In Search of Maya Sea Traders

CHAPTER 9. Volunteers

99 I n addition to providing archaeological experience, participating in my project was often a turning point — even a catalyst for change — in the lives of many of the volunteers . Being thrown together with strangers on a remote island in rustic conditions challenged some of the volunteers ’ preconceived self-limits. Some actively looked for ways to prove themselves. Quite a few looked to the project to put new meaning in their lives or to find new people to do so. Sadly for others, their experience meant a final acceptance of their own limitations when they noticed that advancing age and declining health had an impact on their lifestyle. At least one man was “in hiding” while on my project. Many dreamed of a life in Maya archaeology. For two weeks they lived that life and in so doing made my fieldwork both possible and enjoyable. My field staff and I tried to provide safe surroundings for the volunteers who suspended their normal lives and living conditions for two weeks to participate in my project. They were vulnerable in their new environment since everything was new and unfamiliar to them, and they were dependent on us to provide for them. We carefully controlled the physical and social setting of the project in order to enable them to assist in the fieldwork. My single requirement for volunteers — or students on my project — was that they be able to swim. After that, flexibility, enthusiasm, and an ability to survive in the rustic conditions of our tent camp characterized my ideal volunteer. I found that some basic health and age considerations were also necessary to live in a CHAPTER 9 VOLUNTEERS 100 w i l d c a n e c a y , 1 9 8 8 – 1 9 9 2 tent in the swamp, without running water, electricity, or proximity to a hospital. When I picked up the last-minute fax applications from Earthwatch at the Texaco station before picking up a team at the airstrip, the first thing I checked was the age and health status of the members of the next team. Occasionally elderly people told Earthwatch that they would be able to live in the primitive conditions of my field camp, and some were able to do so successfully . I noticed from one application that Arthur Maclean, an eighty-sixyear -old man with back trouble, was on his way. His application stated that he had trouble with his coccyx that would not interfere in his participation. My knowledge of human osteology was useful in that I realized that problems with his tailbone might cause him difficulty on Wild Cane Cay. The charming older gentleman I met later that morning at the airstrip was distinguishable only by his advanced age and the vinyl cushion he carried with a wedge cut out for his tailbone. He and the other volunteers were outfitted in expensive-looking safari wear for the expedition. They looked clean, eager, and friendly. In my boots, wide-brimmed dirty-white hat, and old red pack slung across my right shoulder, I think I scared them. My zipoff pant legs didn’t even match the shorts, which were more heavily worn. However, as the plane taxied down the runway and we heard the roar of the plane’s engine, I knew it was too late for them to escape. For the next two weeks their lives would be in my hands. Slowly, Arthur’s activities had been restricted to sitting under the house on a bench, washing artifacts, and placing them on trays to dry. He had traveled extensively as a foreign diplomat and visited many archaeological sites. This project fulfilled a lifelong dream to actually participate in an archaeological project. It also made him realize that he could no longer do everything he wanted to do. He hadn’t really realized that at age eighty-six he was getting old and that declining health should deter him from living in a tent on a mangrove swamp island and carrying out hard labor. Arthur had begun excavating on Fighting Conch mound, sitting on the excavation wall propped up by his special cushion, but when I saw a piece of bone flying through the air, I moved him to screening. However, his eyes weren’t good enough to distinguish the artifacts in the screen. Although it was sad for me to provide the circumstances for self-realizations such as Arthur’s, he was not devastated. After all, he...