{"598785":{"#nid":"598785","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Carpenter Digs Working as Archaeologist ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJacob \u0026ldquo;Jack\u0026rdquo; Davis has traveled to the southeast African nation of Malawi almost every summer since 2011. But, not for vacation. Davis, who is a carpenter II at Georgia Tech 11 months of the year, spends each July in Malawi working as an archaeologist, exploring pre-historic areas of civilization.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen talking to a young archaeologist who works at a university, the first question is: Did his interest in archaeology come from\u0026mdash;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Indiana Jones? Absolutely!\u0026rdquo; Davis interjects. \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m a huge fan of Indiana Jones. I\u0026rsquo;ve got the hat.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe was even in the stage show performance of the movie at Disneyland for one day \u0026mdash; just for giggles, he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut his work as an archaeologist is no laughing matter. He is a main member of a project that recently made news for discovering the oldest DNA in Africa. The team conducted a genome-wide analysis of 16 African individuals who lived up to 8,100 years ago. And, they found evidence for a divergent human lineage contributing to western Africans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe leader of the project is Jessica Thompson, a Paleolithic archaeologist and assistant professor of anthropology at Emory University. She also is Davis\u0026rsquo;s wife. The two met in Malawi in 2011 during a three-week field course. Davis was finishing his bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree in archaeology from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, where he was born and raised.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore studying archaeology, Davis was a retail manager for REI, the outdoor recreation store. He wasn\u0026rsquo;t satisfied with his job and wanted to change his life. So, he considered getting a degree in civil engineering because he figured it would partner well with carpentry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThen, his best friend asked, \u0026ldquo;Would that be your dream job? Would that make you really happy?\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDavis replied, \u0026ldquo;No. Archaeology would make me happy. Being able to travel the world, to see cool things that haven\u0026rsquo;t been seen in such a long time, and to learn more about people. That would really be great.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHis friend said, \u0026ldquo;Well, go do that.\u0026rdquo; Davis did.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile a full-time archaeology student, Davis also was in the army, and he worked as an apprentice carpenter in Brisbane. He and his wife moved to the U.S. two and a half years ago when she accepted the position at Emory.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDavis started working at Tech in February of 2016. He helps with carpentry needs in Area 2 of campus, which includes the Krone Engineered Biosystems Building, Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Ford Environmental Science and Technology Building, Georgia Tech Police Department, and the president\u0026rsquo;s residence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It could be repairing cabinets. There are a lot of doors that need to be fixed; gravity and time warp the hinges,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDavis\u0026rsquo;s experience as a carpenter and his ability to use tools is very useful when on an archaeological dig.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Everything breaks in Africa,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;You can have the most reliable thing in the world and it will break as soon as you arrive. I had a new Fitbit and it broke two days in. Then when I got back home, it started working again,\u0026rdquo; he laughed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If you\u0026rsquo;re an archaeologist in the field, after a couple of years, you will come out knowing basic electrical work, basic mechanical work, and basic carpentry,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re constantly sharing ways to fix things.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, what does Davis look forward to when returning to Malawi every July?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe said the country is beautiful, and the people are warm and inviting. He has made some good friends, and he looks forward to reuniting with them every summer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe also looks forward to the food.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Tomatoes with a bit of salt on them,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;The food is sensational. All of the produce is picked each morning. We have local guys who cook for us, and the whole crew sits down like a big family every afternoon. We have these giant cook-out meals with tomatoes, collard greens, onions, beans and an easy-to-make local bread called nsima.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe said he is fortunate to have supervisors at Tech who are supportive of his work in archaeology, as well as his educational pursuits. He plans to apply for Tech\u0026rsquo;s master\u0026rsquo;s program in geographic information science and technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Tech has so many opportunities for employees it\u0026rsquo;s ridiculous,\u0026rdquo; Davis said. \u0026ldquo;You have STRAP and TAP (education assistance programs), and being able to work here and go to school\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nis fantastic.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJacob \u0026ldquo;Jack\u0026rdquo; Davis has traveled to the southeast African nation of Malawi almost every summer since 2011. But, not for vacation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jacob \u201cJack\u201d Davis has traveled to the southeast African nation of Malawi almost every summer since 2011. But, not for vacation.\u00a0"}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2017-11-14 19:32:56","changed_gmt":"2017-11-14 19:42:07","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2017-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"598787":{"id":"598787","type":"image","title":"Jack Davis","body":null,"created":"1510688218","gmt_created":"2017-11-14 19:36:58","changed":"1510688218","gmt_changed":"2017-11-14 19:36:58","alt":"Jack Davis, carpenter, works\u00a0in the MS\u0026E Building","file":{"fid":"228278","name":"DSC_5807.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5807.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5807.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":272174,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_5807.jpg?itok=lVIbVo-x"}},"598788":{"id":"598788","type":"image","title":"Jack Davis in Malawi","body":null,"created":"1510688310","gmt_created":"2017-11-14 19:38:30","changed":"1510688310","gmt_changed":"2017-11-14 19:38:30","alt":"Jack Davis in Malawi in July 2016","file":{"fid":"228279","name":"P7080055.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/P7080055.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/P7080055.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1560007,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/P7080055.jpg?itok=PACVewFr"}},"598789":{"id":"598789","type":"image","title":"Jack Davis and group in Malawi","body":null,"created":"1510688337","gmt_created":"2017-11-14 19:38:57","changed":"1510688337","gmt_changed":"2017-11-14 19:38:57","alt":"Jack Davis and group in Malawi in July 2016","file":{"fid":"228280","name":"hora valley.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hora%20valley.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hora%20valley.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":624640,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hora%20valley.jpg?itok=UUzEK-Hi"}},"598786":{"id":"598786","type":"image","title":"Bill Halabi and Jack Davis","body":null,"created":"1510688185","gmt_created":"2017-11-14 19:36:25","changed":"1510688185","gmt_changed":"2017-11-14 19:36:25","alt":"Bill Halabi and Jack Davis in the MS\u0026E Building","file":{"fid":"228277","name":"DSC_5740.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5740.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_5740.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":933166,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_5740.jpg?itok=r4c7vuYR"}}},"media_ids":["598787","598788","598789","598786"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=M80i5UeyPuY","title":"VIDEO: Malawi yields oldest-known DNA from Africa"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"3157","name":"Facilities"},{"id":"167018","name":"staff"},{"id":"3918","name":"profile"},{"id":"176249","name":"carpenter"},{"id":"861","name":"Africa"},{"id":"1802","name":"international"},{"id":"4152","name":"whistle"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}