archaology of the ephemeral

August 23, 2018 3:44 PM

The Vanishing City -

White, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), has brought me out to the Black Rock Desert to see what she describes as “an archaeologist’s worst nightmare.” But it’s one that might help her field reconsider “the ways that archaeology works,” she says. Her decade-long project has entailed close observation of the temporary settlement from construction to dismantling, as well as the analysis of any artifacts that get left behind by accident. Her work has yielded insights about Burning Man as a cultural phenomenon and the organizing principles of urban habitats. It’s even shedding light on possible “unknown unknowns” in the ancient archaeological record.

The Materiality of Individuality, Carolyn White [Google Books]

Dr. Carolyn White discusses the significance of Black Rock City MOOP - matter out of place - to a contemporary archaeologist.

White is also interviewed in Graves and Garbage: The Hard Life of an Archeologist. White is an expert in what we may think of as "the transitioning city," a City of Dust,

" One interest of archaeologists across all time periods includes how people dispose of waste," White said. "At Burning Man, things like the location of port-o-potties can affect where people choose to camp. But the way that people organize their trash at Burning Man is of great interest. It is a Leave No Trace event. How do you study a city that doesn't leave any evidence of its existence?"

The Burning Man Festival and the Archaeology of Ephemeral and Temporary Gatherings [Oxford Handbooks, Academia, Google Books]

In north-western Nevada, USA, the Burning Man festival organizers and participants build and then remove all traces of a city that holds upwards of 50,000 participants (as of 2011). The city is built in August each year, fully occupied for one week, and then removed completely over the course of the following month. Using traditional archaeological methods along with ethnographic approaches and participant observation, the project has explored the construction and inhabitation of this city before, during, and after its use. This project focuses on the materiality of Burning Man, aiming to examine the material dimensions of the festival and its significance for those who create, reside in, and deconstruct Black Rock City, a temporary and, ultimately, ephemeral site.

posted by the man of twists and turns (5 comments total)

I worked Playa Restoration for a decade. Haven't done it for a few years now, but I'm surprised there's little to no mention of the Playa Restoration crew. It used to be that you could find .50 caliber slugs out there from when it was an ordinance range during WW2.

During Playa Restoration, after my second or third year, I'd worked "Special Forces", which are the trucks that would concentrate on the tougher spots around the city. The line sweeps would just cone anything they couldn't remove quickly and we'd come through after. And then I walked around those spots because I'd sometimes call the line sweeps that the crew did 'blind sweeps' because I'd catch so much after they'd gone through. (Because for a cone to be dropped, one of the line sweeps would have to stop and wave their arms in the air for someone to bring them a cone, which interrupts their coverage.)

It's a job where you walk in circles endlessly and walk and stare at the ground and walk some more and then walk even farther because you see the glint of some glass that no one on the crew is going see except you and maybe that spot is going to be randomly selected for the BLM inspection so you got to get it then. And always, if I saw it, I left no trace.

I have participated in the BLM inspection of the event site many times, too. And it's good to know that the bags with the inspection results are now being kept and studied. I think usually what is found at the inspection is partly the result of the changing weather patterns that happen in the month after the event. That is, the Playa Restoration crew can come and do a sweep through an area, but perhaps not find as much because there was a lot covered by the wind and dust as the event ended. But a month later when the inspection happens there could have been a lot more wind and rain which uncovered the things the inspection finds.

So I'm lucky to have done it for a decade that saw the crew (and budget) grow, and the methodology get better (and safer!) each year. I once drunkenly told the head of Playa Restoration, D.A. that "There ain't no mess these hippies make that we can't handle!" and he shot back, "Don't tell them that."
posted by Catblack at 6:28 PM on August 23, 2018 [31 favorites]

You can get a good gig if you can make it up.
Some people have all the fun.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:53 AM on August 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I interviewed her in 2010. Glad to see she’s still doing it.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:34 AM on August 25, 2018

I used to fly rockets north of BRC (I'm also a burner) there's a surprising large amount of moop that also completely escapes, we've been cleaning the Playa since before the man was first raised there, it used to be far far moopier, we've helped deal with abandoned cars, all those shells, they're all over, mud huts - there are remains of covered wagons out there that are historical moop and left in place.

We have a slightly different approach as we do lose rockets occasionally, we try and bring back more than we take, I used to be able to fill the truck, that's probably not possible these days
posted by mbo at 3:56 PM on August 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

the Big Imagination project left their art car, a dang 747, stuck in the desert! they're working on moving it
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:30 AM on September 21, 2018