Rant: I almost walked right past a small find because I was focused on the big picture

I was surveying a site in New Mexico last month, scanning for obvious features, and almost missed a tiny worked flint flake. I mean, it was half-buried in some loose dirt near a rock. I only spotted it because I finally stopped and just sat down, looking at one square meter for a solid 20 minutes. Has anyone else found that slowing way down is the real trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

jesse_craig2611d agoMost Upvoted

Totally get that. So what do you do to force yourself to slow down on a new site? I have to literally set a timer sometimes, or I'll just speed walk the whole area and see nothing.

hernandez.morgan11d ago

Honestly, I've found that trying to force it just makes me rush more.

xena_kim11d ago

My first trip to Rome I missed half the Forum because I was walking so fast. Now I pick just three things to really look at in a place, like one painting in a gallery. I'll stand there for a full five minutes, noticing the brush strokes or the frame. It forces my brain to stop and actually see what's in front of me instead of just scanning for the next spot.