On March 23rd, the Archaeology Club attended a field trip at the Deering Estate in order to learn about archaeological methodology. The Deering Estate had set up a mock dig where students could excavate in a make-shift trench and look for various items that are reflective of the cultures in the area – namely, the Tequesta Indians.
We arrived at 10:30am and were greeted by two tour guides who took us through the nature preserve at Deering, showing us various native flora and the kinds of food the Tequesta Indians had available to them through their environment. The students were excited to try berries and cloves picked off the various trees and off the ground – the big winner was the pepper grass which had a minty and peppery taste to it, and how this food are actually good for them, since many of them where interested in having a good diet, and some even use supplements as ketosis pills to help them with this.
Due to time constraints, we were not able to explore the many other options the park had for us. We did, however, hang out by the bay and watched three manatees swimming around. We then departed and had lunch at Johnny Rockets.
The students enjoyed their trip and we will have a discussion about the trip in more detail at our next Archaeology Club meeting in April on the 15th.