Oh dear. I'm really not as good at updating this blog as I thought I would be. In any case, here's the latest update:

Things at the site are progressing fairly quickly. It's a new project, as far as this group is concerned, and so the guys in charge have been working out the parameters of the project all week, but everything seems to be more or less organized now. We're currently working on one large trench and a section of wall higher up. Each of these sections is made up of different layers of sediment, including dirt, bones, flints, and...more dirt. And lots of rocks. Each layer represents a different depositional process, and with a deep trench cut out of the ground, it's possible to see where each layer meets the next because of differences in color, which represent different combinations of sediment. Each layer corresponds to a different period of site occupation, so we can tell by what we find in each layer pretty much where it belongs in terms of a timeline.

Yesterday was our weekly day off--I was still recovering from a nighttime trip to the site to collect data which kept us out until past 3:30 am, but I had caught up on sleep the night before. First thing in the morning, I rescued a baby muskrat that had somehow wandered into our campsite, and was keeping warm by the side of the house. The poor little guy was really really cute, but he wasn't particularly bright--I scooped him up and put him in a plastic tub so I could bring him somewhere where he was less likely to be traumatized. He didn't really seem fazed by being transported, although he made a few little grumbly sounds. I don't really know how to interpret muskrat growls, but he didn't seem to be in too much distress. In any case, when I dropped him off at the creek near the house, I waited to see if he'd be ok...and he climbed back up and just sat next to me for a few minutes. So I nudged him in the direction of the creek and made a discreet exit. Hopefully he's ok...I'm not entirely sure he was completely ready to be on his own, but oh well.

After my brief escapade with nature, we went to the museum of prehistory in Les Eyzies (which is pretty much the main museum for the region). It was cool to see artifacts from La Ferrassie in the display cases, since all the objects really did look just like what we were pulling out of the ground...although on the other hand, it was kind of funny to be seeing those things on our day off, since we see pretty much nothing else all week! Overall, though, it's a really good museum, with all kinds of helpful videos and well-labeled exhibits (if you can read French). After the museum, we poked around the town for a little bit and browsed in the souvenir shops. I have some really good/surreal pictures from a strange antique/tchotchke/weird thing store, and I'll try to put them online later this week. Then we had lunch at a pizzeria (French pizza is a little weird, but very tasty) and came home for a bit before heading off to the medieval cliffside town of Domme for dinner. We ate in a brasserie with an incredible view over what seemed like the whole Dordogne valley, because we were so high up. We got to see the sun set over the cliffs, and hot air balloons drifted by. It was ok, I guess. (I'm totally kidding. It was awesome)

Today was back to work as usual--first thing this morning we had to make the site look nice, since apparently some important bureaucratic people will be visiting in the next couple of days. Then it was back to excavating for the rest of the day. I came home, had a really nice shower (I love being clean!!) and now it is time for dinner. Beef stew. Yet another light summer meal. Oh well.

More updates soon!