For steelworkers, it was the roaring, explosive energy of a newly tapped blast furnace or the glowing of the coke works and slag dump at night. For me, it was the wail of the saws pruning the steel beams that stamped America's urban landscape with its unique signature, the skyscraper.
Robots can assemble automobiles.
But it takes uncommon talent, a strong body, and a mind that knows no fear to be able to transform piles of red dirt and scrap into the molten metal that is poured, rolled, and pounded into the various shapes that support the mainframes of civilization. Without doubt, the experience of growing up in the shadow of the Steel forged my own approach to archaeology, giving me a special understanding of the tension that archaeologists often see in emerging states or towns.