2006 Backdirt

download 2006 Backdirt

of 68

Transcript of 2006 Backdirt

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    1/68

    ANNUALREVIE

    BACKDIRT

    The Annual Review of News, Research & Activities

    of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA

    www.ioa.ucla.edu/backdirt

    Winter 2006

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    2/68

    CLA is an engine or rea -wor

    nnovation t at impacts our ives on a

    ai y asis. Our sc o ars, t roug t eir

    wor , enric society at a eve s. T e

    otsen Institute, t e argest program o

    ts kind in North America, serves as a

    ational center of archaeological study

    hrough its public education programs,

    raduate student training, field research

    rojects, publications and books, andnternationa seminars on rea t roug s

    n researc .

    Wit active ie programs in 17

    ountries inc u ing A ania, Bang a es ,

    a i ornia, Cana a, C i e, C ina, Egypt,

    Greece, Iceland, India, Italy, Mexico,

    anama, Peru, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey,

    he research that we conduct spans the

    ull range of archaeological approaches,

    rom t e most umanistic to t e most

    cienti ic.

    T e Cotsen Institute rings toget er t ea ents o stu ents an sc o ars in ie s t at span t e university in exp orations o uman

    ocieties an t e natura wor t roug c assica stu ies in arc aeo ogy an ant ropo ogy,

    s we as t e spectrum o new now e ge in umanistic an scienti ic ie s.

    Our laboratorys work on materials from these and other projects produces invaluable

    nowledge. Our research seminars and public lectures bring together scholars from a wide

    ange of perspectives serving to stimulate and create new theoretical knowledge.

    In our new, expanded issue of Backdirt,we will highlight the three core missions of the

    otsen Institute of Archaeology: research, education, and publications.

    On e a o a o our acu ty, researc associates, sta , an stu ents, I we come you

    o rea a out t e exciting iscoveries aroun t e arc aeo ogica wor con ucte ere at

    CLA.

    Charles Stanish

    Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology

    Professor of Anthropology

    Lloyd E. Cotsen Chair in Archaeology

    BACKDIRT

    ANNUALREVIEW

    a pu ication o t e Cotsen Institute

    Archaeology at UCLA

    irector C ar es Stanis

    irector of Publications Julia L.J. Sanc

    EDITORIAL

    Executive editor Julia L.J. Sanc

    Editor Shauna Meca

    E itoria consu tant He e Girey

    ART

    Art Design irector S auna Meca

    hoto editor Shauna Meca

    esign consultant Mac Marston

    EDITORIALSERVICES

    Electronic publishing Estella Tse

    Administration

    egan Carney and Judy Prays

    CIRCULATION

    irculation director Julia L.J. Sanc

    ember services Sheryol Three

    To receive a copy of Backdirt: Annual Re

    contact Sheryol Threewit at threewit@

    e u or 310 794-4839.

    To download this issue in PDF format

    our We site at www.ioa.uc a.e u ac

    Archive issues are also available online

    Any questions or comments? P ease co

    Shauna Mecartea at (310) 825-7411.

    DIRECTORSMESSAGE

    The future of the Cotsen

    nstitute

    NEWBACKDIRTSECTIONS:

    Distinguished Alumni page 6

    Ma ing a Di erence page 7

    Re ections on Researc page 12

    Facu ty an La oratory Pro i es page 46

    ANNUALREVIEW

    BACKDIRT

    The Annual Review of News,Research & Activities

    of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA

    www.ioa.ucla.edu/backdirt

    Winter 2006

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    3/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review

    contentsWinter 2006

    23

    24

    29

    FEATURES

    DEPARTMENTS

    19 The Tarapaca Multidisciplinary

    Archaeological ExpeditionAn overview of the project and first findings

    By Ran Boytner, Maria Cecilia Lozada, IoannaKakoulli and Mario Rivera

    24 Archaeology, Conservation and the new

    UCLA/Getty ProgramAn in-depth discussion of the conservationprogram and its curriculumBy Ellen Pearlstein

    29 Understanding Dufile: Archaeology inUgandaA team of 20 surveys a site in Northern

    UgandaBy Merrick Posnansk

    32 The Archaeology Programiscussion of interdisciplinarity in

    rchaeology at UCLABy Richard Lesure

    2 Student News

    4 Volunteer Profiles

    6 Distinguished Alumni

    7 aking a Difference

    8 Institute Notes

    12 Reflections on Research

    36 Alumni Happenings

    37 Institute News

    40 Between the Lines

    46 Faculty Profiles

    54 Laboratory Profiles

    59 Faculty Publications & Grants

    63 Cotsen Institute Donors

    65 Calendar

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    4/68

    2 Backdirt: Annual Review

    STUDENTNEWS

    First conservation program class

    enrolls at InstituteBy Vanessa MurosT e UCLA Getty Program in Arc aeo ogica an Et nograp iconservation is p ease to announce its irst c ass o incoming

    tu ents:hristian De Brer recent y earne a B.F.A. in Art rom UCLA. He

    wor e as an intern at t e Fow er Museum o Cu tura History an as aresearch assistant in the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program.

    zge Gencay Ustun became interested in conservation duringer M.A. work in Art History and Archaeology at the University of

    aryland, College Park. Her internship at the Walters Art Museum inBaltimore and her B.S. degree in Chemistry from the Istanbul Technica

    niversity in Tur ey pave t e way to er conservation career. A t ouge is main y intereste in ancient civi izations, uring er interns ipe as wor e on iverse materia s at p aces suc as t e new Nationauseum o American In ian an an excavation site in Tur ey.

    olly Gleeson ecame intereste in conservation as an un ergra uateat the University of Delaware, where she majored in Art ConservationShe also pursued coursework in archaeology, participated in a summerield school and completed internships in paintings, objects and

    archaeological conservation. After graduating in 2002, she was anntern in archaeological conservation at the Colonial Williamsburg

    Foun ation in Wi iams urg, VA, an wor e on a ie project onEaster Is an .Allison Lewisreceive a B.A. rom Stan or University in C assics wit

    a minor in Arc aeo ogy. S e as interne at t e Asian Art Museum oSan Francisco an wor e or ive years at t e Iron Age Site o Monteolizzo, Sicily. Her interests are in the conservation of archaeologicabjects, archaeological field conservation, and site management.

    teven Pickman received a B.A. in Anthropology from Brandeisniversity. He is interested in a range of topics in conservation, buas a specific interest in the conservation of materials from marinenvironments. Steven as wor e as an intern at t e Sout Stree

    Seaport Museum an at a private conservation practice, Cu turareservation an Restoration.Liz Werdenreceive a B.F.A. wit a specia ty in p otograp y an i m

    rom Massac usetts Co ege o Art in Boston. Upon gra uation, s emoved to Los Angeles where she became fascinated with archaeologyand completed the Certificate in Archaeology Program at UCLAExtension. Liz has contributed towards a number of field and lab

    rojects throughout California, including the Santa Barbara Maritimeuseum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and California rock art

    onservation.

    Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    5/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 3

    New archaeology program studentsBy Helle Girey

    T e Arc aeo ogy Gra uate Program exten s a warm we cometo ive new arc eo ogy stu ents an one new ant ropo ogystu ent, a o w om starte t eir stu ies in Fa 200 :

    ack Davey wi stu y t e arc aeo ogy o t e Koreanpeninsula, focusing on the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla

    periods (c. 50 BCE to 936 CE). He isnterested in how the developing Korean

    kingdoms in these periods influencedand were influenced by societies in

    ina an t e Japanese arc ipe ago. To

    o t is e wi ocus on two areas: t eity o Gyeongju an t e Gaya po ity.

    Gyeongju was a oose co ection ovi ages t at trans orme over t e course

    f 600 years to become the expansiveapital city of the Silla kingdom, while

    the Gaya polity was a confederacy of tribes in southern Koreaduring the early Three Kingdoms period. He will study withLot ar von Fa en ausen, Pro essor o Art History.

    Kelly Fong is an istorica arc aeo ogist ocusing on AsianAmerican sites. S e is intereste in stu ying istoricC inatowns, particu ar y in t eSacramento-San Joaquin De ta area.Her research is interdisciplinary,integrating method-ologies and theoriesfrom archaeology and Asian AmericanStudies. Her committee chair is Jeanne

    Arnold, Professor of Anthropology.usanna Lam is a student of von

    Fa en ausen. Her primary researcinterest is t e ancient Si Roa , witspeci ic ocus on Centra Asia an

    Western C ina. S e is intereste in exp oring t e connectivity

    between the East and the West in that area from the secondmillennium BCE through the first millennium AD. Besideshe Silk Road, she is also interested in

    antiquity law and public archaeology.Abigail Levineis studying archaeologyn t e Department o Ant ropo ogy,

    wor ing wit C ar es Stanis anristop er B. Donnan, Pro essors o

    Ant ropo ogy. S e receive er B.A.an M.A. rom Stan or University in

    Anthropological Sciences. Her Mastershesis focused on mold-made pottery

    erio . For er issertation s e p ans ontu ying t e evo ution o cooperativeolities in the northern Titicaca Basin,n the southern Peruvian highlands.

    She received an NSF graduate researchellowship.Lyssa Stapeltons areas of interest areentra European Iron Age, materia

    u ture, an mortuary stu ies. S e is

    ntereste in t e cu tura signi icancegrave goo s an uria s ty e an

    ritua . T etechnology behind material culture isof great interest as is human osteologybecause of its obvious importance tomortuary studies. Lyssa participated inthe UCLA excavations in Albania thissummer wit er co-c airs Sara Morrian Jo n Papa opou os, Pro essors oC assics.

    ebastian Wrmlander is a Swe ewit a ac groun in science, w o wibe working with Viking Age archaeology

    articularly with Jesse Byocks (Professorf Germanic Languages) excavationn Mosfell, Iceland. Sebastian will

    also spend some time in David ScottsPro essor o Conservation an Art

    History conservation a oratory, usingpectroscopic tec niques to c aracterize

    ancient materia s.Ric ar Lesure, C air o t e

    Archaeology Graduate Program,will be concentrating this year onncreasing funding opportunities for the graduate students

    To stay competitive among the top universities in the field ofarchaeology, there is a need to offer multi-year fellowships to

    ur app icants. Bot un raising an extramura e ows ippportunities wi e exp ore .We come ac , acu ty an stu ents new an o or anot eruccess u year at t e Cotsen Institute o Arc aeo ogy.

    Girey is Director of Public Programs

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    6/68

    4 Backdirt: Annual Review

    Being a second generation UCLA alumnus is only oneway harlie Steinmetzis associated with Los Angeles and itscampus.At the Cotsen Institute alone, Charlie is a devoted volunteer

    and founding member of the Directors Council, a groupof supporters who donate a $1,000 or more to the CotsenInstitute.

    C ar ie is a great supporter o arc aeo ogy at UCLA, saiC ar es Stanis , Director o t e Cotsen Institute. His een

    usiness sense as een a great e p an is a vice as e pe

    us be a more effective organization. We owe him a lot.harlie, who received his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson

    School of Management and later became Vice President ofTiernay Metals, always had an interest in archaeology, but wasonly able to dedicate free time to it when he sold the companya ter 20 years o emp oyment, an retire in 1999.

    I igure , I m 0now I can grow up an o w at I want too, C ar ie sai .A ter searc ing t e Internet or pu ic ectures on arc aeo ogy,

    C ar ie oun t e Cotsen Institute an atten e t e ecturewhere he met Richard Leventhal, former Director of theCotsen Institute.

    Since that evening Charlie has invested much of his energyinto archaeology at UCLA. In 2001, Charlie funded a chair,and Sarah Morris was the first to receive the distinguished title:Steinmetz Pro essor o C assica Arc aeo ogy an MateriaCu ture. As part o t e Director s Counci , w ic a ows t eprivi ege o trave ing wit resi ent arc aeo ogists to t eirrespective sites upon urt er un ing, e visite Egypt, C ina,Peru, an most recent y A ania, w ere e ug or six wee s

    with Morris and John K. Papadopoulos, Professor of Classics.This Institute is set up to get people to volunteer and donate,

    Charlie said. Its really open to volunteersyou just have to

    come in here and theres a wide variety of opportunities,continued Charlie, noting that the Friends of Archaeology,a Cotsen Institute support group, oes a great jo o ma ing

    vo unteer positions avai a e.As a person e icate to e ucation an outreac , C ar ie

    a so set up an Arc aeo ogy Program grant t at requires t erecipient to give a presentation on arc aeo ogy to e ementarystudents in the Los Angeles area.

    harlie believes that many are interested in archaeology,including children, and that the best way to encourage childrento read is by introducing them to an interesting topic.

    harlie funds outreach programs here at the institute and

    hroughout Los Angeles by financing inner-city literacy projectshrough the Steinmetz Foundation. He also works with theCLA Cu tura Virtua Rea ity La oratory, an was projec

    manager on t e Port Roya Virtua Rea ity reconstruction ae Ocean Institute, w ic a ows c i ren to virtua y exp oree amous pirate co ony.On top o a o t is, C ar ie a so maintains a spot on t e

    Board of Visitors of UCLA Library, Board of the UCLAAlumni Association, and Board of the American Institute oArchaeology.

    And with all of these commitments Charlie still has enoughnergy to contemplate future goals like acquiring more graduatetu ent un ing.W en as e w at e is most prou o in is years vo unteering

    at t e Cotsen Institute e simp y sai : It s w at we re going too next.

    VOLUNTEERPROFILES

    Getting involvedBy Shauna Mecartea

    Ways to Get Involved

    Volunteer Contact Julia Sanchez at (310)825-4004 or [email protected]

    Attend a lecture or event Contact Helle Girey at (310)825-0612 or [email protected] or

    go to www.ioa.ucla.edu/events/

    events.php

    Friends of Archaeology Contact Don Corbett at

    [email protected]

    Institute Circle Contact Don Corbett [email protected]

    Directors Council Contact Helle Girey at (310) 825-

    0612 or [email protected]

    Travel Study Program Contact Summer Sessionsat (310) 825-2460 or

    [email protected]

    UCLA Extensions Certificate of

    Archaeology Program

    Contact Extension at (310) 206-

    8456 or locke@uclaextension.

    edu

    Charlie Steinmetz in Tarapaca, Chile.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    7/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 5

    By com ining is ent usiasm or engineering an arc aeo ogy,

    D. Michael Henderson as een a e to s are is expertisewith the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology.

    Since April 2004, Michael has been volunteering for CharlesStanish, Director of the Cotsen Institute, in Taraco, Peru, inorder to fulfill a research requirement for UCLA ExtensionsCertificate in Archaeology Program.

    ic ae , w o receiveis P .D. in Engineering

    an App ie Sciencerom Ya e University,

    recent y a e anot ercredential to his belt

    in April 2005 when hecompleted his researchproject and paper entitledWater Managementin t e Taraco Regiono A tap ano Peru:Contemporary Practices

    wit Imp ications or t eArc aeo ogica Stu ies othe Region.

    Over the past twoseasons at Taraco,Michael has focusedon the topography andy ro ogy o t e region in or er to investigate ow ear ier

    peop e manipu ate t e an or omestic usage, p ants ananima s.

    ic ae exp ains t at in many ways,water usage in t e Taraco region aschanged little throughout history, andthat by studying how water resourcesare used today, it is hoped that it willgive insight into water usage by earlier

    people.Accor ing to Stanis , Mic aestu ie t e mec anisms o ancient

    water management an eve opemat ematica mo e s to un erstancana construction an use, an t en

    went to the field to ground check hiscalculations.

    Mike has done a phenomenal job working under toughconditions, Stanish said. He has discovered a numberof important patterns in the ancient land use of the Taracoarea.

    While Michael focused on conducting research in Peru, he

    also enjoyed getting to experience different cultures in a wayhat is just not possible as a tourist. Being able to interac

    with a diverse group of people was an unexpected and veryrewar ing ene it rom t e experience, Mic ae sai .A t oug Mic ae on y recent y ecame invo ve in t e ie

    arc aeo ogy, e a ways e an interest in it uring is 30ear pro essiona careerrevious y, e serve

    as Division Managerand Director of Caliornia Engineering

    for Raytheon System

    ompanys Sensorsan E ectronic SystemsSegment. Prior to t emerger o Hug es

    Aircra t Company witRayt eon in 1997he spent 25 years in

    various technical andmanagement positions.

    Upon retirementMichael finally had timeto pursue is ong- enterest an trave e to

    Hungary an Ecua orwit University Researc Expe itions Program.

    I got t e ug, sai Mic ae , w o eci e to enro at UCLAExtension after his travels to learn moreabout archaeology.

    I wanted to be considered more thana volunteer, he said, explaining that it

    was important for him to develop skillst at wou a ow im to contri ute at a

    ig er eve .

    Mic ae oo s orwar to exp oringwater management at t e Taraco sitewit Stanis next season, noting, i emost scholars do, that [research] is anunending process.

    He hopes that starting next seasonhe will begin to understand the extent

    hat the earlier people of the Taraco region transformed theiratura environment.

    Engineering a passion

    By Shauna Mecartea

    Michael Henderson (right) with Edgar (left) at Charles

    Stanishs excavation site next to the Rio Ramis.

    Michael Henderson in a residual raised field complex on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    8/68

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    9/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review

    an onors, inc u ing Frien s o Arc aeo ogy Fe ows ip,Regents Fe ows ip, Ant ropo ogy Departmenta Awar , anUCLA Fema e Gra uate Stu ent o t e Year.A ter i ing er issertation, C ristine was rea y to eave

    UCLA and begin teaching in the Department of Anthropologyat the University of Minnesota in March 1983.As the university was searching for someone who studied New

    World archaeology with an interest in agriculture Christine

    found the position to be a perfect match for her.It allowed me to teach the topics I had mostly engaged in

    at UCLA, C ristine sai , noting t at t e 11 years s e spentt ere were ormative as s e was a e to set up an o iciapa eoet no otany a , among ot er t ings.

    In January 1994, C ristine accepte a pro essors ip at UCBerkeley where she is now. With seven microscopes, a fumehood and a range of botanical collections, Christines new labis by far the biggest she has directed in her archaeobotanicalcareer.As a tenured professor, she continues to research long-term

    human-plant relationships in the Andean region of South

    America. W i e most o er researc as een at t e Formativesite o C iripa, s e as a so een excavating at a range o sitest at span t e time up to Tiwana u. C ristine s projects aimto etter un erstan t e past t roug t e stu y o p ant-use.For example, she explains that certain crops are highly chargedsymbolically, and that they occur in certain places and atcertain times. Looking at patterns like these in agriculture cansuggest things about social relations, gender ideology, the riseof complexity, and more. These topics are expounded upon in

    er many pu ications.As Director o t e UC Ber e ey McCown Arc aeo otany

    La oratory, C ristine wi a so continue to wor on expan ingt eir see co ections i e t e Ca i ornia Historic See Co ectiont at t ey in erite rom t e Geograp y Department, w ic asover 5,000 specimens.She also has several thousand entries forher Andean seed collection and she plans on continuing toexpand and place them in a database as well.

    hristine has made a significant contribution to archaeologythrough her research, publications and lab work.

    Since gra uation s e as een one o t e most innovativet in ers in our ie an as great y contri ute to pu icizingt e nee or stu ies o p ant remains a ong wit t e ot er setso ata recovere rom arc aeo ogica sites, Popper sai .

    S e as a so ma e a signi icant impact on t e peop e s ehas worked closely withespecially her former colleagues atUCLA.When working with her in the Mantaro Valley, Earle

    remembers Christines vivid and creative dream sequences thatshe would discuss with him each day in the field.

    I t oug t, ow oring my ream ragments are in comparisonto t is young woman s active min even as s e s ept, Ear esai .

    MAKINGADIFFERENCE

    Ive volunteered at the British Council in East Jerusalem.

    East Jerusalem is the name given to parts of the city that areprimarily Palestinian; the area serves as the financial andcultural center of the Arab community. Since the outbreakof violence (or Intifada) in September 2000 in the occupiedPalestinian territory (oPt), Palestinian living standards havedeclined sharply and the economy has fallen into one of the

    worst recessions in modern history, according to the WorldBank. Aid has consequently shifted to deal with short-termemergency needs and the most recent statistics from theUnited Nations indicate that development assistance hasdeclined by 70 percent. There has been a sharp decline ineducation and health standards as well as rises in poverty

    and unemployment following the outbreak of violence, theattendant closures and the erection of the Barrier intendedto reduce the number of attacks by Palestinian militantson Israeli citizens. The United Nations Childrens Fund(UNICEF) has reported that the combination of significantdistress and long-lasting effects of rising poverty andunemployment is having an extremely negative effect on allbasic human development indicators and put the psycho-social well-being of children under significant strain. WhileIm on a Samuel H. Kress fellowship this academic year atthe WF Albright Institute of Archaeological Research Ill beteaching English as a volunteer to Palestinian children fromEast Jerusalem and the West Bank.

    Christine Thompson, Classics graduate student.

    Thompson, Classics graduate student, in Jerusalem,

    Israel.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    10/68

    8 Backdirt: Annual Review

    I had an interesting field season in Peru this summer, workingas a volunteer on Ilana Johnsons Pampa Grande ArchaeologicalProject. Fellow Archaeology graduate student Colleen Donleyan I joine er or a coup e wee s an excavate a room ina resi entia area on a 6- m2 site, a Late Moc e popu ationcenter an one o t e ear iest examp es o ur anism on t e

    An ean coast. We uncovere a rare ceramic spoon wit afeline head, and what I believe is a burned cane post and caneimpressions in adobe, giving Ilana her first indications of whatthe superstructure of these apartment-block like residences

    were made from (cane and adobe). Finally, I found a ceramicrepresentation of what Moche archaeologists call the Kingo Assyria, a c aracter associate a most exc usive y wit t eimportant uria groun o San Jose e Moro to t e sout .T is is one o t e irst pieces o evi ence t at t e two sites werein contact wit eac ot er, as ar as I now.

    John Dietler

    Archaeology graduate student

    I have spent the summer trying, unfortunately unsuccessfully,to finish my report on the excavations of the Temple of ZeusMegistos at Dura Europos, on which I have given many pizzatalks. I went to Rome in September 2005 for a conference onthe Middle Euphrates in antiquity, where I presented a paperon re igious communities at Dura-Europos.

    Susan B. DowneyProfessor of Art History

    This last summer I worked on John Papadopoulos and SarahMorris excavation at Lofknd in Albania, along with CotsenInstitute gra uate stu ents Jamie Apri e an Lyssa Stap eton.

    We ive in a ig ouse at t e site o Apo onia, a c assicaGree co ony wit some reconstructe arc itecture, inc u inga Roman o eon. Gree an A anian t eater companiescollaborated to put on a production of Aristophanes comedyLysistrata. Their innovation was to have all the mens lines in

    Albanian and the womens in Greek, emphasizing the centraltheme of the play: the struggle of wills between the sexes. Theproduction, performed in the odeon with the reconstructed

    bouleterion as the backdrop, was one of the highlights of theummer!

    Mac Marston

    Archaeology graduate studen

    John Papadopoulos and I are pleased to report the successf a second season at the burial mound of Lofknd in Albania

    (see BackdirtFall/Winter 2004), during Summer 2005. Joinedby Archaeology graduate students Jamie Aprile, Mac Marstonan Lyssa Stap eton, t is year s team inc u e t e participation

    a soi scientist supporte y an A manson grant rom t eotsen Institute o Arc aeo ogy , an two stu ents rom t eirtua Rea ity a o t e Sc oo o Arc itecture wor ing on aigita mo e o our site an its an scape setting. In t e ie5 new graves were uncovered, primarily of the Early Iron Age

    with a few early modern ones, containing exciting new findsf pottery, bronze, iron, and even gold. More lies beneath theurface, and we plan a third season to finish excavating thisighly rewarding site; a Web site is posted.

    Sarah P. Morri

    Professor of Classic

    Field notesCompiled by Shauna Mecartea

    Ceramic spoon with a feline head.

    Lysistrataactors in Roman odeon at Apollonia, Albania.

    Charlie Steinmetz with daughter, Laura, wearing Cotsen Institute gear in thefield in Albania.

    INSTITUTENOTES

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    11/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review

    MilestonesCompiled by Shauna Mecartea

    On Ju y 19, 200 , Doug as P. W ee er, C airperson ot e Nationa Par System A visory Boar , announce t eappointment of Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Research Associateand Director of the UCLA Rock Art Archive, to the NationalLandmarks Committee. As a member of the LandmarksCommittee, Van Tilburg will help form opinions about the

    adequacy of historic landmarks nominations, including theirpropose oun aries, an w et er t e properties or sites inquestion meet t e esta is e criteria or nationa signi icancean istoric integrity. A so, t e apan Times eature twoartic es on er wor . T e irst iscusse Van Ti urg s recentstu y o Kat erine Rout e ge, w o trave e to Easter Is anand studied the statues there in the early twentieth century. Thesecond article focused on Rapa Nui and Van Tilburgs research

    there. For more information onher research, see www.easterislan

    statueproject.org .In Fe ruary 200 , Thomas

    Wake, Director o t eZooarc aeo ogy La , waseature on Mo ern Marve sn t e History C anne in anpisode entitled The Butcher.Hans Barnard, Research

    Associate, presented his paper,Eastern Desert Ware: Micro-traces of a Lost People, at the

    t Annua Meeting o t eAmerican Researc Center in

    Egypt in Tucson, AZ, an att e Peop e o t e Re Seaon erence at t e Britis

    Museum in London. He recently published T16#178277: Alife of travel and tacheometry, in Reporter (The Magazine ofLeica Geosystems).

    David Carballo 05 filed his dissertation, State PoliticalAuthority and Obsidian Craft Production at the Moon Pyramid,Teoti uacan, Mexico, in t e Department o Ant ropo ogyast June. Ric ar Lesure, Associate Pro essor o Ant ropo ogy

    an C air o t e Inter epartmenta Arc aeo ogy Gra uateProgram, was t e c air o is committee. Car a o is now a

    Lecturer at the University of Oklahoma in the DepartmentAnt ropo ogy, an a Researc Associate at t e Cotsen

    Institute. Last summer e starte post- octora researc at aite ca e La Laguna, wit A e san er Borejsza Arc aeo ogyra uate stu ent , in T axca a, Mexico.Philip de Barros 8 , Researc Associate,receive a Fu rig

    n 2002 and, in 2001, won the Research Award at Palomarollege, where he is Professor of Anthropology.Willeke Wendrich, Pro essor o Near Eastern Languages &ultures, has been asked to be the first director of the UCLA

    Digital Humanities Incubator Group (UDHIG), a cooperationetween Nort Campus acu ty, t e Center o Digita

    Humanities, t e UCLA Li rary, t e Aca emic Tec no ogyServices, t e Experientia Tec no ogy Center an t e Instituteor Digita Researc an E ucation. T e purpose o UDHIGs to e p acu ty eve op igita projects an write gran

    applications for support of IT applications for research andresearch-based instruction. Applications that may be of interesor faculty of the Cotsen Institute are, for instance, long-termata storage and access, spatial (map-based) research and virtua

    reality models. Faculty members interested in exploring theseavenues o researc or teac ing are invite to contact er a

    wen ric @ umnet.uc a.e u.Laurie Wilkie 94, Associate Pro essor o Ant ropo ogy

    at t e UC Ber e ey, receive ot er M.A. an P .D. rome Arc aeo ogy Program was awar e t e prestigious James

    Deetz Award for 2005 at the York meeting of the Society forHistorical Archaeology in York, England, for her 2003 bookThe Archaeology of Mothering: An African-American Midwife

    Tale.On Ju y 7, 200 , hristopher DeCorse 89, Chair of theAnt ropo ogy Department at Syracuse University, we E iza etKe ar, c ie arc aeo ogist at T e Hermitage An rew Jac son sresi ence in Dux ury . Among t e many arc aeo ogiste e rating t e occasion were Dr. Doug as Armstrong, a so o

    Syracuse an past stu ent o ot t e Arc aeo ogy Programand the Department of Anthropology, who is now working inSt. John, and former Archaeology Program Director, Merrickosnansky (Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology)

    DeCorse hopes to undertake research in Sierra Leone, butoined Posnansky for fieldwork on the Egyptian Imperial for

    Thomas Wake in the Zooarchae-

    ology Laboratory at the CotsenInstitute.

    To maintain connection with Cotsen Institute students, alumni, research associates, faculty and other affiliates, please mail in your up-

    dates to the address on page 66 or e-mail them to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing about the latest acheivementsfrom our archaeological community. Alumni are recognized by acknowledging the year of their graduation after their name.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    12/68

    10 Backdirt: Annual Review

    at Dufile in northern Uganda in December 2005.udith Rasson, Research Associate, recently published

    The Last Frontier: Historical Archaeology of the Domenigoni andDiamond Valleys, 1880-1940, Riverside County, California witCoyote Press in Sa inas, CA avai a e t roug t eir Wes te www.coyo epress.com or 22 . T is is a summary othe historical archaeology conducted in what is now the Los

    Angeles Metropolitan Water Districts Eastside Reservoir. The

    report details the historic settlement process, comparing andcontrasting the agricultural strategies used by different settlers(noteworthy for including a number of Italian-Swiss) and thearchaeological remains they left behind.

    Bill Sapp 02 was ire y t e Unite States Departmento Agricu ture Forest Service in a permanent position as t eorest arc aeo ogist an Heritage Resources Program manager

    at t e San Bernar ino Nationa Forest.arianna Betti,Archaeology graduate student, received a six-

    month paid position as a researcher in the Center for MedievalStudies at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her work will beto theorize previously analyzed bone material from Norwegian

    archaeological sites dated around AD 1000. She will write areport on the possible changes visible from the faunal data int e important istorica context o t e turn o t e mi ennium.S e wi ta e a vantage o er resi ence in Norway to earn

    orwegian.hristine Thompson, C assics gra uate stu ent, was awar e

    a 10-month Samuel H. Kress research fellowship to spend thisacademic year at the W.F. Albright Institute of ArchaeologicalResearch in Jerusalem (the oldest American research centerfor ancient Near Eastern studies in the Middle East which istoday one of three separately incorporated institutes affiliated

    DURINGASHORTTRIPTHROUGHTHENETHERLANDS, AFTER

    THESECONDMEETINGOF

    THEUSERSGROUPFOR

    MASSSPECTROMETRYANDCHROMATOGRAPHYWITH

    KYMFAULL(RESEARCH

    ASSOCIATE) ANDALEK

    DOOLEY(INPHOTOGRAPH),

    WECAMEACROSSTHIS

    BIGBLUETROWEL, LEFT

    BYATEAMOFGIANT

    ARCHAEOLOGISTS...?

    Hans Barnard

    Research Associate

    with the American Schools of Oriental Research). She wile wor ing at t e A rig t Institute in Jerusa em w ere er

    researc on t e origins o coinage is re ate to t e internationaresearc project, T e Neo-Assyrian Empire in t e 7t centuryBC: A Stu y o Interactions etween Center an Perip ery,

    w ic invo ves 0 researc ers wor ing in 13 countries in t eiddle East and Mediterranean basin.Ernestine S. Elster, Research Associate, recently contributed

    o two publications. The first is published in Lithuanian ander contribution was translated by one of the editors, DrZivile Gimbutas, Marija Gimbutas (former UCLA professor

    aughter. She requested the chapter to be specifically aboutarija s arc aeo ogica projects. T e vo ume inc u es

    evera sc o ars iscussing Marija s contri utions to o oremyt o ogy, o art, In o-European Stu ies an more persona

    istorica reminiscenses rom er Lit uanian co eagues anriends. Zivile asked Elster to contribute this because she knewhe had been working on the second article, which examineser contributions to the field in more depth. Both includehotos of Gimbutas from childhood through her final years

    Elster was asked to contribute to the second volume becauseer ong re ations ip wit Marija: s e was c air o E ster s

    ommmitte an E ster wor e in some capacity on a ive oer excavations. T ey trave e toget er, ro e rea , ran

    wine, wor e ar an i not a ways agree, ut t ey remainerien s an co eagues ti er eat .

    Elster, Ernestine2005 Marija Gimbutiene Savo Archeologijos Pasaulyje,

    in Zivile Gimbutaite and Kornelija Jankauskaite, eds.Marija Gimbutiene...is laisku ir prisiminimu.Chicago:Lithuanian Publications, Inc., Lithuania:

    SNAPSHOT

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    13/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 1

    Summer at UCLA is usually a quiet time for staff to catch up on work,take vacations, and relax before the chaos of new and returning studentsand faculty in the fall.

    Last summer, the dedicated staff of the Cotsen Institute took on theSummer of Synergy projecta bold effort to examine everything ourinstitute does and how it can be done better. The staff met weekly,interviewed faculty, staff, and students, and took field trips to otherinstitutions. We visited the Getty Conservation Institute and GettyMuseum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Skirball

    Cultural Center. At each institution, we explored best practices and areasfor potential collaboration.The results are 33 new initiatives, ranging from improving our e-mail

    notifications to fundraising for graduate students. We have alreadycompleted 17 of these new initiatives, including the expanded, full-coloredition of Backdirt,which you are now reading.All those interviewed described the strength of the Cotsen Institute

    as integration: bringing together people, resources and ideas throughseminars and shared space. Over the coming months, you will see moreefforts to bring people and ideas together, including new event andcalendaring systems, ensuring that our successful Cotsen Visiting Scholar,Cotsen Advanced Seminar, and other programs are advertised more

    effectively.The staff of the Cotsen Institute is a dedicated team, all of whomgenuinely enjoy working with each other and are passionate about theirrole: to facilitate archaeological research and education. Without theirhard work, nothing could be done at the Cotsen Institute, but with it, thepossibilities are endless. I thank and congratulate them for continuing tostrive for excellence, and for achieving it.

    SUMMEROFSYNERGY:

    STAFFEXPLOREPOSSIBILITIES

    By Julia L.J. Sanchez

    (Left to right, back to front) Staff: Sheryol Threewit, Amber Cordts-

    Cole, Helle Girey, Gillian Bailey, Shauna Mecartea, Julia Sanchez,Vanessa Muros, and Magda Yamamoto.

    E ster, Ernestine S.2005 Marija Gimbutas: Setting the Arch-

    aeological Agenda, in Sue Hamilton,Ruth Whitehouse and Katherine

    Wright, eds., Archaeology and Women.University College London Press:London.

    From Fa 2004 to Summer 200 , GregoryAreshian con ucte researc in two areas oNear Eastern arc aeo ogy: 1 As a mem er ot e Mozan Ur es Project Ares ian starte acomprehensive study of the interaction betweenthe natural environment and social processes inthe Bronze Age of Northern Mesopotamia. (2)He continued the study of social complexity inthe Early Bronze Age of Caucasia, presenting this,second topic at two international conferences

    evote to t e arc aeo ogy o Caucasia Universityo Van, Tur ey an to t e arc aeo ogy o Eurasia

    University o C icago .In Summer an Fa 2004, Ares ian participatein the field season at Tell-Mozan, Syria.

    Two of his papers were published during thesame period of time: (1) Sequences of Signs:Eurasian Archaeology from a perspective ofCultural Semiotics, Colloquia Pontica 13:286-299, Leiden: Brill (2005); (2) Herakles, the Sun-Go -Arc er, Tyr, an Ker eros, Proceedings of theFifteenth Annual UCLA Indo-European ConferenceK. Jones-B ey et a . e s. , ournal of Indo-European

    Studies Monograph Series 49, 2004 Institute or

    the Study of Man: Washington, DC, p. 45-73.This has been another successful year inacademic advancement for Cotsen Institutestudents. amie Aprile,student of Sarah Morris,Professor of Classics, and ennifer Carey, studento Susan Downey, Pro essor o Art History,comp ete t eir M.A. egrees in 200 .

    .D. egrees were grante to inna aapanenLot ar von Fa en ausen, Pro essor o Art

    History an Bekir Grdil E iza et Carter,Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures)

    with dissertations titled: From a Community to

    Communities of Practice The Late Shang DynastySite o Miaopu Locus Nort at Anyang, HenanProvince, China, and Architecture and SocialComp exity in t e Laste U ai Perio : A Stu yo t e Bui t Environment o De rmentepe inEast Anato ia, respective y.Anna Noah, stu ento Jeanne Arno Pro essor o Ant ropo ogya so comp ete er issertation on t e aunaassemblages on Santa Cruz Island.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    14/68

    12 Backdirt: Annual Review

    REFLECTIONSONRESEARCH

    Fo owing Kennet Pi e an Marvin Harris, t e terms -eticand -emic have come to be in common use, particularly in

    American anthropology. They are the abbreviations of termsfirst used in linguistics, as in phonetics and phonemics.The abbreviated form of the first term, -etic, is however,etymologically improper, for the correct Greek suffix is -tik-os as seen, or instance, in suc wor s erive in Eng isrom Gree as pneuma-tic, po i-tic, ermeneu-tic wit vowe s

    ot er t an t e e o p one-tic , or ga ac-tic, p antas-tic witconsonants . In ot er wor s, t e e o -etic oes not e ong to

    t e su ix ut is rat er an intrinsic component o t e nominabase to which -tic is appended. To illustrate the point fromthe perspective of an ear attuned to English, -etic stands tophonetic the way -tiful stands to beautifulhence myseemingly odd writing (e)-tic in the title. The term -em-ic, onthe other hand, is a proper (double) suffix, with the element-em a constituting wor s in t eir own rig t, suc as pro -em, rom w ic a jectives wit t e su ix -ti - may in turn e

    erive , as in pro -ema-tic.An yet, owever etymo ogica y inappropriate t ese terms

    may be, they serve a useful purpose in providing a shorthandreference to a very specific and important theoretical constructone which, however, is not generally understood with sufficientprecision. It is this construct that I would like to elucidate here,bringing out its importance for archaeological reasoning.

    In my view, the basic underlying concept is he distinctionbetween an open and a closed system, w ere -etic re ers to t e irst,an -emic to t e secon . For t e sa e o simp icity, et us ta ea set o t ree co ors, re , ye ow an green, to serve as a simp e

    ata ase or my ana ysis. In an o t emse ves, we may categorizethem chromatically according to their physical properties.This system is penbecause any number of gradations may beintroduced at any time, depending on the standards we use,

    from a common sense list to a Munsell chart to the millionsof combinations allowed on a computer. These propertiesare extracultural or -etic, and may be considered real in thesense t at a given e inition o green wi a ways corresponunivoca y to t e same p ysica entity. Distri utiona c usteringis a so possi e. T us ye ow an green orm a c uster ecauseo t eir spectra qua ities, in opposition to re , t us yie ingtwo distinct nodes, yellow-green and red.

    Such an open system is extracultural, hence it does not, asa matter of principle, tell us anything about any given culturein which these colors may have acquired a special meaning though obviously it might help us classify extant documents

    On (e)-tic and -emic

    By Giorgio Buccellati

    hat happen to be colored yellow, green or red. We will thenave a precise set of colors, which we know we can reproduce

    ven without having the documents in front of us but wewill have gained no insight into the culture from which the

    ocuments stem, i. e., no insig t into t e meaning o t eocuments. Our ocumentation wi e o jective, ut oun erstan ing c ose to ni .Let us now oo at t ese ocuments intracu tura y, o

    -emica y. In t e speci ic case in point, t e ocuments aretoplights found at street intersections, and for the purposesf our example we will claim ignorance as to their use. We

    will notice a preponderant correlation between the appearancef, respectively, the color red and the number of cars that aretopped, the color yellow and the number of cars that come to

    a a t, t e co or green an t e num er o cars t at go t rougI our evi ence were so imite t at we a on y one attestationor eac istri utiona c ass, we cou not raw any conc usionut assuming a arger corpus, we cou sa e y attri ute meaningo t e corre ationt oug t e nature o t is meaning wou

    remain unclear if based only on the observations mentioned so

    ar. But what is clear is that the system is closedin the specificense that the addition of any other color would alter the veryature of the system. The importance for an archaeologicaontext is that we can indeed establish the existence of suchose systems, an t at once t is is esta is e , we may sa e y

    assume meaning even i its u import escapes us.To procee urt er wit t e question o meaning, we mus

    ee or inary oppositions. C romatica y -etica y , ao ors are irre uci e: t e igita signature o a given co or i

    absolutely different from that of another. In a closed systemn the other hand, the exact -etic quality of the colors isot of great consequence. As long as they are within a given

    range (say, yellow may -etically be orange), their contrast ismore important than the exact hue of any one color (-emicallye ow is t e same as orange . In inguistics, one wou say t ae ow an orange are a op ones a oc romes? o t e same

    oneme c romeme? .T ere is a pro oun corre ation etween t e -emic an

    tic imensions o a set o ata, or t e components o t eormer are univocally bracketed to those of the latter. Thus, thehonemic inventory of a language accounts for each and everyne of the phonetic realizations of the same language (clustered

    as allophones within a single phoneme), and conversely, every

    honetic realization has one, and only one, correspondencewit t e p onemic inventory. Suc tig t rac eting o t e twoystems, c ose an open, ma es t e c oseness o t e ormera t e more comp ex, since it is not on y c ose in itse , u

    ou y c ose y re erence to t e open system to w ic it israc ete .As more binary oppositions are noticed, the attribution o

    meaning can become more specific. For instance, the correlationbetween the flashing of colors and their impact on the trafficuggests that we may combine green and red as representing aixed state, and yellow as representing a transitional state. Or

    again, since we can veri y t at t e appearance o t e co or i

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    15/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 13

    Three high status Moche tombs were recently excavated at the

    ite of Dos Cabezas, located at theelta of the Jequetepeque River onthe north coast of Peru (Donnan2003 . Care u o servation o t etypes, num ers, an ocations o

    jects in t ese tom s in icatest at t e Moc e were e i erate y

    ustering o jects in sets oive, 10, 20, and 40. The tombs

    also include some objects thatappear to have been deliberatelymade using these numbers.

    This evidence for the deliberatean repetitive use o speci icum ers imp ies t at t e Moc eonsi ere t ese num ers toe signi icant, per aps carryingome sym o ic importance,

    and also appreciated how theumbers could be combined andivided into sets.

    The three tombs were locatedin a massive adobe pyramid. Eachtom consiste o a rectangu ar

    umerica patterns inoc e tom s

    By Christopher B. Donnan

    burial chamber witha small compartmentadjacent to one end.T e compartments weremeant to e miniature

    versions o t e u sizeom s. Bot t e tom s

    an t eir a jacent

    ompartments alusters ofrendas (small,rudely made ceramic

    vessels resembling cook-ng ollas or jars) almostnvariably in groups ofive, 10, or 20 Figures, 2 .Two o t e tom s

    were roo e wit argewoo eams. One a

    0 beams extending east-west, while the other had 10 beams

    xtending north-south and five beams extending east-westOne of the tombs had a layer of 40 adobes resting directly onop of the roof beams that were carefully positioned-20 adobes

    at the north end separated by a space from 20 adobes at theout en Figure 3 . Eac set o 20 was arrange in our rows

    wit ive a o es in eac . T e principa in ivi ua in t at tomwas urie wearing a nec ace o 40 quartz crysta ea s, an

    a ive go o jects in is mout . Among t e many o jectsnsi e t e unerary un e

    were two gilded coppereaddress ornaments

    each made in the form10 eat ers.

    It is also possibleo o serve t e use oum ers an num erets in t e roya tom s o

    Sipn A va an Donnan993 . In one o t e Sipnombs there were sixecklaces, each consistingf 10 large gold or silver

    beads, as well as 10

    ilded copper backflapsecorate wit izar s,an 10 si ver ac aps

    wit out ecoration op.it.: 20 . T e atter mayave een conceptua ize

    by the Moche as a set of20, divided into two sets

    f 10. There were also 10ilver and 10 gold bells

    (ibid.)again possibly seenas a set o 20 ivi e into

    Figure 1: Plan of a Dos Cabezas

    tomb. Note the c luster of 20

    ofrendasat the south end of thetomb that are divided into two

    groups of 10.

    Figure 2: Plan of a Dos Cabezas compart-

    ment. Note the cluster of 10 ofrendas, and

    two clusters of five ofrendas1.

    Figure 3: Plan of the adobes above one of

    the Dos Cabezas tombs.

    irreversible with the status of the traffic (the colors change ina sequence that is independent of any change in traffic flow,i.e., they change regardless of how many cars there are), wemay attribute not only generic meaning, but causality. The redcauses t e cars to stop.

    Even greater speci icity in t e attri ution o meaning cancome rom a wi ening circ e o istri utiona c asses app ieto t e same ata. Given suc a itiona in ormation, we may

    e a e to etermine w et er re causes cars to come to ahalt because it holds a special religious, or aesthetic, or legalstatus for the car drivers, or because it triggers automatically aresponse in the engines that approach.

    To this extent, the intracultural or -emic analysis of the dataiswithin the data, not in any ontological way, but only in termso con itione istri utiona patterns. To ma e cars stop, t ere must e wit in a range o re ue wou e inite y not

    wor , an it must e associate wit t e speci ic set o twoa itiona co ors. C ear y, it is not as t oug re y its naturecauses t ings to stop. I in ou t, as a u !

    Buccellati is Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Languages andCultures and Director of the Mesopotamian Laboratory.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    16/68

    14 Backdirt: Annual Review

    two sets of 10. And finally, there were 20 gilded-copper bells(op. cit.: 184), and 10 gilded copper discs with hollow spheresaround their circumference (op. cit.: 193-195).Another Sipn tomb had a spectacular necklace consisting

    o 20 go an si ver peanuts. T ese were strung in two rowso 10, wit eac row consisting o ive go peanuts an ivesi ver peanuts Figure 4 . T is nec ace t ere ore use ive, 10,

    and 20, as well as the division of 10 into sets of five, and thedivision of 20 into sets of five and 10.

    At both Dos Cabezas and Sipn the deliberate use of numbersand number sets can only be observed in high status tombs;tombs of lesser rank have no evidence of it. The tombs whereit as een oun are among t e ric est Moc e tom s everexcavate arc aeo ogica y. Per aps t e use o t ese num ersan num er sets was restricte to t e upper ec e on o Moc esoc ety.

    REFERENCES CITED

    Alva, Walter and Christopher B. Donnan993 Royal Tombs of Sipn. Fowler Museum of Cultural

    History, University o Ca i ornia, Los Ange es.Donnan, C ristop er B.2003 Tum as con Entierros en Miniatura: Un Nuevo Tipo

    Funerario Moc e. In oche: Hacia el Final del Milenio,omo . Santiago Uce a an E ias Mujica, e s.

    Universidad Nacional de Trujillo y la PontificiaUniversidad Catolica del PeruFondo Editorial.

    Figure 4: Necklace of gold and silver peanut beads from a Sipn tomb.

    e rescue o ca oria cave

    By Ernestine S. Elster

    Grotta Scaloria, located just inland from the Gargano

    eninsula in south eastern Italy is a unique and importantouble-chambered ritual cave which a UCLA-University of

    Genoa excavation team exp ore an stu ie in 1978, 1979an 1980. It was occupie intermittent y rom t e Uppea eo it ic t roug t e en o t e Neo it ic. Many uria s an

    vi ence o a itation were oun in t e Upper C am er w i ee Lower C am er gave evi ence o ritua use. Asi e rom a

    brief monograph of the 1978 campaign the excavations wereever published. Thus one of the richest and most fascinatingites in Mediterranean prehistory was for years consigned toblivion. However, help is on the way, for we here at theotsen Institute intend to rescue Scaloria from ignominy; our

    re iminary p ans are out ine e ow.

    BACKGROUNDThe cave is just at the edge of one of the largest plains in Italye Tavo iere, w ic itse o s evi ence o Neo it ic vi age

    i e. B oc e y roc co apse, t e entrance to t e cave an t enner c am ers remaine un istur e unti t e 1930s, w en

    wor s or water pipes cut into it an revea e its existence. Ovee years Ita ian arc aeo ogists mounte rie campaigns, t u

    ome Scaloria artifacts are stored in the local museums alongwith the materials from our excavation. Scaloria was also the

    bject of destructive attention by energetic pothunters and forome years now its entrance has been officially closed.In 1977, UCLAs Marija Gimbutas and the University of

    Genoa s Santo Tin p anne a t ree-season joint excavationwit an internationa team o sc o ars, stu ents, an scienti ic

    pecia ists inc u ing t is aut or. I participate uring t e

    tu y season o 1980 ot irecting muc o t e ana ysis annitiating an edge-ware study of the many thousands of stoneools. At the same time, other archaeologists (among whom

    was S. Tine) were excavating several of the village sites in theTavoliere Plain. One of the goals was to learn whether, how

    when, and if the Tavoliere settlers used the cave in connectionwit t eir iving sites. T at interesting question can e

    nvestigate once t e cave is pu is e .I ave t e u ious onor o eing t e on y mem er o

    Gim utas team w o is sti invo ve in arc aeo ogy, anSca oria is t e on y one o er ive excavations t at was neverully published. Indeed, before her death she handed over to

    Donnan is Professor of Anthropology, Associate Director of

    Research, and Director of the Moche Laboratory.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    17/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 15

    me a arge ox a e e Sca oria an sai , You wi see t atit is published. We will indeed, with initial support from theCotsen Institute of Archaeology and gracious cooperationfrom those team members from far and wide whom I have

    located including field directors, Drs. Shan Winn (Florida),and Dan Shimabuku (Manila), and draftsman CPh.D. LindaMount-Wi iams San Marcos . I ope to en ist stu ent an

    vo unteer e p an participation an co a oration wit ot ersc o ars w ose researc as een into t e pre istory o Ita yespecia y Pro essors Jo n Ro , Cam ri ge pu is e apre iminary report on t e uria s in t e Upper C am er anRuth Whitehouse, University College London (the oyenneofItalian prehistory).

    STRATEGYA multi-year project disturbs a lot of dirt and reveals

    t ousan s o arti acts. We can egin to put toget er t estratigrap y, w ic re ects t e occupation o t e cave an t eactivities o t e occupants rom t e rawings o t e sections,

    epositiona contexts, p ans o eac excavation square, an t earti acts iso ate . My goa as een to ocate a t e site recor s,

    which as of last month and with the assistance of Dr. JuvileGimbutas, Marijas daughter, seems finally successful. Mount-

    Williams and Shimabuku have been extremely cooperativelocating records and copying many for us. More documentsand specialist studies may already exist; in some cases, re-studyis i e y to e necessary. Sca oria is a arge, comp ex, an mu ti-

    perio site an on y t ese ata wi a ow us to ana yze it perioy perio an to interpret its comp exities. I am sti attemptingto contact ot er mem ers o t e team. It may e t at Gim utas

    was required to provide the Soprintendenza in Taranto withcopies of key documentation, and some copies may also reside

    with Tin in Genoa. To locate both sets of archives will requireboth diplomacy and luck. We are just at the beginning and Iinvite any reader interested in this rescue expedition to joinour company o sc o ars.

    Cave interior: pottery.

    Like many words in the English language, the wordarchaeology derives from a Greek word: ajrcaiologiva

    (archaiologia). As a word, archaeology has a venerableistory, stretching back at least 2,500 years. In classical Greek

    archaeology had the meaning more of antiquarian lore andancient egen s, t an it i istory. One o t e ear iesxtant uses o t e wor appears in P ato s Hippias (the Greater)a ia ogue etween Socrates an Hippias, w ic too p acen t e ater i t century BC. Here arc aeo ogy a t e

    meaning of antiquity in general. The geographer Strabo (ca64 BC AD 21) in relating an ancient story of the Armenianrace uses the word archaeology to denote ancient story. In aimilar vein, the historian Diodorus Siculus, writing in the firstentury BC, uses the word archaeology to mean antiquities

    (as in the antiquities of the Greeks and Barbarians), andancient stories or egen s, inc u ing t ose o t e Amazons

    A contemporary o t e emperor Augustus, t e Gree critican istorian Dionysius o Ha i arnassos wrote a 20-c apteraccount o w at is to ay genera y re erre to as oman

    Antiquities, though the title in Greek was RomakArchaiologia Roman Archaeology. This was one of several ancient studieshat used the word archaeology in the title, one of the mosamous being Josephus (born AD 37-38) agnum opusthat isopularly known as ewish Antiquities, but is more properly theewish Archaeology (although a rabbi and zealous defender oewis re igion an cu ture, Josep us wrote in Gree .In Dionysius Roman Archaeologyt e wor arc aeo ogy, in

    at east one passage, appearswit t e wor istory. Writinga out t e ascen ancy o Rome over Mace on an Cart ageDionysius uses the word archaeology to refer to antiquarianore, whereas history was used in a context referring tohe historical record. By the time Dionysius wrote his

    Roman Archaeology, the word history was already severaundred years old. Another historian from the Greek city of

    Ha i arnassos in ee , t e person w om Cicero u e t eat er o istory a use t e wor istory iJstoriva

    n t e opening sentence o is stu y: W at Hero otus t e

    Ha i arnassian as earnt ynqu ry

    is ere set ort Writingn t e i t century BC, Hero otus use t e wor istory torefer to inquiry or knowledge so obtained through inquiry

    Whereas the logographoihad written down current stories, theistorian set out to find the truth. Hence, the natural historian

    Theophrastos (372-371288-287 BC) entitled his study onhe research on plants Peri phyt n historia: His History was aystematic stu y ase on scienti ic o servation. Hero otosse o t e wor istory mar s not on y a iterary revo utionut t e very eginning o t e socia sciences.

    rc aeo ogy an istory

    By John K. Papadopoulos

    Papadopoulos is Professor and Chair of Classics and Director of the

    Classics Laboratory

    Elster is Research Associate and Director of the Mediterranean

    Laboratory.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    18/68

    16 Backdirt: Annual Review

    Having been exposed to it daily for more than half a century,

    I o ten in myse musing a out t e i iom o arc aeo ogicaiscourse. Its e an ow is a ways a matter o interest, an

    occasiona y o a arm. It seems astoun ing now, or examp e,t at t e wor umanist was use in t e par ance o t e Newarchaeology of the 1960s and 1970s to mean undisciplinedscholarship that proceeds only by intuitive guesswork and aimssimply to confirm what has already been assumed to be true.

    And, more recently, the once valuable word essentialist lostany substantial meaning altogether and has now become anall-purpose term of disparagement used to dismiss any theoryor point o view one appens to isagreewit . No more t ana ver a ric to t row t roug t e win ow o a competitor s

    para igm.Some o t e stoc p rases o t e tra e are o even greater

    interest because of their propensity to carry multiple meanings.When, for example, a speaker opens with the phrasethis is only a work in progress, it can beeither a plea to deflect criticism or an honestadmission that, regardless of how long we

    ave wor e at a pro em, we can never esure we ve got t e amn t ing rig t.

    y avorite p rase, owever, is t e oneuse y aut ors w o intro uce t eir wor

    wit t e c aim t at it concerns a it ertosadly neglected topic. This can signifythree quite different things.

    One is that the topic has in fact exercised finearchaeological minds for a long time, but the authoris a out to misrepresent t eir contri utions in suc aas ion as to construct a strawman against w ic is or er own

    i eas can gain a sem ance o nove ty y way o contrast. T ep rase use in t is sense pro a y enjoys its greatest popu arityin group e orts y coteries o young sc o ars w o aim to gain

    visi i ity y c ot ing o i eas in new jargons. One t ing t atgives them away is that their bibliographies largely reference

    only those scholars (usually each other) who use the sameargot. Another is that the word rethinking often appears intheir titlesa term newcomers find hard to resist even thoughthey are in reality thinking about the business at hand only fort e irst time. More experience sc o ars, y way o contrast,ten to in t e term super uous. For t ey now instinctive yt at, just as s ar s are sai to ie i t ey stop moving, t eir own

    wor ing ays are over once t ey stop critica y ret in ing t eirown opinions. See wor in progress a ove.

    The phrase can have a second and rather different meaning.This is that, as in the above, the topic itself has not in fact beensadly neglected, but that in this case the author truly seems

    rc aeo ogica iscourse

    By James R. Sackett

    o e unaware o t e

    act. T e pro emere is not so muchne of professionalompetence as oiming, that is, whereis or her graduatetudent careerappene to a in t e

    yc e o ever-c anginganging as ions in

    arc aeo ogica t oug t. Important topics go in an out o sty eand this intellectual tidal flow inevitably dictates what students

    are given to understand, what they need to know and what theyan safely ignore. And hence, when an old problem or ideaappens to come back into fashion after they have left school

    and entered upon their careers, they can waste a greatdeal of effort working out anew ideas and issues

    t at were a rea y an esta is e part o t earc aeo ogist s stoc in tra e a generation otwo e ore. T e est way to avoi t is traps to evote one s i rary time to ma ingriends with the old literature as much aseeping track of the new. With luck one

    might find an important topic that hasndeed been sadly neglected and deserves to

    be recast in contemporary terms.Fina y, t e p rase can e itera y truein ot e

    wor s, t e topic can air y e c aracterize as avingeen sa y neg ecte e ore t e writer it upon it. In t is

    ase it can signa t e presence o an exciting, origina min awor . Un appi y, owever, it is more i e y to appear in t e

    irst draft of an article we only see ourselves, one we never getaround to finishing. For it gradually dawns on us in the process

    f writing that our topic has justifiably been sadly neglectedbecause it is either a pseudo-problem to begin with or because

    ts significance is of mind-boggling inconsequentiality, onew ose inte ectua y nigg ing nature on y ecomes increasing yapparent t e ar er we wrest ewit it. T is is w y arc aeo ogistsometimes in t emse ves wi e awa e in t e sma ours o

    e morning, staring into t e ar ness an won ering i t eyoo are in anger o ecoming sa y neg ecte .

    Sackett is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Director of theEuropean Laboratory

    My

    favorite phrase,

    however, is the one

    used by authors who

    introduce their work

    with the claim that it

    concerns a hitherto

    sadly neglectedtopic.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    19/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 1

    W at is t e purpose o maps in an arc aeo ogica pu ication?Per aps we are so use to t e stan ar i ustration o t eRoman Empire or t e Maya region t at we on t t inabout the meaning of that large shaded blob. Most articlesand books have just one map of an ancient culture and that tooat its largest extent, giving a visual suggestion that states weresomehow destined to fill up continent-sized portions of thelandscape. Instead of this passive display of manifest destiny,

    owever, t ere are severa ways t at arc aeo ogists can ma eour stu y o ancient states an empires more pro uctive an

    ynamic. Arc aeo ogica surveys now give us more in ormationa out i erent types o sites in a an scape, so t at we canma e maps s owing networ s o socia , economic, ritua anpolitical interaction in which different towns and cities mighttake precedence. This kind of network approach can also showchanges over time, so that we can appreciate the many stepsthat political systems went through: alliances, wars of conquestand loss, capture of mineral wealth or breadbaskets, even theimpact o natura isasters. Per aps t e most compe ingreason to reconsi er our use o maps is a etter un erstan ingo ow ancient states wor e . Even in t e mo ern wor , t ereare a surprising num er o ongoing or er isputes in w icneig oring nations ave very i erent oo ing maps o t eirterritories. Such circumstances probably would have been evenmore common in the ancient world where boundaries were

    new twist on arc aeo ogicacartograp y

    By Monica L. Smith

    The concept of the chiefdom has a long and checkered careen arc aeo ogica an ant ropo ogica t eory. As a mainstay

    evo utionary approac es in arc aeo ogy, it as een otacc aime an is aine y sc o ars rom many t eoretica

    erspectives. W et er you ate or em race t e term, t e acs t at or more t an two mi ennia sc o ars ave searc eor a concept to describe those societies that were larger thanmall settled villages and less complex than the large, urbanizedtates in which most of the scholars lived. For me, the wordhiefdom is a perfectly good term that captures this kind ontermediate socio-political and economic organization betweenn i erentiate an s or vi ages an ierarc ica states.

    T e use o t e term c ie toe ine a po itica ea er as a

    ong istory in our anguage. Iderives from the Latin caputor head. An archaic versionof the word chef as well ascheef is found in Old Frenchand Middle English. One

    definition in the Oxford EnglishDictionary most re evant toant ropo ogica t eory is: T e

    ea o a o y o men . . . oremosaut ority, ea er, ru er. T efirst known use of the term inthis sense is listed as early as297 (OED, definition #6).One of the first modern uses

    of the chiefdom concept as anntermediate society is foundn Her ert Spencer s Principle

    e en uring c ie omconcept

    By Charles Stanish

    orous, shifting, and for the most part undefended except inareas of prized resources. Geographic Information Systems(GIS) and other map-making tools can thus give us better ways

    t in ing a out t e past, in a ition to provi ing us witmaps t at are sti p easing to oo at.

    Smit s artic e Networ s, Territories, an t e Cartograp yAncient States wi appear in t eAnnals of the Association o

    American GeographersDecember 2005 issue.

    Inscriptions from the Mauryan Empire of the 3rd century BC can be used as the basis for a traditional territorialmap (left) or as nodes in a network of interaction (right).

    Smith is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of theSouth Asian Laboratory

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    20/68

    18 Backdirt: Annual Review

    of Sociology (1879:708) where he arguesfor the surprisingly modern notion that:There is a natural relation betweenconstant ig ting an eve opment oc ie y power. T roug out t e atenineteent an ear y twentiet centuries,t ere were iso ate re erences to c ie omsin the anthropological literature, generally

    with little theoretical content. JamesDawson (1881:5-6) used the term todescribe aboriginal groups in Australiadistinguishing them from others withoutstrong political heads, echoing a modernsense o t e concept. T e socio ogistE en Mum or 1906:394 , in is rat ersimp istic evo utionary t eoretica woron t e origins o ea ers ip, usethe term chieftainship and chiefs todescribe political authority in intermediatesocieties.

    The term chiefdom was quite currentin the 40s among social anthropologists,particu ar y t ose wor ing in A rica.Monica Wi son 1949:21 escri es a Bantu-spea ing group ot e Great Ri t Va ey as ivi e up onto a num er o sma ,in epen ent c ie oms . . . t at eve ope no centra izepo itica aut ority. . . Her use o t e term was more precisethan her colleagues use of the term a decade before, and thisreflected the more rigorous work of her peers in the post-war

    years.Outside of Africa, the great Mayanist J. Eric Thompson

    (1945:22) described small states or chiefdoms among the

    Yucatecan groups at the time of Spanish conquest. He intendedt is usage to re er to a po ity t at a ecrease in size anpower a ter t e Late C assic, an e most i e y orrowe t eterm rom is Britis socia ant ropo ogy co eagues. A itater, societies in In ia were escri e y Eric Mi er 19 4

    as chiefdoms. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the term wassporadically found throughout the anthropological literature.

    In this context, the anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1955:473)offered the modern evolutionary concept of the chiefdom asone of several intermediate level societies between hunter-gat erers an states. From t at point on, t eorists ave

    eve ope t e c ie om concept into t e power u t eoretica

    too t at it is to ay. W i e a ew sc o ars sti isparage t eterm c ie om, t e empirica rea ity o interme iate societies int e arc aeo ogica an et nograp ic recor wi a ways requireus to use some variation of this most curious and enduringconcept.

    REFERENCES

    Dawson, James881 Australian Aborigines, the Languages and Customs of

    Several Ttribes of Aborigines in the Western District ofVictoria, Australia. G. Ro ertson, Me ourne.

    i er, Eric J.954 Caste and territory in Malabar. American

    Anthropologist. 56(3):410-420.

    umford, Eben906 The origins of leadership. II. The American Journal of

    Sociology. 12 3 :367-397.

    O erg, Ka ervo9 Types o socia structure among t e ow an tri es o

    Sout an Centra America. American Anthropologist 57(3):472-487.

    Thompson, J. Eric

    945 A survey of the northern Maya area. AmericanAntiquity. 11(1):2-24.

    Wi son, Monica949 Nay yusa age vi ages. The Journal of the Royal

    Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 70 1 2 :21-2 .

    Stanish is Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Costen Institute

    of Archaeology, Director of the Andean Laboratory and Lloyd E. CotsenChair in Archaeology

    Image of a Florida Indian chieftain from The Spanish Main, by Peter Wood and the Editors of Time-Life

    Books.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    21/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 1

    ANOVERVIEWOFTHEPROJECTANDFIRSTFINDINGS

    The Tarapaca

    MultidisciplinaryArchaeological

    Expedition

    By Ran Boytner, Maria Cecilia Lozada, Ioanna Kakoulli and Mario Rivera

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    22/68

    20 Backdirt: Annual Review

    INTRODUCTION

    In 1924, Isaiah Bowman traveled across the AtacamaDesert o nort ern C i e, an iscovere t at t emo ern eso ate an scape was muc i erent in t e

    time e ore t e arriva o Spaniar s toSout America. Bowmanreporte t e ruins o many sites in t e area, rawing particu arattention to t e arc aeo ogica ric ness o t e Tarapaca Va ey,one of the very few areas where water was flowing across the

    desert. Bowmans report was forgotten, until the early 1960s.At that time, a major expedition to the Atacama Desert wascreated, a program dubbed the California-Chile expedition.

    Among the principle leaders of the expedition was ClementMeig an, a renowne UCLA arc aeo ogist. During t e ate960s, Meig an an is co- irector Di ert True surveye

    portions o t e va ey an excavate sections o one o its ear yargest site, Casarones.

    em ers o t e expe ition continue to exp ore t e va eyinfrequently. But in 1973, Augusto Jos Ramn Pinochet cameto power in Chile, halting much of the academic activities inthe social sciences, declaring departments such as anthropology

    a potential hotbed for communist rebels. Outside of highlylimited and controlled areas, archaeological research wasroug t to an a most comp ete a t in C i e. T e return

    o emocratic ru e to C i e in 1990 s ow y impacte t e re-esta is ment o arc aeo ogica researc in t e country, an in

    Ju y 200 , a UCLA team a returne to t e Atacama Desertfor the first time in more than 30 years. Following an initiative of Charles Stanish, Director of theCotsen Institute and Professor of Anthropology, a collaborativeproject was launched between the CIOA and UniversidadBolivariana (sede Iquique). Under the co-direction of RanBoytner (Research Associate, UCLA) and Dr. Mario Rivera

    Universi a Bo ivariana, Iquique t e project aims to re-esta is arc aeo ogica researc at t e Tarapaca Va ey anto provi e training an researc possi i ities or gra uate anun ergra uate stu ents. T e project was a so set up as a pi ot

    o a orative e ort wit t e new y esta is e UCLA Gettyrogram in Arc aeo ogica an Et nograp ic Conservationo enhance collaborations between archaeologists andonservators and to set out guidelines for field archaeologica

    onservation based on the conservation ethics and principlesThe Tarapaca Project came under the overarching umbrella

    f the CIOA, managing the difficult logistics and availing itsresources or a wi e rea t o arc aeo ogica researc .

    T e irst campaign too p ace in Ju y 200 . W at we ounwas eyon our expectations, ot in ensity an ric ness o

    e arc aeo ogica materia . For ive wee s, our internationaeam excavate , surveye , an mappe portions o t e area

    revealing a rich life of intensive agriculture, metal workingand warfare in levels we did not predict was possible given thearidity of the region. In the following paragraphs, we wouldike to share some of our amazing findings and describe theoundations for a long-term project we opt to establish in the

    region.It wou e an important omission owever not to mentionur ess t en promising start. Five ays e ore t e arriva our team to C i e, a 7.9 eart qua e it t e Atacama Desert

    wit its epicenter a out 100 m e ow t e vi age o SanLorenzo de Tarapaca, our chosen site for the field house athe heart of the Tarapaca Valley. Although no life was losn the village, devastation of the adobe structures, includinghe sixteenth-century local church, was almost completeonsultation among team members, both faculty and students

    ie e a strong esire to go a ea wit t e project as p anneespite t e unexpecte a verse con itions, an to assist witinancia an in- in contri utions to t e oca community. Inin sig t, we were generous y rewar e or our ecision an

    reso ve.Owing to the geographical and cultural importance of the

    Tarapaca Valley and our aspiration to establish a long-termarchaeological project in the area, this initiative was developedbased on solid foundations right from the beginning. Specialistsrom various fields in the humanities, social and naturaciences were t ere ore invite to orm a mu ti iscip inaryeam. Covering a wi e range o expertise t e team inc u e :

    Headless mummy recovered from Tarapaca 40 cemetery.

    STUDENTVIEW

    What better way to spend a summer as an undergraduatestudent of archaeology than frolicking in the desert ofnorthern Chile? Being part of the Tarapaca Project field

    school was by far one of the most wonderful and impactingexperiences of my life, and has truly inspired me to pursuearchaeology in my future studies. To have the opportunityto meet and work with the students and scholars on theproject and get to know them as the amazing people thatthey are was invaluable. Ill never look at my professorsquite the same way, now that I know what theyre likein the field. I definitely recommend field school, thisone in particular, to any undergraduate interested inarchaeology.

    Kelley Cleaveland, Anthropology undergraduate student.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    23/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 2

    Arc aeo ogists wit specia ization in p ysica ant ropo ogy,pa eoet no otany, zooarc aeo ogy an an scape arc aeo ogy;

    Archaeological and conservation scientists specializingin field archaeological conservation and materialcharacterization;

    Natural scientists from chemistry and biochemistry focusingon analytical studies of organic materials and residues.

    EXCAVATIONIn 1967, mem ers o t e C i e-Ca i ornia team iscovere a

    Mi e Horizon AD 300-1000 cemetery, just on t e oppositean rom Casarones. Arti acts rom t is wor are now

    scattered among different local and international institutions,and only a few objects had been published. The periphery ofthe cemetery with some scattered human remains, textile andbasketry looked promising formortuary and physical materialevi ence an an excavationtrenc was set up on a re ative y

    at area o t e i .Wit in a ew ays o

    excavations, remains o a num er o istur e uria s wereencountered. Well preserved mummies, although headless,

    were found in shallow burials at a depth of approximately30 to 50 cm. As the practice of ritual removal of skulls wasa common practice in the Andes, it was not possible to tell

    with certainty whether the removal of the head was an ancientcustom or t e resu t o mo ern istur ance. Mummies wereoun in fetal position an wrappe in un es o texti es, anas etry. A ew o t e mummies were oun wit grave goo s,

    a t oug not o a ric in . For examp e, one mummy un eocus 3 was p ace on top o a pair o eat er san a s, so we

    preserved that mending done in antiquity using cotton stringscan still be clearly seen today.

    By the last day of excavation, six individuals were uncovered,

    all in good condition and well preserved. Althoughfunerary goods were recovered, items that were buriedprovide a fascinating, and not entirely anticipatedpicture about contacts outside the valley. In one burialt e in ivi ua was wrappe in a ir type s in. Inanot er uria , t e in ivi ua was o ing t e projecti een o a is ing arpoon. Suc a inity to marineresources is expecte among coasta is er o , ut no

    or communities resi ing more t en 100 m in anThe presence of these finds could suggest contacts withcoastal communities. However, as the excavation is stilat a very preliminary stage and the finds have not yetbeen examined in detail, interpretations are based onprompt assumptions and need to be further confirmedDetai e stu ies o t ese uman remains in t e nearuture wi a ow us to examine t e genetic composition

    o t is popu ation, as we as esta is ing t eir ietaryan ea t patterns. Our ioarc aeo ogica approac

    wi ecome use u in e uci ating not on y t e generahealth status of the inhabitants, but also the nature of

    ocio-political interactions between highland, valley and coastaommunities.

    SURVEYBac in t e 1960s, t e C i e-Ca i ornia team surveye t e

    Tarapaca Va ey ocusing primari y on pre-ceramic perio s anovere an area o 1 m on eit er si e o t e river, as t e esereyon t e river ottom is extreme y ars an eso ate. T iss one o t e very ew p aces on eart comp ete y evoi o anylant life, not even sporadic patches. Unfortunately, neither

    adequate documentation nor maps were found from thisarly survey and therefore, one of the principle goals of theurrent campaign was to re-survey and map a large area of the

    Tarapaca Valley. We decided to expand the scope of the surveyan oo at t e promontories over oo ing t e va ey instea

    t e quenbrada itse . T eesert oor was covere wit

    remains o uman presenceIt was i icu t to etermine

    where one site began and thether ended. The surface was

    overed with ceramic sherds, stone alignments, and with manyat s crisscrossing eac ot er.

    Neither the ceramic nor the stone alignments suggesteda itation. Many o t e ceramic remains seem to e ragmentaryvi ence o comp ete vesse s, an many o t e stone a ignments

    were ong, simp y putting one stone a ter t e ot er to ormatterns o circ es, wa s, an sometimes, geometric patterns

    T ese patterns continue ar into t e esert, suggesting umannteraction with the deep desert for extended periods of time

    There is still no adequate information to explain why peoplenvested so much into forming stone patterns on the Pampa

    (also known as geoglyphs), but a current working hypothesis ishat these were created as part of ceremonial activities. Similar

    activities are nown rom sout ern Peru eg. Nazca ines , an

    Mended sandals (note the brown string) found under a headless mummy from Tara-

    paca 40 cemetery.

    The projectile end of an harpoon, found with a completely preserved

    mummy at Tarapaca 40 cemetery.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    24/68

    22 Backdirt: Annual Review

    are not unique to the Tarapaca Valley.In addition to the many sites found on the Pampa, the survey

    also discovered sites on the bluffs overlooking the river itself.These sites were highly fortified, consisting of the remains oft ic wa s an in many cases, a mount ug in ront o a serieso particu ar y wi e wa s. T ese orti ie sites terme pukarasin t e An es were not particu ar y arge, ut occurre ins ort istances etween eac ot er. T ese patterns suggest anenvironment of intensive competition and extensive warfare,

    where resources were especially scarce and required constantprotection.

    Northern Chile is rich with natural mineral deposits, and it istoday one of the most productive areas in the world for copper

    and other mineral mining. Our survey demonstrated thatmeta pro uction in t e area was an important oca activity.T e survey recovere many ceramics wit evi ence o metas ugs, resi ues an cruci es, oun primari y at t e e ges ooca u s, using t e natura win ra t coming rom t e river

    valley to supply oxygen for fires used for metal smelting. Initialanalysis of samples by David Scott, Professor of Conservationand Art History, suggests an advanced local knowledge of metalproduction.

    MAPPINGBecause archaeology had been practiced in Northern Chile

    on y spora ica y in t e past 30 years, we now re ative y

    ittle about local chronology and its material culture stylemanifestation. One of our initial goals is to create reliabletylistic serration, using ceramic, textile, architecture and stoneool styles as temporal indicators. To achieve such goals, we

    must un erstan t e oca stratigrap y an t e evo ution oty e in t e va ey.Few o t e oca sites suggest mu ti- ayer occupation. Bu

    ite 1024, a ong site occupying extensive engt s o a ri geverlooking the lower portion of the valley, seems particularlyuitable. At its south-eastern edge, habitations seem to be

    associated with an architectural style we believe is early in theevelopment of human presence in the valley more circulartructures made from local Calichestones. At its nort -western

    dge, structures seem to be of the style associated with Incaan ear y Co onia orms. In etween, it appears to e at easne more sty e o arc itecture. It oo s i e 1024 representorizonta stratigrap y an is a prime can i ate or excavation

    o c ronic e sty istic c anges.Recognizing the significance of 1024 early in the season, the

    ite and its topography was intensively surveyed and mapped inreparation for an extensive excavation for the following year

    Hans Bernard (Research Associate, UCLA) ran the mappingperation, generating a plan for the site that clearly shows at

    east two different architectural styles.

    Hans Bernard (r ight), Research Associate, and Alek Dooley (left), SRA in the Depar tment of Chemistry & Biochemistry, operating the Total Station at site 1024.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    25/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 23

    CONSERVATIONT e presence o traine conservators in ongoing

    arc aeo ogica excavations an t e s ort an ong-termpreservation of archaeological materials post-excavation havebecome important components of modern archaeologicalendeavors. Conservation is an essential parameter for thisexpedition, and all decisions regarding strategy of the field

    campaign were made together, archaeologists and conservatorsiscussing an agreeing on met o s an practices.During t e irst season, conservation actions were ocuse on

    un erstan ing an eva uating t e uria micro-environmentan , uring t e ina stages o t e excavation, assisting witi ting, transportation an storage o t e in s. Measurements

    of relative humidity and temperature were recorded at regularintervals and plans were made on the actions to be taken tominimize the impact on materials once removed from theground and into our storage facilities. The dramatic shift inmicro-conditions is the cause for many deterioration processesto rapi y acce erate, an t e presence o a conservation

    team is crucia or t e un erstan ing an mitigation o sucprocesses.reventive an reme ia conservation measures ase on

    minimum intervention will take place in future campaignso assure the preservation of archaeological materials. The

    Tarapaca Project had been selected as a site for the traininggra uate conservation stu ents rom t e UCLA Getty

    onservation Program, w o are expecte to participate active yan a to t e mu ti iscip inary nature o t is project.

    CONCLUSIONSThe first season at the Tarapaca Valley proved successfulbeyond our wildest imagination. The valley is extremely rich

    with archaeological remains while looting endemic in mosarts of the Andes seems to be almost non-existent here

    The preservation of materials is superb, ability to detectarc aeo ogy on t e sur ace is exce ent, an oca interest in t euccess o our project is ig . T ese con itions suggest t a

    e project wi provi e important insig ts into An ean i e, aan e seen rom t e ringes, an t at it wi ecome ruit urounds for much archaeological work for years to come. We

    are all looking forward to getting back to the field, engaging

    n fascinating archaeology with one of the most internationaeams to currently be involved with archaeological research inhe Andes. Oh, did we mention how good Chilean wine is?

    Circular feature made from piled stones found on the pampa, 500 m north of the canyon edge.

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    26/68

    24 Backdirt: Annual Review

    By Ellen Pearlstein

    conservation as seen a stea y increase

    as o ocumentation, tec nica stu y, anon a ongsi e t e more tra itiona emp asisect treatment. As eac o t ese areas

    xity, they challenge the conservator and theator. The application of digital techniquesumentation is introducing new methods onipulation, capture, and storage of imagesd digital replication sometimes replaceds where original materials are deemed too

    ve, or w ere t ese materia s are importanec nica stu ies o ten provi e t e primaryion o o jects, an a or insig ts into t e

    an ing o materia s. As t e conservation, its practitioners are evaluating the valueobjects versus preventing damage to wholes, and negotiating preservation within

    d demands made on collections and sitesrop against which the new UCLA/Gettyeo ogica an Et nograp ic Conservationrst c ass in Septem er 200 .e UCLA Getty Program egan in 1981Institute o Conservation now Heritage

    e an expert committee to examine t e

    Archaeology,

    Conservation, andthe new UCLA/Getty

    rogram

  • 8/14/2019 2006 Backdirt

    27/68

    Backdirt: Annual Review 25

    specialized require-ments or conserva-tion training in t eie s o arc aeo og-ca an et nograp ic

    materia .T e committee

    ssued its reportn 1984 outlining

    the curriculum andfacility requirementsor suc a program. A

    signi icant premise ort e training appearen t e statement t at:

    eac o ject o aulture is a tangible

    historical document.This means that the object preserves, even in microscopic

    form, its method of manufacture, evidence of its functions,its use in more than one geographic location, and the courseof its deterioration. In the absence of written records, theet nograp ic an arc aeo ogica arti act is a ant ropo ogists

    ave or examining t e ynamics o cu tura c ange expresset roug materia s an o jects. Et nograp ic an arc aeo ogicao jects are escri e in t at report as t e pro ucts o umannecessity and cultural tradition.

    The passing of 20 years between the committeerecommendations and the program inception has not changedthe significance of each object as an historical and cultural

    document; however, it has dramatically changed the wayo jects an sites are stu ie an ocumente . It as increaset e num er o consi erations ta en to consi er w et er an

    ow treatment is execute . T ese c anges ave occurre ast e ie s o conservation, ant r