Trowel

Definition

A trowel is a small hand tool with a pointed, scoop-shaped blade, commonly used in archaeology for digging, scraping, and shaping soil or sediment during excavation. It plays a crucial role in the meticulous process of fieldwork, allowing archaeologists to carefully uncover and document artifacts and features without causing damage.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Trowels come in various shapes and sizes, with the pointed end ideal for precision work and the flat edge useful for scraping surfaces.
2. In archaeology, using a trowel allows for controlled digging, which is essential for preserving delicate artifacts and maintaining stratigraphic layers.
3. The trowel is often accompanied by other tools like brushes and dustpans to ensure a thorough and careful excavation process.
4. Proper technique while using a trowel helps to minimize disturbance to the surrounding matrix, which is vital for understanding the context of finds.
5. Trowels are essential in both fieldwork and laboratory settings, where they can be used to prepare samples for analysis or display.

Review Questions

• How does the use of a trowel contribute to the preservation of archaeological context during excavation?
  • Using a trowel allows archaeologists to carefully uncover artifacts without disrupting their surrounding context. This precision helps maintain stratigraphic layers, ensuring that the relationships between different finds are preserved. By minimizing disturbance during excavation, researchers can later analyze the spatial relationships of artifacts, leading to better interpretations of past human activities.
• Discuss how different types of trowels may affect excavation techniques and outcomes in fieldwork.
  • Different types of trowels are designed for specific tasks in excavation. For example, pointed trowels are excellent for precise digging around delicate artifacts, while wider flat trowels are better suited for moving larger amounts of soil. Choosing the appropriate trowel can significantly influence the effectiveness of excavation techniques, ultimately affecting the quality of documentation and the integrity of findings.
• Evaluate the role of hand tools like trowels in modern archaeological practices and how they compare to mechanical methods.
  • Hand tools like trowels remain fundamental in modern archaeology due to their precision and control, which mechanical methods lack. While machines can expedite large-scale excavations, they risk damaging sensitive layers and artifacts. Therefore, skilled archaeologists often rely on trowels for detailed work where understanding context is paramount. This balance between hand tools and machinery highlights an ongoing debate about efficiency versus accuracy in archaeological practice.

Related terms

Context: The relationship between artifacts, features, and their surrounding environment that provides insights into past human behavior and activities.

Stratigraphy:

The study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification), which helps archaeologists understand the chronological sequence of human activity at a site.

Site Survey: A preliminary investigation of an area to locate archaeological sites, often involving mapping and surface collection of artifacts before excavation.