Charlie Benfanti "ARTIFACTS AND THE BEAUTY OF THE SHARED HUMAN EXPERIENCE" Blog Post 8

I enjoyed our discussion of artifacts and the opportunity to reflect on them in our papers. Artifacts, as we talked about, are things that take you on a journey, guide exploration, or open you up to spiritual discovery. I would relate artifacts to remnants or remains, the things left over. The story of humanity exists in the stories, written words, and artifacts that we still hold. In 2019, I was a part of an archaeological excavation in Crow Canyon, Colorado. We were working at a site with artifacts of the Pueblo civilization, unearthing pieces of their life. One of the most transforming/eye-opening/spiritual experiences I have ever had came on day 3 of the dig. I found a shard of pottery. It was a piece of a much larger artifact, similar rounded shape of water jug shards we had found previously. But this one was special— it’s design was a sort of ribbing pattern. But the pattern was made by fingerprints. Each fingerprint was visible, and I got goosebumps when I lifted it up. I held my fingertip up to theirs. As I did, I realized that this piece had been in the ground for centuries, and I was the first person to touch it. I was now connected to this person across centuries, across time and space. I would never know them, and they would never know me. But our stories are now forever intertwined in a way that neither of us will ever be able to fully comprehend or appreciate. This artifact opened my eyes to the power of human expression and discovery, and took me on a journey of its own. 

 

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