The First Artifacts

The current report’s objective was to locate artifacts on the college grounds. The sports field at the university and its surroundings served as the study space. The selection criteria were based on the concentration of students and heavy passenger traffic. Due to its heavy foot traffic and popularity as a gathering place for students, the sports field met these requirements. Visual observation was the main technique used to identify the artifacts, and a camera was used to record the information.

The athletic fields had a lot of antiquities. The sample area measured roughly 100 by 100 meters. On the east and west sides of the sports field, there were trees that provided shade. A concrete pavement surrounded the outer edges of the sports field. On the north and south sections of the field, there was a seating area that could accommodate about 1,000 students. The study was undertaken during autumn when most trees had shed their leaves as illustrated in Figure 6. The most common artifacts were cigarette butts. This was an indicator that most of the students smoked cigarettes within the sports grounds. Other artifacts identified included receipts, stickers, and a red polythene paper. Therefore, it was noted that most students and staff were irresponsibly dumping cigarette waste. Figures 1 to 6 depicts some of the artifacts and the location where the artifacts were located. Some were found on the pavement, while others were found on the close to the trees planted within the sports area.

Figure 1 Cigarette butts

Figure 2 Whitepaper

Figure 3 Sticker

Figure 4 Polythene bag

Figure 5 Receipt

Figure 6 Cigarette ash

Discussion

The intended purpose of the study area was for sports: football, and athletics in particular. However, it was noted that students had transformed the area into an unofficial smoking zone. The cigarette butts that littered the entire area indicated that students or staff smoked cigarettes in the area. There was no particular pattern in the manner in which the artifacts were distributed. The artifacts were found in different areas within the sports field such as the pavement, unpaved areas next to the field and at the base of the trees that surrounded the field. Besides, it was noted that the artifacts did not cluster at one point. This was an indicator that the artifacts were trash-dumped by lone students or staff because there would have been a cluster of trash if the students were many. A case in point, only one to four cigarette butts were found in each of the locations, which is consistent with the average number of cigarettes that one person can some per day (Bjartveit and Tverdal). Therefore, it was concluded that individual students or members of staff smoked in the area probably in isolation because it was not a designated smoking area. Another hypothesis was that the cigarettes found on the pavement or next to the pavement were dropped by passersby traversing the sports field.

Some of the artifacts were related while others were not related. For instance, the receipt was presumed to be the sales receipt for the cigarettes. The ash was derived from the combustion of the tobacco and cellulose in the cigarette. However, there was no association between the red polythene bag and the sticker and the white paper. The white paper bore similarities to a writing pad that may have been accidentally dropped by a student or any other person within the campus premises because there was no any other piece of white paper within the university premises.

The artifacts collected within the university premises to some extent reflected the behavior of the students, staff, and employees within the campus. The cigarette butts litter indicated that some of the persons within the campus were smoking tobacco, which is harmful to human health. Therefore, the smokers were either oblivious to the dangers posed by cigarette smoking or they did not care about their health. Since cigarette smoking is also linked to alcohol and substance abuse, it was presumed that the persons who smoked might also be engaging in substance use. Some of the cigarette butt artifacts bore the Marlboro label, which was an indicator that some of the smokers were cognizant of the adverse health effects associated with tobacco. According to research findings, persons who smoke Marlboro know that it has low tar content (Cummings et al.). However, since the cigarette has little tar and better filters, the smokers presume that Marlboro cigarettes are less harmful, which is false.

Additionally, the presence of the artifacts was an indicator that the cleaning services providers were not thorough in ensuring that there was no trash within the campus precincts. Upon reflection, the researchers noted that no conscious bias influenced the study and the identification of the sample area. However, subconsciously the researcher hoped that identification of cigarette artifacts would motivate the university administration to designate the campus as a tobacco-free zone. In brief, most of the artifacts identified were cigarette butts. A summary of the artifacts was presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Artifact summary

Number

Location

Description

Use

01

Pavement,

Next to the pavement

Cigarette butts

Tobacco smoking

02

Pavement

Receipt

Proof of purchase

03

Next to the pavement

Red polythene bag

Carrier

04

Sticker

Product label

Product identification

Works Cited

Bjartveit, K, and A Tverdal. “Health Consequences of Smoking 1-4 Cigarettes per Day.” Tobacco Control, no. 14, vol. 5, 2005, pp. 315–320.

Cummings, K M et al. ”What Do Marlboro Lights Smokers Know about Low-Tar Cigarettes?” Nicotine Tobacco Research, no. 6, vol. 3, 2004, pp. 323–32.