Anthropology students travel ‘Into the Field’

Sophomore Zach Nelson and senior Jesse Van Maanen spent this past summer working on an archaeological dig in Peru, gaining hands-on experience in the field alongside five other University of South Dakota students and their professor, Matthew Sayre, an assistant professor of anthropology.

To document this experience, two of Sayre’s former students were filming a documentary entitled “Into the Field,” about what was happening at the archaeological site, Chavin de Huantar.

“After I took students there the first time many years ago, they expressed frustration that the media portrays archaeology and anthropology as this old, stodgy profession that hasn’t kept up with technology,” Sayre said. “So this year, Nick Weiland decided to make a film, in connection with Kate Simerly, who is actually now an independent filmmaker out of Los Angeles.”

Both Weiland and Simerly had participated in the field school at Chavin de Huantar, Peru, in the past with Sayre.

While the seven USD students and Sayre spent a month working on the dig, Simerly and Weiland spent two weeks with the students in Lima and  followed them on the trail.

“They interviewed us and some of the professional archaeologists,” Nelson said. “In the first preview of the film, you can see me in the background, which is cool.”

Sayre said he hopes the documentary shows what modern archaeology is like.

“When they approached me about creating this documentary, it made complete sense to me as a professor, from an educational point of view,” Sayre said. “When I thought about the films that I show in class, they’re so old. I mentioned the documentary to John Rick (the main archaeologist of the site), and he said  the film he shows his students is 50 years old. Things have changed.”

The overall point of the film is to not just show the work these students did in Peru, but to show the value in hands-on experience.

“Field schools are tremendously helpful in moving students out of the classroom and into the field,” Sayre said. “We had the bonus of going to another country and interacting with the people and culture of that country.”

Nelson said he had always been more interested in cultural anthropology than archaeology, but the month he spent at Chavin de Huantar changed his mind.

“It taught me that archaeology is important to find out information from the past and apply it to the present,” Nelson said. “Also, since we were there for a month, we developed relations with the Peruvian archaeologists and the people of the town we were in, which was so interesting from a cultural aspect.”

Van Maanen said she enjoyed working with the local people and gaining a better understanding of the Peruvian culture.

“I’ve always been interested in archaeology too, so I also now better understand what archaeology is,” she said. “Getting to have that day-to-day experience in the field was so valuable.”

Nelson said the students didn’t know about the documentary until they had landed in Peru, when Sayre mentioned it, but they all thought it was interesting to be part of. Van Maanen said she didn’t think the documentary was going to be a big deal until she got back to USD.

“I didn’t understand how big it was really going to be, and then it became more exciting after I learned more about it,” she said.

Now, Van Maanen is in charge of the social media for the film.

“I’m just helping spread the word about our IndieGoGo fundraiser and the film itself,” she said.

The movie is currently in its production phase, but because it is an independent film, Sayre and his students are in the process of raising funds to finish it. Sayre is writing several grants to receive funding, and an IndieGoGo campaign was also started.

Nelson and Van Maanen are also in the final days of organizing a benefit fundraiser for the film, which will be held Oct. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Parkers Bistro in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“Whether you’re interested in archaeology or not, everyone should go check it out,” Van Maanen said. “It’s a really cool project that USD got to be part of, and I think it’ll be a cool recruitment tool for the anthropology department once it’s finished.”

There currently is no release date for “Into the Field.”