Qilu Evening News, Qilu One Point reporter Fan Jia
Recently, Hunan left-behind girl Zhong Fangrong scored 676 points in the liberal arts, and the fourth place in the Hunan college entrance examination for the liberal arts has aroused heated discussion. Many netizens believe that there is no "money" path for the archaeology major and advise Zhong Fangrong not to apply for such an unpopular major. .
The excavation site of Jiaojia Ruins
So, what kind of experience is learning archaeology? The public's imagination of archaeology comes more from the two novels "Ghost Blowing Lantern" and "Tomb Raiders Notes". In reality, the experience of studying archaeology may be more abundant than you think. According to Tang Zhongming, associate professor of the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the School of History and Culture of Shandong University, engineering, science, art, literature, philosophy... whatever you want to study, there is always an archaeology major for you.
In the impression of many people, archaeology belongs to the liberal arts. In fact, students have to dabble in a lot of science knowledge and master certain experimental skills. For example, animal archeology is closely related to life science; another example is the analysis of pottery components and pottery techniques, which are related to chemistry; the analysis of human bones and the knowledge of physical anthropology are closely related to medicine.
Today's archaeological study is also full of "technological style." For example, by taking a CT scan of the human skull unearthed, the genetic changes of human teeth can be analyzed. Tang Zhongming said with a smile that archaeology is sometimes like solving a case. Through modern scientific and technological means, it is possible to analyze and restore the causes of human death unearthed. For example, at the Qingqiu site in Heze in 2018, two individuals with their bodies and skulls buried separately were discovered. Associate Professor Zhao Yongsheng’s research team used X-rays and CT scans and other analysis and research to determine that one of the skulls was cut off by a sharp tool from behind; while the other was cut from the front with a sharp tool before cutting off the throat. under. "
Tang Zhongming said that archaeology has to learn a variety of related technologies, such as cultural relic mapping, and also learn how to use various surveying and mapping equipment, such as total stations, RTKs, and drones. This is similar to engineering. In addition, there is close cooperation with the School of Computer Science, such as the 3D scanning of archaeological relics and relics, and the construction and restoration of 3D models. Therefore, archaeology is a typical interdisciplinary subject, which requires many other professional knowledge, equipment, theories and methods.
Archaeology students are most looking forward to field archaeology internships. Of course, the living conditions of the internship location are not as good as school. For example, when Tang Zhongming took his students to practice in the Jiaojia Site, his teachers and classmates lived in the village and rented houses from local villagers. The collective life of going deep into the fields has left a special warmth to the youth of the students.
Working for eight hours a day, the archaeological internship is full and busy. The students were assigned to their respective teams, and each team would have one or two migrant workers to help. Everyone shoveled the plane with their hands, and judged when the ruins appeared. Unlike the descriptions in "Tomb Raiders Notes" and "Ghost Blowing Lantern", the real field excavations are mostly not tombs or ruins full of gold and silver treasures. For archaeology students, every time there is an important discovery, it is not only joy, but also a heavy responsibility. They need to record in detail, map accurately, and evaluate the location of a certain ruin in the entire exploration area, its relationship with other ruins, and so on.
For archaeologists, those things in the field can be described as "work hard and happy with their minds". Being able to participate in the excavation of such important sites as the Jiaojia Ruins in my student days is even more a matter of "strengthening character." “It’s very hard to bend over for a day, but the important relics are slowly cleared out. The joy of the students is beyond words. It is the fruit of their own hard work. Some students can’t get enough of it. I don’t eat, I’m hungry and tired.” Tang Zhongming said.
Many archaeologists can't help expressing excitement when they recall the archaeological internships during their student days. Professor Lang Jianfeng of the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the School of History and Culture of Shandong University recalled that in the spring of 2003, when he was still an undergraduate, he first encountered field archaeology that year and received an unforgettable surprise.
That year, when he really faced the ground under his feet, he realized that the paper was too shallow. The knowledge that the teacher explained very clearly in class, but found that there is a big gap between the knowledge and the actual operation. For example, distinguishing soil quality and soil color, and really discovered in the exploration, those seemingly simple knowledge, you need to experience and observe with special care. Only by scraping the surface over and over again can the difference in soil hardness and color be carefully distinguished.
In the field archaeology, most of the time it is actually plain with the loess and the back to the sky. Lang Jianfeng’s impression of the internship is mostly that he buries his head in the exploratory and scrapes the surface over and over again. Pack the bag and carry it back to the station. Being able to have such a period of unrestrained youth in the field is unforgettable for a lifetime.
Lang Jianfeng is lucky to be able to participate in major discoveries in his student days. In that year, he personally dug out the buja with oracle bone inscriptions at the internship site of the Daxinzhuang site. In fact, at the construction site where he practiced at the time, bones or armors were often found, but there was no text. Every time a piece of Bu Jia is dug, the students always hope that there are words on it. Every time the classmates find the like-character Bu Jia and Bu Bone, they will go to Teacher Fang "Jian Bao" excitedly, but every time the teacher gives a negative answer, gradually the excitement of the classmates fades. At this moment, Lang Jianfeng found a piece of armor on a moving surface. He suspected that there was a word. Although he didn't hold much hope, he asked the teacher for confirmation again. Unexpectedly, this time the teacher actually gave an affirmative answer, which made him shout out excitedly.
Guo Junfeng, chief of the Archaeology Department of the Jinan Institute of Archaeology, recalled his field practice in his student days, and he also expressed his “lucky” feelings. In July 1999, the Luozhuang Han Tomb archaeological team was formed mainly by members of the Jinan Archaeological Institute. Professor Cui Dayong of Shandong University led the team to the Luozhuang Han Tomb to conduct rescue excavations around the bronze pit. At that time, Guo Junfeng worked as an intern at the Jinan Archaeological Institute and became a member of the archaeological team.
It was during this internship that Guo Junfeng personally experienced the "myth" of mining gold. During the excavation, one after another burial pits were discovered one after another, which can be described as fruitful. Just as the archaeological team was about to retreat, Guo Junfeng's classmate Liu Jian used a shovel to dig out three yellowish things from the soft soil. Professor Cui exclaimed "Golden ware!" Now the students were excited, and everyone carefully held the heavy gold ware in their hands, as if they had won a million prize. That night, the students put these gold objects in the safe, and then put them under the bed of Guo Junfeng in the innermost room, and chained them to the legs of his bed. "I suffered from insomnia for the first time, and even the slightest disturbance made me sober." Guo Junfeng recalled.
When such a fulfilling academic career progresses to the graduation decision, is there really no "money" way to study archaeology as people think? Tang Zhongming analyzed that in the traditional humanities, the employment prospects of archaeology are relatively optimistic, because it is professional and has a strong exclusivity. Archaeology graduates can become teachers of Chinese, history and even philosophy, and they can also work in archaeological institutes, museums and other highly specialized cultural and museum institutions. For example, the archaeological graduates of Shanda University generally choose to work in various cultural and cultural institutions at the provincial or municipal level.
"Currently, a large number of grassroots cultural museums are short of talents." Tang Zhongming cited Qingzhou Museum and Tengzhou Museum as examples. They are both very good first-class national museums. Qingzhou Museum even put forward preferential conditions for the introduction of talents with "exemption for master's degree or above".
In any case, the archeology of "work hard, enjoy the mind; read the books, be tempted and patient" is a subject with a very good study experience. According to Chinese archaeologist Zhang Guangzhi, this subject may still be "promising": This is because although this subject is full of challenges, it is very young, and everyone has the opportunity to make breakthrough contributions.