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Alexander is beginning his first year
as a professional archaeologist. He graduated from the University of Colorado
at Boulder in 2005 with Bachelors in History and Anthropology. His undergraduate
career began as a History major, spawned from his family visits to Native
American sites in the four corners region and the abandoned mining sites
of southern Colorado. After three years of classroom work it became apparent
that Archaeology would full fill the same historical interest, while also
providing the opportunity to work hands on and in the outdoors, something
not usual to a historian.
Alexander undertook his field school through CU, participating in the
2005 Field School conducted by Dr. Douglas Bamforth at the Hudson-Meng
Bonebed
in Nebraska. Here Alexander learned the basic procedures of archaeology
and helped locate and excavate a separate bison kill site. After completion
of
this program Alexander was invited to join Stan Ahler’s Paleocultural
Research Group on a weeklong volunteer dig in North Dakota. The week long
excavation on the Boley Project cemented Alexander’s belief that
Archaeology was the field to pursue. Here he was assigned to excavate a
cache pit turned
trash pit with a depth of 175 cm, identified by magnetometer. Excavation
on this unit was terminated after reaching 115 cm in three days, and cutting
into the edge of a human interment.
A year after graduation Alexander is working for the Longmont office
of CRAI and is currently in the process of learning to work in front
of a
computer
for eight hours a day, compiling project reports and analyzing field
specimens. Field experience ranges from performing excavations, mapping
sites (physically
and with GPS), surveying and identifying and analyzing archaeological
artifacts. Alexander has been working on the Enterprise Meeker Lateral
pipeline, and
learned that the aspect of field work he most enjoys is the creation
of physical maps for sites.
When not performing archaeology Alexander spends his time exploring the
landscapes of Colorado, having grown up on the Western Slope he grew up
with the desert landscapes and is still enjoying learning about the offering
of the Front Range. In the last several years he has taken up rock climbing
and mountain biking, as well as picked up and dropped kayaking after discovering
his morbid fear of drowning. When not attempting to damage his tissue in
the outdoors’ Alexander enjoys ample hours of entertainment with
wargaming, painting, home brewing and playing guitar.
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