugural National Archaeology Students conference hosted by the Australian National University in Canberra. The students in attendance were:

Karen Atherton, Kirsten Brett, Susan Briggs, Greg Carver, Simon Coote, Stewart Gregory, Katherine Henderson, Justine Hobbs, Andrew Hoffmann, Chris Langelluddecke, Sally May, Tim Owen, Adam Patterson, Cynthia Pearce, Cassandra Philippou, Nathan Richards, Katrina Stankowski, Jody Steele. Also in attendance was Flinders archaeology graduate Phil ‘Ski’.

The papers of the conference ranged from subjects such as “U2 and the potential of urban archaeology” to more ‘archaeological’ papers such as “The first stage rehabilitation of a family of gibbons”(!!!). In all 46 students from second year up presented papers including six from Flinders. Although Flinders did not win any of the major advertised prizes, Tim Owen won the auspicious ‘winging it’ prize of a six pack of tooheys blue for an impromptu foray into “artificial cranial deformation”. Flinders University students outnumbered other university’s students six to one and were widely commended for their enthusiasm in all aspects of conference ‘goings on’ (including the after hours entertainment).

The last session of the conference involved a discussion on the future of the National Students Conference. Though there was some disagreement on whether the conference should be moved and when it should be scheduled, most Flinders students agreed they learnt much from the experience and will most probably return to Canberra next year.

Sally May & Nathan Richards

____________________________________________________

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editors,

While I believe that sending a large delegate of students to the recent conferences in Canberra and Sydney was a great reflection of the society, the decision to reimburse these students however, was a poor one.

Surely these students all were volunteers, and most likely gained great experience by participating in or observing a conference. If these students could not afford to go, like many of us that could not, then it was not up to the society to pay for them.

Membership is $5, receiving $50 each from the society is certainly a good incentive for joining! Those members that made the decision to hand out this money should be accountable to the ten members of the society who paid their $5 to support one student to have a holiday.

It was also not a fair decision considering that two students, convening at another conference have to pay their own way to get to, stay at and register for this conference with no assistance from the society as there simply are not enough funds left.

____________________________________________________

To continue reading from Dig It 5, click here: DigIt5

Look out for the next edition of ‘From the Dig It Archives’ on Wednesday the 5th of June!

By Antoinette Hennessy
____________________________________________________

Due to a few technical errors (mostly regarding our Domain upgrade from flindersarchsoc.com to flindersarchsoc.org), this week’s instalment of ‘From the Dig It Archives’ is a little late.

Take a step back in time to an early account of the Burra Field trip in 1998, when Mark Staniforth was still a lecturer at Flinders, and Claire Smith was still in the country. If you missed Peter Birt’s recent seminar on his own research on the very dugouts mentioned, here’s a brief introduction. This is followed by an article by Cherie De Leiuen, who presents some interesting findings on gender distributions among archaeology students at Flinders University, focussing on higher degrees in particular. She then opens discussion on why women do not appear to strive for higher degrees and consequently careers in archaeology. Further studies in gender distributions in archaeology have since been conducted up to recent years, including Ulm et al. (2005), Smith and Burke (2006), and Ulm et al. (2013) to name a few, although these tend to focus on practising archaeologists than students. Ulm et al. (2013), in fact, have found that women earn an average of AUD$14,321 less than men – could it be that there is a lack of financial incentive as De Leiuen proposes even up until now? Is there something else? It would be interesting to conduct this same study again on current Flinders archaeology students and compare the results with those from 15 years ago.

 References

 Smith, C. and H. Burke 2006 Glass ceilings, glass parasols and Australian academic archaeology. Australian Archaeology 62:12-25.

 Ulm, S., S. Nichols and C. Dalley 2005 Mapping the shape of contemporary Australian archaeology: implications for archaeology teaching and learning. Australian Archaeology 61:11-23.

 Ulm, S., G. Mate, C. Dalley and S. Nichols 2013 A working profile: the changing face of professional archaeology in Australia. Australian Archaeology 76:34-43.

____________________________________________________

Message from the Chair

Yes! Its Here – The much anticipated first Dig-It for 1998, ready to be earnestly read and snapped up by eager little archaeologists, and treasure hunters alike.

1998 will surely be a great year for the society, with record number of members who will be able to take advantage of the ‘grand plans’ already dreamed up in the depraved minds of die-hard archsoc lunatics. Already we have had the annual Barbeque (with record numbers), the Post-Grad and Honours Dinner, the ‘Inferno’ Band Night (with Brewers, Live Bands and Psychology Clubs), and the numerous faculty-run field trips.

Members have already travelled from as close as ‘Jervois Basin’, Port Adelaide to as far away as the Burra Dug-Outs and Panaramittee station in the north. Many more activities like this are being planned for this year, all we need is your enthusiasm and interest. A variety of other events are also in the pipeline, from our August excavation in Strathalbyn to our conference participation at National Students Conference in Canberra, ASHA in Sydney in September/October and AAA in Valla Beach Resort in December. A feature of this year will hopefully be our FUN-draising activities which will go towards subsidising/paying for members in conference travel or for society events.

I’d like to thank last year’s executives who have set us up with a great base on which to build a strong, cohesive archaeology society, and in particular those involved with Dig It which has become a focal point for society activities. So, in conclusion, and in the words of our much-loved ex-President ‘See you in the Tavern’.

Nathan Richards

Principal Editors
Paul Rapita
Cherrie De Leiuen
Cassandra Philippou
Editing crew
Chris Langeluddecke
Julie Ford
Chris Duncan

____________________________________________________

Burra Field Trip

From April 13 to 17, students from the Arch 3302 Field Methods class, under the supervision of Mark Staniforth, Tim Anson and Claire Smith, conducted a pre-disturbance survey of dugout sites in Burra.

This field trip marks what will hopefully be the start of a 3 year project to study the archaeology of Burra, with the objective of also enhancing the tourism value of this historic town. Flinders University Archaeology, with the support of the Goyder Regional Council, the Burra Branch of the National Trust of South Australia and the Mid-North Development Board, are currently awaiting the approval of a supplementary grant, through the Australian Post Graduate Award (Industry) scheme, which will allow work to progress.

Essentially the dugouts are habitations dug into the creeks banks, consisting of a number of rooms, reinforced by whatever materials were to hand. Some rooms had walls of random rubble construction, while others are simply cave-like holes. The walls were originally mud-plastered (evidence of which is visible) and lime washed, which would have made the dugouts more livable than they now appear.

There are three existing dugouts at Blyth St on a secondary arm of the Burra Creek, which was surveyed by the students. Each dugout became the domain of one group for the week and became the scenes of much measuring, plotting, photographing and just a little swearing. This was in part a teaching exercise, but will also provide valuable data that will provide a benchmark for future research.

Coinciding with the feverish and partially subterranean activity at Blyth St, was a more sedate and far more technologically advanced survey, at Mitchell Flat on the banks of Burra Creek.

This site contains numerous collapsed dugouts, which were the victims of periodic floods and natural attrition. Tim Anson, who is intending to do his doctoral research there was aided by students in a systematic survey of this extensive site.

Cultural material was observed in and around the dugout sites, some of which appear to have been quite large. At the northern end of Mitchell Flat, adjacent to the site of the Pig and Whistle Hotel, which itself is no more than a depression now, a large amount of ceramic, glass and other material was found eroding out of the creek’s bank.

Cultural Tourism students from Flinders under the direction of Jane James, also participated in the weeks work, providing an interpretive service in the form of a pamphlet and as guides for visitors at the Blyth St site. This site is a popular stop for visitors in the area and a large number passed through the site during the week, which also provided Archaeology students with valuable experience in Public Archaeology.

The weeks activities were recorded for posterity on video by Paul Rapita, although periodic calls for make-up were ignored. Paul hopes to produce a short documentary as part of his honours degree, which deals with the heritage value that archaeology can produce for ordinary punters, who after all unbeknownst to them, pay for most it.

Recreation in Burra is a little limited, but a nocturnal visit to some of Burra’s heritage attractions, the Brewery Cellars, Redruth Gaol and the cemetery was fascinating, as was the quick tour undertaken on the Friday prior to departing, of the Hampton township, along with a tour of the site where the smelters once stood, as well as the remaining engine houses located at the mine.

Lastly, considering the potentially ongoing nature of Flinders involvement with Burra, a quick pub guide is probably not inappropriate. The Royal Exchange which was about one stagger from the Old Courthouse Hotel (unfortunately no longer operating in this capacity) where we stayed is good for a quiet drink.

____________________________________________________

Gender Games: Do the men still win in archaeology?

According to statistics provided by DEET in 1993, women constitute over 50% of students at all universities in Australia. But what about archaeology- and how does Flinders compare? Are the commonly held beliefs that women earn and work less than men accurate for our field?

Visibility in Academia

The last decade has seen an explicit attempt by universities to increase the number of women to enrol and progress through faculties. We may all remember campaigns in high school to encourage ‘girls’ to gain an interest in traditionally male fields such as engineering. Data available on the distribution of the sexes in archaeology show that these campaigns may not be as effective as the promotion implied.

At undergraduate level, relatively well researched data indicates a balance slightly towards female numbers for archaeology at a national and international level. (Beck: 1994)

This holds true for Flinders University (see Figure 1) with women being 56% of undergraduates in first year, 55% for second year and 62% for third year in 1998.

Figure 1

However it is the higher levels of study that need to be examined closely. There is a serious disparity when comparing the gender balance of Honours students with that of those in higher positions. This year at Flinders the balance in Honours is even (48% men to 52% women) – but according to trends exposed in 1994, 40% of women who achieve Honours degrees do not go on to further study as compared to 90% of men who do make professional careers in archaeology (Goulding & Buckley: 1994).

Figure 2 represents this same disparity for Flinders in 1998 – with an increased number of men in postgraduate study. Only 40% of higher degree students in archaeology at Flinders are female. The reasons for the women’s poor numbers are complex – could they include the fact that scholarships are a necessity for higher education and that these are determined by the Faculty? Or is it that women have less confidence in their ability to succeed, or less motivation, or have less support generally?

There are other important issues which need to be considered. Firstly, the gender of post-graduates who are recruited for teaching and research (and who also are practitioners and policy makers) will impact upon the value given to gender studies in archaeology. This is particularly important given that it is post-graduates who nurture the theoretical and methodological direction of archaeology departments.

For the healthy development of the discipline it is essential that archaeology departments incorporate both women and men at all levels. This is important not only in terms of theoretical input but also in terms of having role models for both genders and warming up the ‘chilly climate’ that many women feel in academia.

A related issue concerns the current restructuring of higher education. This is mostly dictated by economic motives and women’s positions in academia, which cluster at low levels of the hierarchy, need to be monitored in relation to ongoing reform processes.

Figure 2

Beyond the PhD

Perhaps a reason for women not striving for careers in archaeology in the past is the lack of financial incentive. Concerning income, the mean annual income for women in archaeology is $25, 290 vs $28, 550 for men in 1994, with 31% of qualified women earning less than $17, 500 per annum (see Goulding and Buckley: 1994).

The recent study ‘Gender Pay Equity in Australian Higher Education, conducted by RMIT found female academics earn $220 a week less than their male colleagues . This is not because women suffer discrimination at application level. They are less likely to receive promotions, however, and often have to take time off for family leave, which impinges upon their ability to pursue long-term research projects. This lack of promotion is related to the fact that less women have Ph.Ds (a catch 22 situation?)

General female staff are also more often classified at HEO levels 3 and 4, with men on 6 and 7 – even though people working in these positions often carry the same amount of responsibility. There appears to be a threshold of 20% for women in Faculties (that glass ceiling again!). Flinders follows this average - with 83% men vs 17% women on staff. These positions held by women in academia are also likely to be untenured ladder positions.

However, it should be noted that the samples sizes on which the above are based are small and a longtitudinal study is required in order to assess whether these gender inequities are transitory or entrenched.

The final word – while affirmative action may argue for equality, the data demonstrates women are still in the minority. Although there are more women in the ranks there is no room for complacency! For further reading: “Equity Issues for Women in Archaeology “ Nelson, Nelson & Wylie (eds) 1994.

Written by: Cherie De Leiuen

Graphs: Donna Flood

____________________________________________________

To continue reading from Dig It 4, click here: DigIt4

Look out for the next edition of ‘From the Dig It Archives’ on Wednesday the 29th of May!

By Jordan Ralph
____________________________

Welcome to the first edition of the Flinders ArchSoc blogging project, ‘From the Dig It Archives’! This post comes from the very first issue of Dig It – below are two articles reproduced from Issue 1, 1997.

In ‘Message from the Chair’ (1997:2), President Matthew Rice discusses the activities that Flinders ArchSoc members had been up to during the first part of 1997. It seems in the last 15 years, not much has changed – we are still as active as ever. Rice also lists the ArchSoc committee of 1997. Note that the Flinders University Archaeology Department’s (FUAD) own Dr Amy Roberts was the ArchSoc Secretary!

The first featured article of the ‘From the Dig It Archives’ series is ’1997 Archaeology Field Methods Field Trip to Port Lincoln’ (1997:9-10) by Tim Anson, who recounts his Field Methods trip to Port Lincoln with fellow students and lecturers Dr Mark Staniforth and Dr Margaret O’Hea. Read more »