Trent de Boer

"The Archaeological Zine Shovel Bum" by Trent de Boer

• fanzine, usually defined as 'magazine for fans,' for de Boer became a fanatic magazine
• started in 1997, while doing CRM (cultural resource management) with wife Betty at Oachita National Forest in Arkansas
• Shovel Bum = " a periodical geared toward fanatical archaeological field technicians"
• inspired by Porcellino's King-Cat and Other Stories to write "comix" (comics for adults) about the day-to-day life of the CRM archaeologist
• target audience in the beginning: family and friends
• at the start, the fanzine was about methods, reasons for methods, and about dispelling stereotypes about archaeology (pyramids, fossils and mummies) by explaining things like orienteering and site recordation
• the use of humor was an important element in all the comix
• Shovel Bum was a way for de Boer to show people the joys of being an archaeologist
• with more popularity, Shovel Bum became about the lifestyle of the archaeologist and incorporated stories and content from other archaeologists
• zine structured by themes: food, bad motels, field vehicles, e.g.
• miscellaneous content made it into the zines as well: recipes, letters to the editor, games, poetry
• because the CRM community is small, the zine helps bring members together and help others feel like a part of the community
• CRM sites = Shovel Bum reunions
• collection of Shovel Bum comix published by AltaMira Press
• at the end of the article, de Boer solicits submissions/contributions to Shovel Bum: even YOU can be a shovel bum...