Kira Kristensen, BA, 2000

LIFE AFTER GRAD

Upon graduation I was absolutely ecstatic to find employment in the field of archaeology. Within a month I found myself thigh deep in muskeg trudging my way to a lonely pine ridge somewhere in Northeastern British Columbia. Instead of discovering fantastic new civilizations, or even analyzing the remains of past architectural structures, I was faced with lithics of the chert flake variety. Lithics are the only material that can survive the harsh acidic soils of the Boreal environment.

Despite the lack of glamour in my job, working for Heritage North Consulting in Fort St John has expanded my skills as an archaeologist and a conservationist. Mainly myself and my fellow employees try to protect or salvage archaeological site threatened by the booming petrochemical industry. The best part of archaeological consulting in FSJ is driving around on quads, flying in helicopters, and conducting minor excavations at areas destined to become wellsites and pipelines.

I was hired as a field assistant and report writer, but shortly was charged with my own crew. In groups of two to three we surveyed areas of development looking for cultural materials either on the surface, or buried beneath. It is amazing how many artifacts can be found by digging test pits 25 cm by 25 cm to a depth-below-surface of 35 cm. Perhaps what I learned most is the abundance of archeological evidence for peoples choosing to live in this seemingly nasty environment in the past and today.