Shovel Bum

Book excerpt: "Shovel bums" endure weeks of flea-bitten motel beds, greasy roadhouse food, tempermental field vehicles, and long stretches of boredom to practice that most romantic of intellectual endeavors-archaeology. Ignored by the profession, working for low wages and little respect, they represent the vast majority of practicing archaeologists in North America. But, unlike unwed welfare mothers and highway underpass junkies, their plight is unknown and unheralded. No longer. The comix Shovel Bum, developed by de Boer and others in those late night beer sessions at the Motel 6, has now become a book, outlining the trials and tribulations of these unsung heroes of archaeology. Which SUV works best in the mud? How do you survey in a field of unexploded military ordnance? Which motel has the biggest breakfast? How do you construct your own trowel pouch? For an entertaining look at archaeology as it is really practiced in the United States, pick up a copy of Shovel Bum.