That random lady at a dig site told me I was scrubbing pottery wrong and she was right

I was volunteering on a small site outside Santa Fe back in 2021, brushing dirt off some broken potsherds like I'd seen on TV. This older volunteer named Carol walked over and said I was using too much pressure and would scratch the surface details off. I switched to a softer brush and tiny wooden picks, and suddenly I could see these faint red paint lines I'd completely missed before. Has anyone else gotten unexpected corrections from strangers that actually improved their work?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.mia24d ago

Did Carol explain how she learned that technique herself?

james67224d ago

A buddy of mine tried tracking down where Carol picked up that trick. He spent a whole afternoon digging through old forum posts and YouTube comments. Turns out the trail went cold about six years ago. Someone claimed she learned it from a retired contractor in New Mexico, but that guy moved and left no forwarding address. My friend ended up just trying to replicate the technique from a blurry screenshot. It worked maybe 30 percent of the time.