Time Team America is a new “science-reality” series on PBS. They did a short series of five episodes this summer starting in early July and finishing up in early August. Time Team America has a website on PBS.org that you can find here. On their website you can watch all the complete episodes, find additional information and videos about each site, find information about each of the team members and even information about archaeology in general . Most of these extra online videos and content are quite helpful to get a better understanding of what Time Team America is doing. They send a group of archaeologists and other specialists to a site that is in need of help with such things as finding site boundaries, finding evidence of structures or to just get a better knowledge of the context of a particular site. The team gets three days to assist the archaeologists already on site, in an effort to answer certain questions posed prior to their visit. The team is able to bring in equipment, which is usually unavailable, and fresh minds to help archaeologists answer questions and uncover information that will lead to new insights about the site. While the main questions the team are trying to answer will of course vary from site to site, the main goal is to learn as much as possible and to leave more questions and hopefully more information so that future excavations on each site might be more successful.
The team has a regular group of ten experts/specialists from fields that vary from the obvious one of Anthropology (including several professors, research faculty, a Native American Studies Director, and several archaeologists with experience varying from 30 years to that of a graduate student), to Geophysics experts, to an artist (who also happens to be the show’s host). Along with the group that make up the team they bring in specialists to aid in the process of advancing the knowledge of the site.
The most prominent of the high-tech methods used by the team is the collection of geophysical data; a practice still uncommon on most archaeological digs. The team has two Geophysics specialists that use tools such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), resistivity meters and magnetometers to map out what lies below the ground surface. It’s actually quite surprising at what these devices can detect below the surface. Unlike a general surface survey, which involves looking for artifacts or features that are visible on the surface, that in turn suggest fruitful areas to dig. Geophysical testing devices can point to areas that the team would otherwise overlook due to the lack of surface indicators.
One of the great things about this particular show is that it’s not like a lot of the other shows about archaeological sites and archaeology. Time Team America shows the actual process of archaeology and its not just site-seeing like a majority of other shows out there. They show parts of all the processes from the not so exciting details of mapping and very tedious note taking, to the various methods of digging whether it be shovel and trowel or large machinery such as backhoes, and then of course there is the more exciting aspects of seeing artifacts that are found through the process. Undoubtedly, Time Team America makes archaeology look far more exciting than it usually is, but it provides much more information about what the site actually means. Along with providing a good view of actual archaeological work, they provide great visualizations of what the sites and artifacts may have looked like. While these visuals may not be correct in every aspect, they definitely help the viewer to get a better general understanding of the time periods, people, and sites that the team is investigating.
Overall I was quite impressed with this show. It gave a good perspective of the actual process of archaeological fieldwork. They gave an accurate view of a lot of different aspects of conducting archaeological work, which was nice to see along with seeing the sites and the artifacts that were found. It was nice to see a show that was more than just sight seeing. Along with being a very informative show it was actually entertaining to watch as well, which is always a good thing.
More information on Time Team American and all five of the sites can be found on the Time Team America website.
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