Here's a handy Google map to give you a general idea of where in France I'll be:
La Ferrassie is an important site for a number of reasons, but is mostly famous for the large number of Neanderthal remains that have been found there. These remains were found in what appears to have been deliberate burials. If that is in fact the case, then that's some really interesting information about the treatment of the dead in the course of human evolution. Examples of Neanderthal art have also been found at the site, including Venus figurines (little carved models of very curvaceous women, which may be linked to fertility beliefs...or might have just been fun to look at) and rock carvings of...vulvas? I didn't make that up, that's what they've been interpreted as. See picture below. So...it may be difficult for me to remain mature and academic at this site, but I'm going to do my damnedest.
La Ferrassie is has been more or less consistently worked in since before World War I (which one of the dig directors called a "minor interruption" in the information packet I was sent...har har), and so a really good system is in place for cataloging, etc. It's a terrific place to be taught the basics, so I'm really lucky. Speaking of lucky, did I mention I'd be camping in the south of France for four weeks? Yeah.
My travel information is as follows:
I'm flying from Boston to Paris on Saturday, June 18th at 10:55pm. The flight arrives in Paris at 11:35am on June 19th (different time zone; I'll be 6 hours ahead of the U.S), and then I have a brief layover (I won't see anything of Paris except the inside of the airport, malhereusement) before another flight to from Paris to Bordeaux at 1pm. At the Bordeaux airport, I need to catch a train to the town of Sarlat (French conversational skills...GO!!), and from there, I can get a ride to the dig house. Hopefully everything will go relatively smoothly, and it will just be a marathon travel session that I can get through and get to the fun part where there is archaeology.
In case anybody wants to send me letters (please?), the mailing address is:
Fouilles Préhistoriques
Le Bourg
24200 CARSAC-AILLAC
My phone will work like a regular phone while I'm there, but I will have it turned off most of the time. If you need to reach me, the best way to do so is via email--I have Skype on my phone, so we can set up video chat dates. I'll do my best to keep this blog current and interesting while I'm there--I'm not bringing a computer, so I'll either be updating from my phone or from the shared computer at the site.
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