ess a monumental task on easter island

Transcription

COTSENæ INSTITUTEæ
OFæ ARCHAEOLOGY
Backdirt
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
University of California, Los Angeles
405 Hilgard Ave
A 210 Fowler, Box 951510
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1510
AL-31
Address Service Requested
Non-Profit
Org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
UCLA
BACKDIRT
Annual Review of the
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
2009
NEW TITLES FROM THE COTSEN INSTITUTE PRESS
Edited by Joyce Marcus and Patrick Ryan Williams
Monograph 63 • $80 cloth, $50 paper
ISBN: 978-1-931745-54-3 cloth, 978-1-931745-53-6 paper
These new studies cover the enormous temporal span of Moseley’s own work
from the Preceramic era to the Tiwanaku and Moche states to the Inka empire. And, like Moseley’s own studies — from Maritime Foundations of Andean
Civilization to Chan Chan: The Desert City to Cerro Bául’s Brewery — these new
studies involve settlements from all over the Andes — from the far northern
highlands to the far southern coast. The papers in this book demonstrate the
enormous breadth and influence of Moseley’s work and the vibrant range of
scholarship by his former students and collaborators in fieldwork.
annual review 2009
Andean Civilization: A Tribute to Michael E. Moseley
The South American Camelds
By Duccio Bonavia
ISBN: 978-1-931745-41-3 cloth, 978-1-931745-40-6 paper
Bonavia’s landmark study of the South American camelids is now available
for the first time in English. This new edition features an updated analysis and
comprehensive bibliography. This book will be of broad interest to archaeologists, zoologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and a wide range of
students.
Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000–250 BC):
The Archaeological Evidence
By Lothar von Falkenhausen
Ideas, Debates, and Perspectives 2 • $80 cloth, $50 paper
ISBN: 978-1-931745-31-4 cloth, 978-1-931745-30-7 paper
The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1000-250 BC) was a crucial period during which the
Chinese Classics came into being and famous thinkers such as Confucius (ca.
551-479 BC) laid the intellectual foundations of traditional Chinese civilization. Complementing and often challenging the surviving writings, Lothar von
Falkenhausen develops a self-consciously archaeological perspective on the
social conditions in this time.
Winner of the 2009 SAA Book Award!
For a complete list of titles, visit: www.ioa.ucla.edu/publications/browse-books.
To place an order contact our distributor, David Brown Book Company, at (800) 791-9354.
For more information, contact the Cotsen Institute Press at (310) 825-7411 or email [email protected].
A MONUMENTAL TASK
ON EASTER ISLAND
MESSAGE FROM
THE ACTING DIRECTOR
The Cotsen Institute proudly looks back on another year marked by many
and diverse accomplishments. The present volume reports on archaeological projects on four continents—from China to Chile, from Chaco Canyon to
Albania—but these constitute only a sampling of an even richer panoply of
ongoing engagements by members of the Institute. Any visitor walking down
the corridors can sense the whirr of creative minds producing cutting-edge
scholarship. We feel privileged to be able to continue the work we love—and
which we feel has an important contribution to make to today’s world—even
under the current conditions of worldwide economic turmoil.
Lothar von Falkenhausen at the
reception honoring his award-winning
title Chinese Society in the Age of
Confucius at the 2009 meeting of the
Society for American Archaeology.
One recent highlight in the life of the Institute was a reception on March 3
in celebration of Mr. Lloyd Cotsen’s 80th birthday. Words cannot adequately
express our thanks to Lloyd for his generosity over many years. It is only fitting
that he was honored recently with UCLA’s highest honor, the UCLA Medal (see
p. 11).
Two of the Institute’s founding figures were recently honored for a lifetime of
achievement in archaeology. Christopher B. Donnan, Professor Emeritus of
Anthropology, received the Trowel Award from the Cotsen Institute (see p.
13), and just before this issue of Backdirt went to press, news reached us that
UCLA has named Giorgio Buccellati this year’s Dickson Emeritus Professor.
Our congratulations to both of them. In addition, my Chinese Society in the
Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC): The Archaeological Evidence won the 2009
Society for American Archaeology Book Award in the academic category;
this is particularly gratifying as the book is a Cotsen Institute publication. This
award is an apt recognition of the tremendous recent improvement of Cotsen
Institute Press publications under the able leadership of Shauna Mecartea.
Another extremely exciting development is the exponential growth in our
UCLA Archaeology Field Program, capably directed by Dr. Ran Boytner (see p.
6). Capitalizing on the manifold connections of its members all over the world,
the Cotsen Institute has taken the lead in building opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from institutions all over the world to obtain
high-quality training in archaeological field techniques while experiencing life
in exotic places. This program is a cornerstone in the Institute’s ongoing efforts to broaden its impact beyond UCLA.
Happy reading!
Lothar von Falkenhausen
Professor of Art History and Acting Director of the Cotsen Institute
PUBLIC PROGRAMS IN REVIEW: 2008-2009
COTSEN VISITING SCHOLAR
LECTURE SERIES
COTSEN INSTITUTE
PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES
DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL/FRIENDS OF
ARCHAEOLOGY DINNER LECTURES
Recent Advancements in the
Archaeology of Jerusalem
Searching for Older Women:
Women’s Lives and Women’s
Work ca. 25,000 Years Ago
Spending for Death: Egyptian Funerary Arts during Economic Recession
Dr. Ronny Reich
Haifa University
Dr. Ronny Reich, a faculty member
of the Department of Archaeology
at Haifa University, is the Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology 2008–2009
visiting scholar. In his capacity as a
Senior Archaeologist with the Israel
Antiquities Authority he has been
conducting excavations in the City
of David in Jerusalem since 1995. He
has published numerous articles on
Second Temple Period archaeology
in Israel and is well known for his coedited volume on The Architecture of
Ancient Israel.
A New Interpretation of the Canaanite Water System of Jerusalem
Thursday, January 8
New Epigraphic Discoveries from
Iron Age Jerusalem
Thursday, January 15
Of Fish-Bones and Clay Chips in Iron
Age Jerusalem
“Gathered to their forefathers”:
Death and Burial in Jerusalem
in the Iron Age
Thursday, February 12
Professor Emerita Olga Soffer
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Professor Kara Cooney
Near Eastern Languages and
Cultures
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Women in the Middle: Inka
concepts manifested in Farfan Burials
Adventures of Illyria: Excavating
the Prehistoric Tumulus of Lofkënd
in Albania
Professor Emerita Carol Mackey
California State University Northridge
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Professor John Papadopoulos
Department of Classics
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Discovery of the Nimrud Treasures
Excavating the Shang Frontier in
Eastern China
Donny George Youkhanna, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor at Stony Brook
University; Former Director General
of Baghdad’s National Museum
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Co-sponsored with Archaeological
Institute of America and Fowler
Museum at UCLA
Open House
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Manipulating the Imaginary: A Trip to
the wonderland of Ancient Miniature
Sculpture from Mesopotamia
Gregory Areshian, Ph.D.
Research Associate and Adjunct
Professor at the Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology at UCLA
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Professor Min Li
Department of Asian Languages
and Cultures
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
FEATURES
72
62
A MONUMENTAL
TASK ON
EASTER ISLAND
JO ANNE VAN TILBURG
& CRISTIÁN ARÉVALO
PAKARATI
A Cotsen Institute
research project seeks to
understand the mysterious
moai of Easter Island by
going to the source – the
volcanic quarry where the
statues were made.
ARCHAEOLOGY
OF THE
CONFUCIAN
LANDSCAPE
LI MIN
The politics of remembrance at work in the ancient landscape of Qufu,
home of Confucius.
92
78
EXPLORING
OPPORTUNITIES:
STAFF TRIP TO
SOUTH AMERICA
SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
& ELIZABETH KLARICH
METAL &
LANDSCAPE
IN ANCIENT
ANATOLIA
JOSEPH LEHNER
Researching Iron-Age
technology at Kerkenes
Dag, once known as
Pteria.
Institute staff travel to Peru
and Bolivia to observe
international projects and
launch new initiatives.
PHOTO ESSAYS
EASTER ISLAND
PHOTO ESSAY
PATTY CIVALLERI
EMPIRES OF
DIVERSITY:
ANCIENT AND
MODERN IRAN
GREGORY ARESHIAN
66
84
DEPARTMENTS
3
98
111
17
104
113
29
106
INSTITUTE
NEWS
PROFILES
REFLECTIONS ON
RESEARCH
BETWEEN
THE LINES
NEW CIOA
PRESS TITLES
DONOR LIST
PUBLIC
PROGRAMS
IN REVIEW
LIST OF CORE
FACULTY
BACKDIRT
COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
ANNUAL REVIEW 2009
Director
Charles S. Stanish
Acting Director
Assistant Director
Elizabeth Klarich
Director of Publications
& Communications
Shauna K. Mecartea
Editors
Shauna K. Mecartea
Elizabeth Klarich
Eric Gardner
Daril Bentley
Design
Eric Gardner
Contributing Writers
Helle Girey
Evgenia Grigorova
Ellen Pearlstein
Richard Lesure
Ran Boytner
Dean Goodman
Mac Marston
For more information or to request a
subscription, please contact the Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology Press at:
310-825-7411 or email [email protected].
Read Backdirt online at:
www.ioa.ucla.edu/publications/backdirt
Copyright © 2009 UC Regents
Cover Photo: Moai of Easter Island overlooking the stone quarry of Rano Raraku.
Photo courtesy of Jo Anne Van Tilburg.
CONSERVATION
STUDENT UPDATES
ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD
PROGRAM LAUNCH
RAN BOYTNER
ANCIENT TREASURES,
MODERN SPACES
ELIZABETH KLARICH
BEHIND THE SCENES
AT THE FOWLER
4
5
6
8
9
ELIZABETH KLARICH
SOCONUSCO
CONFERENCE AT UCLA
RICHARD LESURE
ANNUAL CIOA
OPEN HOUSE
RICHARD LESURE
LLOYD COTSEN
HONORED BY UCLA
SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
HONORING CHRIS
DONNAN
ELIZABETH KLARICH
& SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
9
10
11
12
CHRIS DONNAN RECEIVES
TROWEL AWARD
SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
REMEMBERING MIKE
GOTTESMAN
ELIZABETH KLARICH
STAFF
ACHIEVEMENTS
ELIZABETH KLARICH
CIOA STORAGE
SYMPOSIUM
ELLEN PEARLSTEIN
FIELD
NOTES
MAC MARSTON & DEAN GOODMAN
13
14
14
15
16
INSTITUTE NEWS
NEW ARCHAEOLOGY
GRADUATE STUDENTS
3 | Backdirt 2009
Student News »
NEW STUDENTS ENROLL
IN ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM
IN THE FALL OF 2008, five new students began
studies in the Interdepartmental Archaeology
Graduate Program: Karl La Favre, Brett Kaufman,
Hillary Pietricola, Catherine Pratt, and Stephanie
Salwen. The Cotsen Institute welcomes them, and
looks forward to their contributions.
KARL LA FAVRE hails
from Ohio, and received
his B.A. in Anthropology
from the University of
Chicago in 2007. For his
master’s research, Karl is
currently working on the
lithic material collected
during a survey he
participated in during the
summer of 2007. This
survey was conducted in the highland region
between the southern Lake Titicaca Basin and the
Moquegua Valley. For his doctoral work, Karl plans
to conduct a survey in the northern part of the
Puno Region, in Carabaya Province and/or Sandia
Province. These provinces north of Lake Titicaca
contain an ecological transition from highland
montane grassland to yungas (montane moist
forests) to Amazonia. Karl is primarily interested in
the Formative period there and in the possible
economic role this distinct region played in the
development of northern Lake Titicaca Basin
societies. In the summer of 2008, under Charles
Stanish, Professor of Anthropology and Cotsen
Institute Director, Karl participated in a few days of
preliminary reconnaissance in Carabaya Province.
More generally, Karl is interested in the Formative
period in the south-central Andes, economic
anthropology, and geographic methods and theory.
BRETT KAUFMAN grew
up in Wilmette, Illinois.
He received his B.A. in
Near Eastern Studies (with
a minor in Economics)
from Brandeis University.
In addition, he has
completed post-baccalaureate studies in Chemistry
at Columbia University.
He has gained experience
in the field excavating and surveying American
4 | Backdirt 2009
historical sites in upstate New York. While at
UCLA, he will focus on the expansion of the
Phoenician empire across the Mediterranean Basin.
His specific interests include examining the metal
microstructure of Phoenician weaponry in order to
discern technological advances spanning both the
Bronze and Iron Ages. He will be studying under
the direction of his academic advisor, Aaron Burke,
Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and
Cultures.
HILLARY PIETRICOLA
received her B.A. in Art
History/Archaeology and
German from Bowdoin
College in Brunswick,
Maine. After graduation,
she spent a year in
Germany as a Fulbright
scholar and studied at the
University of Hamburg.
She has undertaken
fieldwork in Italy, including one season in Pompeii
and two with the San Martino Project in Torano. At
UCLA, Hillary will work with Kathryn McDonnell,
Assistant Professor of Classics, on Roman burial
practices, with a particular focus on Roman Egypt,
and will explore the effect of cross-cultural contact
in the form of grave goods and burial imagery. Her
other research interests include personal adornment and Pompeii.
CATHERINE PRATT
grew up in New Jersey and
received her B.A. in
Classical Archaeology
North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Her undergraduate
work was well rounded,
with a focus on Greek
archaeology and language.
During the summer,
Catherine spent time doing fieldwork on a Cretan
Iron Age site, where she worked as the architect’s
assistant. While at UCLA, she will be pursuing
studies related to the interactions between different
cultures during the Late Bronze Age and Dark Age.
In particular, she will investigate how these
interactions shaped the customs, ideas, and innova-
CONSERVATION
STUDENT UPDATES
tions of early Greek society and how these influences continued through Greek history. Catherine
is also interested in the major population collapses
and dispersals occurring after that time period
and the foreign influences gained from it in both
art and culture. During her time here, she will be
working with John Papadopoulos, Professor of
Classics, and Sarah Morris, Steinmetz Professor of
Classical Archaeology and Material Culture in the
Department of Classics.
STEPHANIE SALWEN
comes to UCLA with a
B.A. in Anthropology
Michigan, Ann Arbor. She
has experience with
underwater maritime
archaeology and worked
to locate and identify three
nineteenth-century
shipwrecks in Lake Huron
as part of her honors thesis. Over the past three
summers, she has gained additional archaeological
experience working on the excavations at a Bronze
Age Tell site in Pecica, Romania. At UCLA, she will
work with materials from the Channel Islands to
explore the role of transportation technology and
trade in the development of complex societies. She
plans to focus on the way regional interaction
works to promote or inhibit the emergence of social
inequality and political complexity, with an
emphasis on the development of maritime technology. Stephanie will work under the direction of her
academic advisor, Jeanne Arnold, Professor of
Anthropology.
SISKA GENBRUGGE – Last summer Siska
worked as an intern conserving archaeological
objects from the Athenian Agora Excavations in
Athens, Greece, as well as on a collection of African
knives in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in
Tervuren, Belgium.
LAUREN HORELICK – Lauren spent the summer
working the tomb of the Last Phrygian King
“Midas” and reconstructing ancient iron,
bronze,and ceramic vessels at the Gordion Excavation Project in Turkey. During the later part of the
summer she treating several Sri Lankan dance
masks at the Field Museum in Chicago, Il. Current
projects include an investigation into ethnographic
manufacturing techniques of Haitian Vodou
charms and their long-term care in museum
collections.
JIAFANG LIANG – Last summer Jiafang worked
on Chinese wall paintings at the Freer Gallery of
Arts, as well as did on-site conservation at the
Liangdaicun Archaeological Site (Zhou Dynasty) in
Xi’an, China.
LINDA LIN – Linda examined and treated a
Massim canoe model at the de Young Museum of
San Francisco during her summer internship. She
then spent the second half of her summer in Xi-an
China working at the Shaanxi Archaeological
Institute.
SUZANNE MORRIS – Suzanne participated in
the Tarapaca Valley excavation in the Atacama
Desert in northern Chile where she worked with
human remains and identified storage problems of
composite materials. She then interned at the
Conservation Center of the Buffalo Bill Historic
Museum in Cody, Wyoming where she worked on
objects in the museum’s collection.
for more information about the interdepartmental archaeology graduate program or the ucla /
getty master’s program in the conservation of
archaeological and ethnographic materials,
please visit us on the web at www.ioa.ucla.edu.
5 | Backdirt 2009
Institute News & Events »
CREATION OF THE
UCLA ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD PROGRAM
BY RAN BOYTNER
Excavations at San Bernardino National Forest,
California.
UNTIL RECENTLY, UCLA archaeology field
schools were run independently of one another and
with limited success. Between 2000 and 2007, UCLA
established fewer than three field schools yearly. In
early 2007, however, a new initiative at the Cotsen
Institute took shape, and an attempt to reshape
how students experience fieldwork in archaeology
was launched. Influenced by longtime benefactor
Lloyd Cotsen’s suggestion to “transform the way
archaeology is practiced in the twenty-first century”
and by a desire to make field schools intensive and
life-changing learning environments, the UCLA
Archaeology Field Program (AFP) was created.
Building on innovative pedagogy and training at
UCLA projects in Chile, Ecuador, and Panama, the
AFP attempted to create shared standards for student field training, consolidation of resources, and
an expanded range of field school offerings. In 2007,
UCLA sent 25 students to its three field schools.
For 2008, we thought we could at least triple the
number of students and significantly increase the
number of field schools. As this article is written,
the last 2008 program (in Egypt) is wrapping up
6 | Backdirt 2009
its work and the success of the AFP far surpasses
anything imagined.
During 2008, the AFP included 13 field schools
in 11 countries around the world. All of the programs were filled to capacity, and almost 140 students spent five to six weeks (program dependent)
engaging in intensive field research and training.
We insisted on a low faculty/student ratio, with no
program having more than seven students for each
staff member. In many programs, the ratio was
closer to 1:3. Our students worked in four continents, from Egypt in the east to Peru in the west.
Visits to field schools by AFP and Cotsen Institute
staff yielded enthusiastic responses by participating students, and evaluation forms emphasized the
intensive learning that took place.
Some of the statistics are quite impressive. More
than 51 UCLA students participated in the program. Of the remaining students, some were from
other UC campuses and about 40% were from 48
different universities across the US, including some
of the most prestigious schools in the country (such
as the University of Chicago and Columbia Uni-
Left: Survey work at
Catalina Island, California.
Right: Remote Sensing at
Campaña Pucara, Ecuador.
Ceramic Sorting at
Lyminge, England.
versity). Whereas most of the students attended the
field school at the undergraduate level, 11 students
attended as graduate students. Many of the students
report that the time in the field allowed them to
gain important insights not only about archaeology,
but also about themselves.
The 2008 season success encouraged and
allowed us to continue and expand the program. For 2009, we have 20 field schools in 14
countries and in almost every continent (see
www.archaeology.ucla.edu for current offerings).
We will have multiple field schools in California
and Peru, where UCLA presence is particularly
strong. We hope to send 260 students to the field
and provide superb training across the program
offerings.
The economic realities are of considerable
concern but also offer grand opportunity. Because
each of field school offers 12 UCLA credit units
and UCLA allows us to keep overhead fees low, our
programs are inexpensive and competitive while at
the same time at the highest intellectual standard.
The large credit offerings allow students to take the
program and dramatically accelerate their graduation rate. The relative low cost allows students to
experience cultural immersion outside the US in
safe and nourishing environments. UCLA field directors offer students unparalleled access to leading
scholars. In addition, the AFP is directing a significant portion of its budget to grants and fellowships
that offer financial support to deserving students.
We hope to grow further and to soon offer field
schools in every continent of the world. We are
aiming to become a global leader in archaeological training for students at the undergraduate and
graduate levels. We believe that thanks to the academic leadership of our faculty and the generous
support of our donors a UCLA leadership position
in global archaeology is not only our mission, but
also our destiny.
ran boytner is director of international
research at the cotsen institute. for more information about the ucla archaeology field pro gram, please visit www.archaeology.ucla.edu.
7 | Backdirt 2009
ANCIENT TREASURES IN MODERN SPACES:
THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM
BY ELIZABETH KLARICH
WITH BREATHTAKING VIEWS of the Acropolis
and a 360-degree panorama of modern and historic
Athens, the New Acropolis Museum was designed
by world acclaimed architect Bernard Tschumi to
house the wealth of recovered antiquities on the
Acropolis and reunify the surviving pieces of the
unique architectural sculptures of the Parthenon.
To celebrate the construction of this new museum,
the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles,
the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and the UCLA
Classics Department cosponsored a public lecture
and photo exhibition at the Fowler Building in
May of 2008. The staff of the Cotsen Institute collaborated with D. Caramitsos-Tziras (then-Consul
General of Greece) and John K. Papadopoulos
(Professor and former Chair of Classics) to develop
an exhibition space for more than a dozen incredible large-scale photos of the new museum during
its construction.
The photos were on display at the Cotsen Institute on the A level of the Fowler Building from late
April through mid May and received many visitors
during that time. On May 5, 2008, at least 200 visitors from the Los Angeles Greek community and
archaeology enthusiasts viewed the photo exhibition and attended the public lecture in the Lenart
Auditorium. Guest speakers for this event included
Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of
the Organization for the Construction of the New
Acropolis Museum, with opening remarks by both
Caramitsos-Tziras and Papadopoulos.
Architect Bernard Tschumi was scheduled to
lecture with Pandermalis, but remained in Europe
due to a scheduling conflict. Following the lecture,
guests remained for a reception and had an opportunity to talk with the speakers and mingle in the
amphitheater of the Fowler building. As the New
Acropolis Museum is not scheduled to open until
early 2009, the photo exhibition and lecture at the
Cotsen Institute provided the public with an exciting behind-the-scenes preview of the construction
phases of the spaces and collections.
elizabeth klarich is assistant director of the cotsen institute of archaeology. for more information about cotsen institute events, please visit
www.ioa.ucla.edu/news-events.
8 | Backdirt 2009
Photos courtesy of the Organization for the
Construction of the New Acropolis Museum.
A BEHIND-THE-SCENES TOUR OF
UCLA ARCHAEOLOGY COLLECTIONS
THE FOWLER MUSEUM AT UCLA has an archaeological repository of more than 600,000 artifacts acquired during research conducted by UCLA
faculty, staff, and other professional archaeologists.
What most people do not realize is that the vast
majority of collections are curated at the recently
renovated Kinross Building in Westwood Village.
In early June of 2008, the Friends of Archaeology
(FoA) had the opportunity to spend a Saturday
afternoon touring the Fowler Museum Archaeology Collections Facility at Kinross. For this special
tour, Wendy Teeter, Curator of Archaeology at the
Fowler Museum and Research Associate of the
Cotsen Institute, and several volunteers spent their
afternoon showing the 25 guests and Cotsen Institute staff members the research collections stored at
the facility.
The group visited the permanent storage areas,
which house collections from regions as diverse as
California, the American Southwest, many areas
of Mexico, and Sudan. Several collections were
also on display to illustrate active research projects taking place at Kinross. For example, several
volunteers working on materials from the Rainbow
Bridge Monument Valley Expedition (1933–1938)
showed FoA members the artifact catalogs, excavation notes, photographs, maps, and archaeological
collections from this historically significant project
from the American Southwest.
Many members of the group commented that
they had no idea such collections existed on the
UCLA campus and expressed interest in getting
involved in their curation and related research
projects. The Cotsen Institute would like to thank
Teeter and the many volunteers that afternoon for
taking the time to share these rich archaeological
resources with our supporters of archaeology at
UCLA. For information about joining FoA, visit us
online at www.ioa.ucla.edu/support/foa.
News Brief »
CONFERENCE ON SOCONUSCO REGION
(MEXICO) HELD AT THE COTSEN INSTITUTE
BY RICHARD LESURE
IN FEBRUARY of 2008, the Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology hosted a research seminar on the
early archaeology of the Soconusco region on
the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Guatemala. The
impetus for the conference was recent work on the
transition to settled village life in lowland Mesoamerica that has undermined traditional understandings based on highland regions. There turns
out to have been variability from region to region
in hunter-gatherer adaptations, the importance of
maize, and social change in the earliest villages. If
we are to advance understanding of the transition
to agriculture and its consequences in Mesoamerica generally, we require concentrated specialized
work on particular areas.
Archaeological work in the Soconusco region has played a significant role in the growing
recognition of differences between lowlands and
highlands. The UCLA seminar brought together
archaeologists actively working on materials from
the period of transition (4000–400 B.C.) between
nomadic hunter-gatherers and settled village societies. An international group of participants from
the United States, Mexico, and Canada pre-circulated data-rich papers that ranged in topic from the
role of gender in food collection to the emergence
of the area’s first proto-urban centers. The papers
served as the basis of two days of stimulating
discussions. The results will be published by the
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.
richard lesure is associate professor of
anthropology at ucla.
9 | Backdirt 2009
ALWAYS A SUCCESS: THE ANNUAL
OPEN HOUSE AT THE COTSEN INSTITUTE
BY HELLE GIREY
BY NOW the many visitors to the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology know what to expect from the
annual Open House held in May. The laboratories
proudly exhibit the new information that has been
gathered since the last Open House, short public
lectures are presented in the Lenart Auditorium,
the Experiential Technologies Center presents interactive Virtual Reality models, and children have
a chance to try their hand at producing art work
on archaeological topics in the Children’s Activity Center—such as forming clay figures of Easter
Island’s wonderful statues, the moai. Last year, children could also get temporary tattoos inspired by
designs of the Polynesian Islands and color pictures
of Easter Island.
The importance of the Cotsen Institute Open
House is manifold, but its main purpose is to
inform the public about archaeology—what really
happens to the materials from excavations and what
information can be gleaned from these data. School
children can learn about the excitement of archaeology and in many cases learn about the histories
of their own cultures. This is also a wonderful time
to encourage undergraduate students from Los Angeles schools to continue their study of archaeology
and to apply to UCLA.
A number of faculty at nearby institutions who
are UCLA alumni—including Dr. Laurel Breece of
10 | Backdirt 2009
Long Beach City College; Dr. Bill Breece of Orange
Coast College; Dr. Brandon Lewis of Santa Monica
College; Dr. Mark Allen of California State University, Pomona; and Dr. Phil De Barros of Palomar
Community College—bring their students to the
Open House in order to expose them to the wealth
of research topics in the discipline and to meet
Cotsen Institute faculty. The following laboratories
were open to the public this year:
• Anatolian Laboratory
• Ceramics Analysis Research Group
• Channel Islands Laboratory
• Chilean Research Laboratory
• Classics Laboratory
• Conservation Laboratory
• East Asia Laboratory
• Egyptian Laboratory
• European Laboratory
• Mediterranean Laboratory
• Moche Archive
• Rock Art Archive
• South Asian Laboratory
• Southwest Archaeology Laboratory
• Virtual Reality Display
• Zooarchaeology Laboratory
helle girey is director of public programs
at the cotsen institute.
Awards & Acknowledgements »
MR. LLOYD COTSEN RECEIVES
THE PRESTIGIOUS UCLA MEDAL
BY SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
Lloyd and Margit Cotsen
at the Chancellor’s Residence during the award
ceremony. Photo by Kari
Wilton.
IN MAY OF 2008, Mr. Lloyd Cotsen was awarded
the UCLA Medal—the university’s highest honor—
in recognition of his leadership in the field of archaeology. As one of four recipients, Cotsen, former
chair and CEO of Neutrogena Corporation and
current president of the Cotsen Management Corporation, received his medal on May 27 at a special
ceremony at the UCLA Chancellor’s Residence.
Cotsen, who has been supporting archaeology at
UCLA for more than 40 years, began by donating
in 1996 to the Institute of Archaeology’s Friends
of Archaeology after joining several field trips
sponsored by the group. In 1999, the Institute was
renamed in honor of Cotsen for his contributions,
which included a $7 million gift in support of faculty, students, publications, laboratories, academic
programs, and public outreach. In 2006, he donated
an additional $10 million to the Cotsen Institute
of Archaeology to support graduate fellowships,
undergraduate research, publications, and a field
prize. Cotsen’s generosity has established him as the
largest individual donor in the history of UCLA’s
College of Letters and Science.
Cotsen is also president of the Cotsen Family Foundation and has served on the boards of
numerous educational and cultural organizations,
including the Huntington Library, the Getty Trust,
the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los
Angeles Public Library, and the Music Center of
Los Angeles County.
A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard
Business School, Cotsen worked in Greece as a field
architect on archaeological digs for the University
of Cincinnati and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for more than 20 seasons. He
is also a fellow of the American School of Classical
Studies and a premier collector of folk art from
around the globe. The Cotsen Institute faculty, students, staff, and affiliates congratulate Mr. Cotsen
on this major award from UCLA.
shauna mecartea is director of publications and
communications.
11 | Backdirt 2009
CHRISTOPHER B. DONNAN:
A TREASURE OF THE COTSEN INSTITUTE
BY ELIZABETH KLARICH AND SHAUNA K. MECARTEA
CHRISTOPHER B. DONNAN’S history at UCLA
goes back to 1960, when he first worked as a Field
Assistant with the Archaeological Survey while
completing his bachelor’s degree at the University
of California, Berkeley (1962) and 48 years later we
celebrate his outstanding career and service at his
retirement. After his undergraduate experience,
Donnan continued his UCLA education, receiving his master’s degree in Anthropology (1965).
He then returned to Berkeley, where he completed
his doctorate in 1968. That same year, he moved
back to Los Angeles to begin a faculty position in
the Department of Anthropology and we are now
celebrating his fortieth year at UCLA.
During his UCLA career, Donnan has served
as Acting Director of the Archaeological Survey
(1971–1975), Director of the Fowler Museum (1975–
1996), Director of the Moche Archive at the Cotsen
Institute, and Chair of the Cotsen Institute Executive Committee. His classes in Andean prehistory
have always drawn huge numbers of undergraduate
and graduate students, as do his public presentations. Donnan is a dedicated mentor to generations
of students, a consummate collaborator, and an
integral part of the Anthropology Department and
the Cotsen Institute at UCLA.
Research
Donnan is best known for his work in Peru, where
he has dedicated his career to the study of the
Moche culture of the north coast through archaeological fieldwork, collections research, and thousands of hours of material analysis. Donnan has
spent many years living and directing field projects
in Peru at such well-known sites as Chan Chan,
Chotuna-Chornancap, Pacatnamú, Sipán, San José
de Moro, and Dos Cabezas.
Although he has focused primarily on iconography and the rich history of pottery production in the
Andes, Donnan has also published on stone tools,
murals, numbering systems, metallurgy, architecture, burial traditions, and many other elements of
Andean prehistory. In recognition of his contributions to Peruvian archaeology, Donnan was awarded
the Great Cross of the Order of Merit for Distinguished Services by the President of Peru in 1995.
12 | Backdirt 2009
Grants and Awards
Donnan has received research grants and awards
from numerous national and international agencies, including Fulbright, Ford Foundation, National Science Foundation, Kress Foundation, National
Geographic Society, and National Endowment for
the Arts. He has served as an Advisory Committee
Member at the Center for Pre-Columbian Studies at
Dumbarton Oaks (1976–1983), Senior Research Fellow at the Getty Institute for the Study of Art and
the Humanities (1996–1997), University Lecturer at
UCLA (2003), and Distinguished Lecturer in Art of
the Ancient Americas at Johns Hopkins University
and the Walters Art Museum (2005). In 2005, Donnan was elected to membership in the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences—one of the most
prestigious awards honoring excellence in academic
disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs for
more than 225 years.
Museum Exhibitions
and Documentaries
In addition to serving as Director of the Fowler
Museum for more than 20 years, Donnan has
curated a number of museum exhibitions: Moche
Art of Peru (1977–1978), Ceramics of Ancient Peru
(1992), and Royal Tombs of Sipán (1993). These
have all been very well attended in a number of
museums beyond UCLA. He has also brought his
research to the public through participation in the
production of documentary films such as Moche
Art of Peru (1974–1975).
Publications
Donnan has published well over 100 articles and
books for both academic audiences and the public,
including recent volumes published by the Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology Press: Moche Fineline
Painting from San José de Moro and Moche Tombs
at Dos Cabezas. Donnan plans on continuing research in the Moche Archive at the Cotsen Institute and we look forward to his involvement as a
treasured Emeritus Professor.
CHRISTOPHER DONNAN RECEIVES TROWEL
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE
BY HELLE GIREY
ON MAY 10 2008, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Director Charles Stanish presented Christopher
B. Donnan with the Trowel Award—an award
for outstanding service to the Institute—for his
longtime dedication to and involvement in archaeology at UCLA. Donnan, now Professor Emeritus
of Anthropology since his recent retirement, is the
foremost authority on the Moche civilization of
Peru and is fondly nicknamed “Mr. Moche.” He
is also known as the archaeologist with a golden
trowel because wherever he excavates surely some
magical artifacts, interpretation, and information
will emerge!
This golden touch also brought a new museum
facility to UCLA: the Fowler Museum of Cultural
History (now named the Fowler Museum at UCLA).
For many years, archaeological and ethnographic
collections were housed in the basement of Haines
Hall. In 1992, under the directorship of Donnan,
a new museum building was opened for the many
wonderful UCLA collections and temporary exhibits. In 1993, the extraordinary excavation directed
by Walter Alva and Donnan at Sipán in 1987 culminated in the Royal Tombs of Sipán exhibition, which
made its U.S. debut at the Fowler Museum.
Sipán, located on the north coast of Peru and
boasting numerous tombs, is considered the richest site ever excavated in the western hemisphere.
It was a truly exhilarating time at the Fowler
Museum and the Cotsen Institute as entry lines
snaked around the building at times. One Sunday
afternoon during the exhibit, twice the number of
people that could fit into Lenart Auditorium arrived for the Institute Public Lecture by Donnan.
Wine and cheese were served to the people waiting patiently for the impromptu second presentation provided by Donnan while lecture organizers
scrambled to provide fare for the other audience
group. Since that time, the Cotsen Institute knows
that any lecture by Donnan will fill the auditorium
with the public and scholars alike. Donnan served
as the Fowler Museum’s director until 1996.
For the Cotsen Institute, Chris Donnan has been
Acting Director, teacher, researcher, and friend. His
favorite sentence is: “We are on the same team!”
There are few scholars who bring together anthropology, archaeology, and the magic of discovery
like Chris Donnan.
Christopher Donnan and
Helle Girey at the trowel
award reception, 2008.
13 | Backdirt 2009
GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD
CREATED IN HONOR OF LONGTIME VOLUNTEER
THE COTSEN INSTITUTE lost a longtime supporter and former President of
the Friends of Archaeology (FoA) when
Michael Gottesman passed away in January of 2008 at the age of 69. Mike was
born and raised in Los Angeles, receiving
his B.A. in Economics from UCLA and
his M.S. from Pierce College in Inventory
Management. During his undergraduate
years at UCLA, he was in Navy ROTC.
After leaving the Navy, he spent his
career working in the aerospace industry,
where he also met his wife Sonia. Mike’s
involvement with archaeology began in
the 1980s, when he started taking classes
from UCLA Extension, studying with
faculty such as Clem Meighan. He earned
an Archaeology Certificate by writing a
thesis on obsidian hydration studies.
After retiring from Hughes Aircraft
Company in 1993, Mike and Sonia be-
came very active with the FoA—reportedly being “drafted” by the group during a
precolumbian potluck dinner. In addition
to their many hours of volunteer work
at the Institute, the Gottesmans opened
their home to many UCLA archaeologists,
providing a surrogate family for graduate
students and a meeting place for the FoA
for many years.
In Mike’s memory, Sonia and several
members of the FoA began a new fund
for graduate student support. The Michael Gottesman Graduate Student Travel
Award is available to archaeology graduate
students attending academic conferences,
which will contribute significantly to their
professional development. The Cotsen
Institute acknowledges this generous
gift and thanks the Gottesmans for their
many years of service and friendship to
archaeology at UCLA.
Michael Gottesman
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
It has been an exciting year for the staff
of the Cotsen Institute. The following are
among the highlights.
ERIC GARDNER, Publications Coordinator, received a UCLA Staff Scholarship
Award “in recognition of continuing
commitment to professional development
and career growth.” The award provides
$500 to the recipient for training. Eric will
use these funds for a design class at UCLA
Extension.
Laura Lliguin and Efrain Gutierrez
14 | Backdirt 2009
ELIZABETH KLARICH, Assistant
Director, was awarded an International
Collaborative Research Grant from the
Wenner-Gren Foundation to continue her
archaeological research in Peru.
LAURA LLIGUIN, Administrative Assistant, has been busy fundraising for
Multiple Sclerosis research. She and her
boyfriend, Efrain Gutierrez, participated
in the Land Rover Bike MS Tour in Oc
tober, raising more than $2,200 for the
National MS Society, Pacific South Coast
Chapter.
SHAUNA K. MECARTEA, Director
of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Press, was selected to be a participant
in the Professional Development Program, a one-year leadership development
program sponsored by Campus Human
Resources. This program provides participants with opportunities to enhance
professional and management skills, build
professional networks, and learn about the
structure and culture of the university.
Cotsen Institute Symposium »
STORAGE: PRESERVATION AND ACCESS
OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
BY ELLEN PEARLSTEIN
THE COTSEN INSTITUTE and UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic
Conservation hosted a symposium on June 6–8
2008 titled Storage: Preservation and Access of Archaeological Collections, which explored issues surrounding the creation of stable, accessible storage of
portable finds from excavations. The worldwide importance of this topic was indicated by attendance
by 175 delegates from Canada, England, Greece,
New Caledonia, Peru, Turkey, and the United Arab
Emirates—as well as from all over the United States.
The presence of archaeologists, conservators, collections managers, archivists, bioanthropologists,
cultural resource managers, digital documentation
specialists, and imaging scientists demonstrates the
interdisciplinarity of the topic.
The program began with a reception hosted
by the Getty Conservation Institute at the Getty
Villa, with tours of UCLA/Getty Master’s Program
Laboratories. The symposium included 19 presentations delivered by directors of centralized storage
repositories for archaeological collections, archaeological conservators who have achieved innovative
and accessible storage methods, and archaeologists
who have developed digital management systems
for portable finds. The challenges and successes of
negotiating within host countries for resources,
examples of successful onsite storage, digital management, and virtual collections and 3D scanning as
tools for outreach, research, and conservation were
described by the speakers.
Evaluated as a resounding success, the proceedings will be published as an open-access digital
publication in early 2010. The symposium and publication were funded by a generous grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
Top: Pearlstein at podium during opening of symposium.
Bottom: Symposium audience during one of the breaks.
ellen pearlstein is assistant professor of information studies at ucla and faculty member of the
ucla /getty master’s program in the conservation
of archaeological and ethnographic materials.
15 | Backdirt 2009
Field Notes »
Fieldwork in the
Gordion Region, Turkey
This past summer I continued my doctoral dissertation fieldwork at the site of Gordion in central
Turkey. One of my goals was to determine what types
of trees grow at various elevations on mountains in
the Gordion region. So, I rented a car, gathered some
adventurous colleagues, and attempted to drive up a
mountain on dirt roads in a 1980s Fiat. In our most
memorable attempt at the peak of Başyurt Tepesi,
which reaches a height of 2,280 m above sea level, we
got stuck on our first attempt while trying to push
the car up a nearly 30-degree slope. We backtracked
out of the mountain chain and attempted another
ascent—this time successfully reaching the top of the
mountain above 1,900 meters, where we discovered
the picturesque alpine lake shown here (left). This
was well above the tree line, and our first sample of
alpine vegetation in central Turkey.
—Mac Marston, Ph.D. Candidate,
Archaeology
GPR Surveys at the Genghis
Khan Avraga Palace
Dean Goodman of the Geophysical Archaeometry
Laboratory (www.GPR-Survey.com) has conducted
ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys at the
Genghis Khan Avraga Palace site in Eastern Mongolia. The research was done in conjunction with the
Center for Iron Age Studies of Ehime University;
Niigata University, Japan; and the Mongolia Academy
of Science. The purpose of the survey was to help
locate subsurface structures from one of the palace
sites of Genghis Khan. GPR was able to locate subterranean house floors paved with flat stones that also
had externally connected fire pits. The house floors
were ingeniously designed for allowing hot air to rise
under these thirteenth-century dwellings for heating
in severe Mongolian winters.
Subsurface images made with GPR-SLICE software
indicate that areas outside the excavation show
similar patterns, whereby wall structures could be
identified. Archaeologists have been able to extrapolate the presence of a number of similar dwellings
located in the immediate vicinity of the 2008 excavations. GPR imaging was also able to help locate a
sacrificial area where many animal bones were found.
This location may correspond with an area described
in written Chinese documents, discussing the daily
sacrificial burnings Genghis Khan’s wife ordered to
occur each day for an entire year after his death. Additional chemical dating, GPR surveys, and follow-up
excavations are planned for 2009.
—Dean Goodman, Research Associate,
INTERVIEW WITH KARA COONEY
18
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
IN ANCIENT (AND NOT SO
ANCIENT) CHINA
INTERVIEW WITH LI MIN
21
TRACKING THE ORIGINS
OF AGRICULTURE ALONG
THE RED SEA
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL HARROWER
PROFILES
DEATH AND ART IN
EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITY
24
INVESTIGATING
CALIFORNIA PREHISTORY
WITH ZOOARCHAEOLOGY
INTERVIEW WITH JUDY PORCASI
27
17 | Backdirt 2009
Faculty Profile »
NEW EGYPTOLOGIST DISCUSSES
LOVE OF DEATH AND ART
An Interview with Kara Cooney
You received your Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University in 2002,
and your research focuses on Egyptian art and
archaeology. How did you become interested
in ancient Egyptian culture and art?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to learn
all I could about ancient civilizations—and for
whatever reason ancient Egyptian material culture
always resonated with me. I remember when I was
six or seven years old, my mother bought me a book
on Egyptian mummies from the British Museum
and I just adored staring at all those ghoulish dead
bodies, coffins, canopic jars, and books of the dead.
Little did my mother know that I would become a
specialist in funerary arts.
Even though I was enthusiastic about ancient
civilizations at a very young age, I didn’t have much
opportunity to study ancient Egypt in high school
or as an undergraduate. Not many people do. It
wasn’t until my junior year of college that I had the
chance to take a class in Egyptian art. I just loved it,
and it was then that I started to look into gradu-
18 | Backdirt 2009
ate opportunities. Until then, it hadn’t seriously
occurred to me that I could study Egyptian art and
civilization as a profession.
You were Co-curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for Tutankhamun
and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, a Kress
fellow at the National Gallery of Art, and have
appeared as the team archaeology expert on
the History Channel’s Digging for the Truth.
With many interesting and diverse achievements under your belt, what do you think has
been the most compelling so far—and why?
A Kress fellowship and an NSF dissertation award
were invaluable, allowing me to travel all over
the world to study the primary evidence for my
doctoral research (mostly examining coffins and
ostraca in European museums and in Egypt). The
Kress fellowship also funded me for a second year,
during which I wrote the bulk of my thesis. The
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., was
a supportive and diverse environment that encouraged and reinforced the multidisciplinary style of
research that I had been taught at Johns Hopkins.
I’m tremendously proud of my book The Cost of
Death, which is an extension of the work I did while
at the National Gallery—but I have to admit that it
is a very academic book with a limited, Egyptological audience. On the opposite end of the spectrum,
co-curating the King Tut exhibition with Nancy
Thomas at LACMA was a great opportunity to
work on a much more accessible project and to talk
with and lecture to a much broader audience. Plus,
it gave me the chance to work closely with some
amazing objects and to learn about the complicated
world of blockbuster museum exhibits.
While teaching may be my most compelling
pursuit (whether it’s a graduate class on reading
hieroglyphs or an undergrad survey of the ancient
Mediterranean), if I had to name my most unexpected project thus far it would be the television
series I’m currently writing, producing, and hosting
for the Discovery Channel. (In fact, as I type this
I’m on a plane flying to Sri Lanka from Cambodia—where we just shot part of the show in ancient
Angkor.) The series is called Out of Egypt, and my
husband, Neil Crawford (who’s a filmmaker), created the show with me and is an executive producer.
Opposite page: Kara standing
in front of a queen’s pyramid on
the Giza Plateau, Egypt.
Right: Kara in the temple of
Medinet Habu, the mortuary
complex of Ramses III, west
bank of Luxor, Egypt.
While teaching may be my most
compelling pursuit (whether it’s a
graduate class on reading hieroglyphs or an undergrad survey of
the ancient Mediterranean), if I
had to name my most unexpected
project thus far, it would be the
television series I’m currently writing, producing, and hosting right
now for the Discovery Channel.
Because it’s a comparative archaeology series, I’ve
been given the extraordinary opportunity to step
outside of Egyptology—and out of my own comfort
zone—to learn about ancient and modern civilizations all over the world.
Television is easily dismissed by some academics, but as an Egyptologist I’ve learned that this
medium is an important opportunity to communicate to the public. And it gives me the chance to
(informally) apply and test some of my ideas about
ancient Egypt on other cultures as disconnected as
Vietnamese Buddhists and the Moche culture in
Peru. This kind of broad, comparative examination
isn’t necessarily well suited for an academic peerreviewed journal or a university press monograph,
but the medium of television welcomes (and even
demands) telling an accessible story in which I step
out into the unknown—and out of my own area of
expertise.
Your previous position was at the Getty Research Institute (GRI) as Research Associate.
What projects did you focus on during your
tenure there?
At the GRI, I ran the Villa Scholars Program. I read
hundreds of applications and sat on a number of
decision committees. I also ran the annual dissertation workshop at the Getty Center—a three-day
seminar for graduate students in the writing stages
of art historical dissertations. One of the highlights
of my time at the Getty Villa was working closely
with Dr. Erich Gruen, implementing his scholar
year focusing on cultural identity in the ancient
Mediterranean. I was the only Egyptologist at the
Getty Villa, which brought a unique perspective to
a place that traditionally focuses on Greco-Roman
civilizations. Not only did I learn a great deal about
other parts of the Mediterranean but many Getty
colleagues and research fellows had the chance to
learn about ancient Egypt from me. And I made
some lifelong friends. And thankfully, because I
was at the Research Institute, my own academic
writing was a part of my job. I finished my book
The Cost of Death there.
As a new faculty member in the Department
of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, what
are some of your upcoming projects?
I’m knee deep into my second book, The Life
and Death of a Coffin: How and Why the Ancient
Egyptians Spent So Much on Their Funerary Arts,
which will reach out to a larger audience than my
first book. Most of the manuscript is finished, but it
still needs polishing. This book will reach out to as
many people as possible: fellow academics, students, archaeologists in other fields, and the general
public with an interest in Egyptology. There are so
19 | Backdirt 2009
many people out there with such enthusiasm for the ancient world, and for ancient
Egypt in particular.
I’m also actively researching another
book project on spending for death in ancient Egypt during a well-known economic and political downturn—the late New
Kingdom and the so-called Third Intermediate period. I’m very interested in the
ways that economic recession and political
insecurity affect the manner in which
people prepare for something as culturally
conservative as funeral rituals and burial.
And I’ve got some amazing evidence with
which to work, including tombs, coffins,
mummies, and even receipts and letters
that suggest less ostentatious and more
defensive patterns of burial during this
specific time period.
Finally, I’m working on a number of
articles, including at least three submissions for the UCLA Encyclopedia of
Egyptology (UEE)—a groundbreaking
online resource (edited by my colleagues
Willeke Wendrich, Associate Professor
of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,
and Jacco Dieleman, Associate Professor
of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures)
that will make academic Egyptological
information accessible to the entire world,
not just specialist libraries. I’ve just submitted a UEE article on scarabs, and I’m
rewriting another on burial deposits. Next
up is an article on a little-known building
in the Karnak complex that I’ve studied
quite a lot, called the Edifice of Taharka.
How do you think ancient art informs
specialists about ancient cultures?
If one defines “ancient art” quite broadly,
then there is no question that it can
provide a more complete picture of a
civilization. It’s likely that less than five
percent of ancient Egyptians were literate,
so to learn about the bulk of the population we have to turn to non-textual, visual
sources. Some of this material culture is
well made by high-level craftsmen. Other
examples were produced by lower-tier and
poorly paid individuals. These value and
quality differences are very informative
about the makeup of ancient Egyptian
society.
A broader perspective of “art” in the
ancient world brings up two disciplinary
problems. First, many art historians do
not consider lower-quality visual culture
to be “art.” And second, there has long
been a schism in Egyptology (as in just
about every other field of ancient studies)
between those who study texts and those
who study objects. Obviously, this divide
is arbitrary and based on our modern
disciplinary divisions and methods of
organizing data. My work seeks to address
these divisions, on the one hand, by integrating both text and art in my research
projects—and on the other by including
objects in my data sets that might not be
considered “fine art” by some specialists.
You are interested in the cost of
death (which is the title of your first
book). Can your research in ancient
Egypt lend insight into the funerary
practices of today?
I just read a book called The Undertaking
by John Lynch, a poet and undertaker in
the northeast U.S. It’s a beautiful book,
and it just reinforced that American
funerary practices are fundamentally
different from the ancient Egyptians.
Where the elite Egyptians were aggressive
and systematic in giving the dead all that
they needed for a successful transition to
the next world, we put off preparations—
moving forward in our arrangements in a
tentative and even embarrassed fashion.
The Egyptians were so obsessed with
getting the necessary funerary materials
for their dead, like coffins and amulets,
that they often usurped objects that had
been made for others. And we shouldn’t
forget that the purchasing of funerary
objects far in advance of death probably
allowed psychological preparation for
the Egyptian family as well. American
funerals focus much less on the materiality of death and more about denial of it.
In fact, the more I study the ways that the
Egyptians spent tremendous amounts of
their income on preparations for death the
more appropriate the analogy of a modern
American wedding becomes. Both the
Egyptian funeral and the American
wedding involve a tremendous amount
of money spent for one moment of ritual
display—a display that can instantaneously communicate status level, spending
abilities, gender, and even geographic and
cultural identities.
kara cooney is assistant professor in
the department of near eastern languages and cultures. she began teaching at ucla in january.
Kara at a Coptic period cemetery near
Karanis, Fayum.
20 | Backdirt 2009
Faculty Profile »
FROM NUMISMATICS TO
CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY
An Interview with Li Min
BY ERIC C. GARDNER
How did you first become interested
in archaeology?
Archaeology was not an adulthood intellectual
revelation for me. Having grown up in a small
coastal city in China, I had become interested in
history and archaeology in my childhood. After the
traumatic experience of the Cultural Revolution,
the early 1980s was a time of optimism and imagination. There was a great desire among intellectuals
to inspire the next generation. Archaeologists such
as Tong Enzheng wrote science-fiction novels with
archaeological themes, which captivated young
readers like myself.
There was no public archaeology program
available at the time to help the public. The city
science education committee kindly took on the
responsibility and invited a well-respected history
teacher from a local middle school to coach me. I
would visit him after school on a weekly basis after
my classes at the elementary school for a conversation in history. This volunteer intellectual support
was provided to me on the basis of my interest, for
which I am deeply grateful.
With the help of local engineers, I went to the
copper foundry to compile a “research collection”
of bronze coins and objects from scrap metal before
they were melted down. I started to publish my
works on coins in China Numismatics when I was
12. I still care very much about the development of
numismatics. When I heard John Papadopoulos,
UCLA Professor of Classics, deliver a great talk
on Greek coinage at Michigan many years ago, I
thought it had the potential to transform our field.
Although I developed broad intellectual interests
in the following years, the appeal of archaeology—
which allows you to have a conversation with the
past through its actual remnants—never lost its
hold on me.
There is the question of studying Chinese archaeology abroad. The motivation comes from the
appeal of anthropology. When I was in high school,
I met a young local archaeologist who attended
K. C. Chang’s lecture series on anthropological
archaeology at Peking University. I was fascinated
by Chang’s ingenuity in approaching early China
in the broader context of early civilization and past
human experiences. I aspired to study abroad and
went to Canada for my B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology, and completed my Ph.D. at the University
of Michigan. The program in anthropological
archaeology at Michigan provided me with training
on the emergence of states and early civilizations
in a comparative framework. Faculty members
there were keen to provide hands-on training and
assistance for graduate students. Faculty members
Henry Wright and Richard Redding participated
in the fieldwork and contributed their expertise in
archaeological science.
Tell us a bit about your own research. What
areas or methods have you focused on in your
work? What is it that attracts you to them?
My dissertation research (“Conquest, Concord,
and Consumption: Becoming Shang in Eastern
China”) investigates the ways aspects of symbolic,
social, and natural worlds converged in human
interactions with animals—particularly in the
realms of food and religious communication
on the frontiers of Shang civilization in the late
second millennium B.C. The research consisted of
excavation at the Bronze Age site of Daxinzhuang
and zooarchaeological analysis of the excavated
material from the site.
21 | Backdirt 2009
The attraction of archaeology
is its ability to uncover diverse
human experience through minute observations of contextual
remains from the distant past.
The reward of being a detective
of past societies is the potential
to bring the past alive and reveal
the genealogy of our own ideas.
Now that you are part of the faculty at UCLA,
what upcoming projects are you planning?
Above: view from a Han
king’s tomb in Qufu,
Shandong.
22 | Backdirt 2009
My major field research centers on two major
themes. The first is the transformation of regional
society in the context of early state formation and
expansion. It involves understanding regional
site distribution through survey, and changes in
everyday life through excavation. The second is the
transformation of regional society in the context
of early global trade and colonialism. It involves
studying maritime societies and their connections,
which explains my research on coastal China and
southeast Asia.
The questions of the two realms are not dissimilar. How did local conceptions and pursuit of power
figure into the workings of the larger framework?
How did the political dynamics at the local scale
work through existing structures and transform
them? One adjusts the research strategy in response
to the changing scale and nature of interaction,
from interregional to global. The attraction of
archaeology is its ability to uncover diverse human
experience through minute observations of contextual remains from the distant past. The reward of
being a detective of past societies is the potential to
bring the past alive and reveal the genealogy of our
own ideas.
My forthcoming project will be a regional survey
of the Qufu region in the Wen-Si River Basin of
Southern Shandong, not far from where I did my
dissertation fieldwork. Some of the important Chinese archaeological works were carried out in this
region (for example, the excavations of Dawenkou,
Wangyin, Yinjiacheng, and the Bronze Age Lu city
at Qufu). A regional archaeological project would
help to put everything together and address many
unresolved questions in the broad framework of
social evolution. I elaborate on the project in my
article in this issue.
For much of China’s recent history, society—
at least officially—has been more interested
in the future than in the past. At times a great
emphasis was placed on making a decisive
break with old traditions and old ways of life.
How does archaeology fit into contemporary
Chinese culture (both academic and popular),
given that history of tension with the past?
When one tries to make a break with the past, it
involves investigating the past in order to say “We
are so different.” There has been a lot of archaeology
done in an evolutionary scheme in the twentieth
century in order to demonstrate that we are in a
different stage of society. In the 1970s, for example,
prehistoric archaeologists emphasized gender
inequality and wealth differences in their effort
to understand changes from an egalitarian social
structure to one with entrenched inequality—leading to social stratification and the rise of early states.
In contemporary China, the image of the future
is often represented as somewhat resembling the
local governments are rather heavy handed in their
efforts to “develop” the cultural heritage for tourism, which could be equally destructive. There is
more than ever a great need for an educated public
genuinely interested in the inquiry of past societies and appreciative of the intellectual journey of
such inquiry. Therefore, archaeologists have to play
an active role in defining what type of future lies
ahead for Chinese society—in that diverse ways of
representing the past would be a major part of that
future.
Golden Ages of Chinese society in the past—when
the people lived in peace and society prospered. The
past is a potent conceptual tool for political expression in making arguments about what has been
achieved or what should be achieved. Attitudes
toward archaeology and traditions in contemporary
society seem contradictory. On the one hand, the
economic development and grand construction
projects are rapidly destroying the cultural heritage
across the country—and some local governments
perceive cultural preservation as an obstacle to development. On the other hand, Chinese society—at
both an intellectual and popular level—is increasingly fascinated by archaeology.
Recent emphasis has shifted more toward the
cultural history of Chinese civilization, in contrast
to the early research—when more focus was placed
on evolutionary changes. The current interest in the
past, however, is a double-edged sword—as some
What is the most important thing the study of
the past can teach people today?
Wisdom, I would say. We make our decisions based
on past experience, whether it is personal experience or the long-term experience of our society
written in history or preserved in memory. Understanding the past, especially through archaeology,
gives us a more nuanced understanding of human
experience. Archaeology can help give us the wisdom of understanding past failures or how things
came about. We can use it to understand the past as
well as to understand how our conceptual vocabularies about the past come about.
li min is assistant professor in the department of
asian languages and cultures and the interdepartmental archaeology graduate program.
23 | Backdirt 2009
Visiting Scholar Profile »
RESEARCHER STUDIES PATHWAYS TO
AGRICULTURE IN ETHIOPIA AND YEMEN
An Interview with Michael Harrower
BY ERIC C. GARDNER
What is your background in archaeology?
I first became interested in archaeology after a year
at Simon Fraser University as an undergraduate,
while visiting museums and archaeological sites
in Thailand. I was particularly fascinated that so
little seemed to be known about sites and ancient
history there. I came back and declared a major in
archaeology, and really developed enthusiasm for it
after that. Archaeology also appealed to me because
it offered a mixture of sciences and humanities,
which is something I remain very interested in.
After graduating from Simon Fraser, I completed a
Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from
The Ohio State University.
What made you interested in coming to work
as a visiting scholar at the Cotsen Institute?
The Cotsen Institute has a renowned history and
reputation as an outstanding program and has
hosted an impressive list of visiting scholars. Everything that excited me about the Institute has been
confirmed in the time I’ve been here. There is a
great community of people who are drawn together
because of mutual interests. You have people from
different departments that see a lot in common
with archaeologists in other academic units. The
Cotsen Institute gives them an opportunity for
scholarly interchange.
Some of your research deals with transitions
to agriculture in Ethiopia and Yemen, areas
that are not traditionally well represented in
many American institutions. What drew you to
this part of the world?
As an undergraduate I became very interested in
Near Eastern agricultural origins. I started contacting people who were scholars in that field, one
of whom was Joy McCorriston—who became my
Ph.D. advisor. She was starting a project in Yemen
at the time, and although that isn’t one of the core
regions where agriculture first begins for a variety of different reasons I became interested in the
beginnings of agriculture there and got involved
in her project. Yemen has not been as well studied as many other parts of the world for a variety
of reasons, including that access has been difficult (definitely until the 1960s, but also after that
time)—so there has been a series of wide lacunae
in the knowledge of the archaeological history of
Yemen, and that makes it a particularly fascinating place to work in part because some of the basic
questions about what happened when and where
are really open questions.
In some ways the same applies to Ethiopia.
Because of political conflicts and access issues, it’s
been a challenging place to work over the years—
although things have improved recently. Of course
there are lots of connections between these two
parts of the world. The Horn of Africa is only 30
km away from southern Arabia, and their histories
are unique but closely interconnected.
How do developments here compare to more
familiar cases in Egypt, or the Levant?
That’s a very interesting question. Many are
coming to recognize that our understandings of
early agriculture have been dramatically shaped
by a handful of regions that have been studied in
considerable detail because they have the earliest
evidence of crops and domesticated animals. Some
of the patterns in surrounding areas really differ.
For instance, in Yemen some of the earliest farming doesn’t involve sedentary agricultural villages.
It involved more what one sees ethnographically in
24 | Backdirt 2009
different reasons, chose not to adopt agriculture for
parts of Africa where people move quite frequently
an extended period of time—so that’s a fascinatduring the year and spend two or three months in
ing issue about transitions. They seem to be quite
one area raising crops (for instance, sorghum) and
significantly delayed for
move with their animals to
reasons that are very
a different area in different
Many
are
coming
to
recognize
different from those that
times of year—returning
cyclically rather than staying
that our understandings of early inhibited the spread of
agriculture in Europe.
in one place. Sedentism was
agriculture
have
been
dramatithought to be necessary for
What might account
agriculture based on findings cally shaped by a handful of
in the Levant, and we just
for this delay in the
regions that have been studied
don’t see that in other areas.
areas where you
The other thing that really
in considerable detail because
work?
is quite striking is that agrithey
have
the
earliest
evidence
Many archaeologists are
culture really appears quite
recognizing that rather
late in the Horn of Africa and of crops and domesticated anithan an invention or
southern Arabia compared
mals.
Some
of
the
patterns
in
technological advance
to these other regions. It’s
agriculture entails
not that people wouldn’t have surrounding areas really differ.
societal transformation.
been aware of the opportuThat recognition makes
nities (they were in contact
with peoples in other regions and knew that their
it clear that it’s very diverse and very unique in
specific areas. So, if we do indeed think of agriculneighbors were sustained by more than just hunted
ture as a societal transformation then we really need
animals and gathered plants, that they had these
to rethink some of the ways we’ve been thinking
different lifeways), but they, probably for a range of
Mike trying his hand at
plowing in Ethiopia while a
local farmer laughs at the
oxen’s attempted escape.
25 | Backdirt 2009
about its spread and about its reformulation or even
reinvention in different parts of the world. That’s
part of the reason I think these lesser-known areas
are so important for future work in archaeology,
because they really round out the picture that’s been
relatively narrowed by a focus on a small handful of
regions with the earliest and most spectacular finds.
Do you have an ongoing project in Yemen
right now where you are studying this?
We are planning fieldwork in January to March in
Oman, which is an outgrowth of collaborative work
we’ve been doing with a team in Yemen involving
McCorriston, Prem Goel, Dorota Brzezinska, Tara
Steimer-Herbet, and others. We’ve been looking at
tombs and other stone monuments in southern Arabia and how their spatial patterning reflects social
relations among ancient tribes and emerging states
in southern Arabia. One type of tomb (sometimes
referred to as a “high circular tomb” or a “cairn
tomb”) first appears during the late fourth millennium B.C., about fifty-two hundred years ago.
Many arid parts of Yemen are sparsely populated, and there is an incredible level of preservation of some of these tombs—fields of thousands
of tombs in some places. Another prevalent type
of monument, called a trilith, appears about 2000
years ago and is arguably linked to camel caravans
which would have been taking incense (mainly
frankincense) from eastern Yemen and carrying
it to the capitols of desert kingdoms, including
Ma’rib, and eventually transporting that incense
to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. So, these
monuments are part of an important material
record of hinterland peoples and their activities in
these highland desert landscapes.
You work extensively with GIS technology.
How do you use GIS technology in the work
you do? What impact has this technology had
on archaeology as a discipline?
My work with GIS not only involves GIS computer
software but also remote-sensing data such as satellite imagery, and GPS mapping technologies that
are powerful tools for archaeological fieldwork and
analysis. These three things appear as a triad that is
sometimes referred to as geomatics or Geographic
Information Science that encompasses a whole
realm of technologies for collecting, managing,
and analyzing spatial data. These tools have had
important impacts in archaeology. Particularly in
the last three years, with the unveiling of Google
Earth, many have come to realize how important
spatial perspectives can be for a variety of different
reasons—not limited to archaeology but certainly
including it. So, it is really a burgeoning specialization and one that has an exciting future role to play.
It is interesting how GIS has also become embroiled in some of the theoretical debates which
have sprung up in archaeology over the last 20
years. You see a lot of archaeologists struggling to
incorporate or reconcile GIS with their theoretical orientations and interests. So, you have a group
of people that have really emphasized quantitative
analyses and statistics and the scientific aspects
of archaeology who have been interested in GIS,
and many people who have been more interested
in the humanistic and interpretive and qualitative research also using GIS. How that plays out
within the community of those interested in GIS is
quite interesting to me—how it’s shaped by those
orientations and how it in turn shapes peoples
notions about where archaeology should be going,
what kinds of questions are appropriate, and how
we arrive at satisfying answers to the questions we
decide to ask. So, that’s been one point that makes
GIS very interesting to me.
michael harrower is the first two -year cotsen
postdoctoral fellow at the cotsen institute.
26 | Backdirt 2009
Volunteer Profile »
UNEARTHING
CALIFORNIA'S PREHISTORY
An Interview with Judy Porcasi
BY ERIC C. GARDNER
How did you become interested in archaeology? What is your background in the field?
Archaeology is a second career for me. I worked for
about 25 years in California’s aerospace industry
before becoming an archaeologist. I was a specialized technical writer and management analyst with
several of the major aerospace companies, and so
was my husband. Well, after he retired and was
having fun taking courses at UCLA I decided that I
wanted to do that too. We took paleontology, geology, and archaeology classes and enjoyed these very
much. My first archaeology class was a rock art
field class with Jo Anne
van Tilburg, Research
Associate of the Cotsen
Institute. I had been out
of college for decades,
and I wondered if I could
handle some “hardcore”
academic work. But all
went well and then I took
a faunal analysis class
with Dr. Roy Salls. It was
a very inspiring class, especially since it related to
the life sciences—which
were always an interest
of mine.
After completing the
class, I decided to volunteer in the bone lab. The
staff of the lab mentored
me for awhile, and soon I
was doing faunal identifications and analysis. In
the meantime, my husband and I continued to take the other archaeology classes required to finish the UCLA Extension
Certificate in Archaeology. My final project for that
was a faunal report that now has been published. To
become more professional, I entered the Cal State
Northridge Master’s program in Anthropology—
again focused on the faunal aspect of archaeology.
As part of this program, I had the opportunity to
do both excavation and faunal analysis on important sites on Catalina and San Clemente Islands. On
Catalina Island I worked at Little Harbor and on
San Clemente I worked at Eel Point.
Overall, I find archaeology to be very stimulating—especially because it brings in so many diverse
but related disciplines. When working with bone
collections you invariably find an interesting aspect
that needs additional research focus. This is my
primary interest. If a question presents itself, I love
to “dig” into it. Before studying archaeology I had
been trained in investigative reporting as a journalism student at both USC and UCLA, so I’ve always
been doing some type of research. Faunal analysis
is like solving puzzles all day. I just recently finished
my Ph.D. at Leicester University in the United Kingdom, again doing a very
extensive faunal study.
Can you talk a little
bit about the work
you do in the bone
lab? What kinds of
puzzles are you able
to solve there?
Archaeological bone
collections come into
the lab either from
academic projects or
from cultural resource
management (i.e., commercial) projects, and
it’s our responsibility
to identify and analyze
each bone or fragment
to the most definitive
level possible. We identify the animal species
and any modifications,
such as burning or tool
making, that might have been made to the bone by
people. This gives us insight into the dietary and
other uses people might have been making of animals in their environment. We can get an image of
the ecological situation, ritual activities, and so on.
Studying changes in use of animal products over
long periods of time, we can determine when things
were going well for site occupants or when there
were economic or societal problems impacting their
ability to get or use certain foods. The faunal record
tells a lot about the people who have left little or no
other evidence of their lifeways.
27 | Backdirt 2009
You mentioned that for your Master’s you did
some work in the Channel Islands, and that
you are currently working with Wendy Teeter.
Tell us about some of the fieldwork you’ve
done.
I’ve done fieldwork on Catalina, on San Clemente
Island, in Baja California, and on the coastal mainland of California. I especially enjoyed working
in some of the early Spanish missions in San Luis
Obispo and Monterey Counties. In addition to my
work at the Institute, I am also an independent
faunal consultant. I work on commercial contracts
for collections excavated all over California and a
few from Mexico. While most of my work is done
in a lab setting, I enjoy working in the field as much
as possible.
Care to share any especially memorable experiences from any of your projects?
I think it is especially important to report and
disseminate archaeological findings. I make it a
point to publish any significant findings from my
faunal projects. For example, at Catalina and San
Clemente I was able to identify the remains of the
enormous Mola mola ocean sunfish, which had not
been previously identified at those islands. It turns
out that prehistoric islanders exploited an intensive
fishery of this species. This is rather amazing since
the Mola is the size of a Volkswagen and can weigh
more than 3,000 pounds. We found remains of
thousands of these fish.
Another finding was that the islanders on both
Catalina and San Clemente were big-time dolphin
hunters. How these people captured the ocean sunfish and hundreds of dolphins remains a mystery.
Recently I co-published the story of the now-extinct
flightless duck (Chendytes lawi). We were able to
track when, where, and how long it took this animal
to become extinct once people arrived on the California coast. Since the duck was flightless, it had
no protection from terrestrial predators—whether
human or animal.
Much is known about the recent populations, the
proto-historic people, and those occupying the
coast when the Spanish arrived. My interest really
goes back to the very beginning. My dissertation
and the research I’m working on now goes back
10,000 years, and really nothing is known about the
people of coastal California at that time. There are
only a few faunal collections from that time period.
Other than the faunal record, very little remains as
evidence of these earlier occupations.
There are conflicting ideas about who these
people might have been and how they arrived here.
I believe that there was a significant maritime migration along the coast between 13,000 and 10,000
years ago. We really don’t know much about these
people other than what we can discern from the
debris they’ve left behind. More recent populations
have left a variety of artifacts and other evidence of
complex societies. You don’t find any of that in the
earlier sites. Part of the problem is that rising sea
level over the millennia has drowned many of the
oldest sites.
Right. You’re talking about a period when
much of North America was in an Ice Age.
Yes. I believe that people were able to get to western
North America by sea following along the coast
from northwestern Asia. There were inlets called refugia, where they could sustain themselves and find
resources. They knew how to make use of whatever
the sea provided. It’s not as if there was nothing but
ice along the coast. The open coastal areas and the
kelp forests provided adequate resources for them.
They also seemed to find early refuge on the islands.
Closing thoughts?
I’m very excited about being a Research Associate
at the Cotsen Institute. Hopefully this will give me
the opportunity to find new lines of inquiry and
research. I hope to be able to join with and assist
the other Cotsen researchers in any way I can.
judy porcasi is a new research associate at the
Do you feel like you have a fair conception of
what life was like for some of these populations in prehistoric coastal California?
28 | Backdirt 2009
cotsen instutute and a long-time volunteer.
LOFKËND, ALBANIA:
AFTER EXCAVATION
HANS BARNARD
SARAH MORRIS
& JOHN PAPADOPOULOS
TARAPACÁ, CHILE:
2008 SEASON
RAN BOYTNER
30
32
JAFFA CULTURAL HERITAGE
PROJECT: REPORT
AARON BURKE
34
PAMBAMARCA, ECUADOR:
FIELD SCHOOL
SAM CONNOR & CHAD GIFFORD
SCALORIA DAY
IN GENOA
ERNESTINE S. ELSTER
THE POWER AND
PITFALLS OF GIS
MICHAEL J. HARROWER
BYZANTINE ART
IN THE MAKING
IOANNA KAKOULLI
& CHRISTIAN FISCHER
FIELD RESEARCH IN
PUKARA, PERU
ELIZABETH KLARICH
36
38
40
42
46
CONSERVING AN ANCIENT
FEATHER BLANKET
ELLEN PEARLSTEIN
48
RECONCILING
WITH THE PAST
MERRICK POSNANSKY
50
52
ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE
PETRIFIED FOREST
GREG SCHACHNER
56
58
BEHIND THE SCENES
AT THE LA NHM
KAREN WISE
EXCAVATIONS AT
SISUPALGARH
MONICA L. SMITH &
RABINDRA KUMAR MOHANTY
60
REFLECTIONS
NOMADS OF EGYPT’S
EASTERN DESERT
A CONFERENCE ON THE HISTORY OF
THE PEOPLES OF THE "EASTERN DESERT"
From prehistory to the present
BY HANS BARNARD
IN 1998, the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cai- measure. Many economic, environmental, and poro (NVIC) published the proceedings of a meeting
litical factors determine whether groups will move
titled “Life on the Fringe,” organized by Olaf Kaper
or settle—and a terminology with fixed categories
(now at Leiden University) and Willeke Wendrich,
for mobile and sedentary groups is no more apAssociate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and plicable to the ancient situation than to the present.
Cultures at UCLA. The subject of the meeting and
Much like the ancient names (such as Medjay or
the volume was life in the desert areas of Egypt
Blemmyes) do not correspond with our modern
in Graeco-Roman times (332 B.C.E.–641 C.E.). In
use of such ethnic terms, so our understanding of
2008, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA words such as tribe, nomad, or Bedouin does not
published the combined proceedings of two meetcorrespond to reality.
ings titled Nomads in Archaeology—organized by
Apart from logistical problems, the study of the
Wendrich and the author.
Eastern Desert is hampered by biases in the textual
The subject of these meetings and the volume
sources, by ambiguous ethnographic parallels, and
was the archaeology of mobile peoples, with a geoby the low archaeological visibility of the remains
graphical emphasis on Central Asia and the desert
of the desert dwellers. The vast majority of the hiszone between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley in
torical sources were written by outsiders who never
Egypt and Sudan. The mineral
visited the area. These were
wealth of the latter area, usuprejudiced toward a settled way
Nomadic people are
ally referred to as the Eastern
of life and express negative atnot archaeologically
Desert, has attracted miners
titudes, which exist until today,
and quarrymen from very early
toward mobile groups. Ethnoor historically invistimes onward. Their remains
graphic and ethnoarchaeologiible, but leave traces
and those of the various harbors
cal information is limited and
and trade routes that connected
provides incomplete parallels
that are discernable
the Nile Valley with Arabia
between modern and ancient
and often specific for
Felix, sub-Saharan Africa, India,
mobile groups. The emphasis of
and the enigmatic Land of Punt
the archaeological research has
a nomadic way of life.
have attracted most of the attenbeen on the more visible and
tion of historians and archaeoloeasier-to-interpret remains of
gists that study the region.
the mines, quarries, and trade routes of outsiders
Despite environmental degradation, which
temporarily settling in the desert. Many studstarted with the end of the Holocene pluvial period
ies concentrate on Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman
about 8000 years ago, and scholarly neglect the
Egypt, disregarding Nubian, Napatan, and Meroitic
Eastern Desert has native inhabitants and a history
sources of information.
of its own. The arrival in the Nile Valley of the
It has recently been appreciated that nomadic
hunter-herder-gatherers is one of the many factors
people are not archaeologically or historically invisthat gave rise to Pharaonic civilization. Sometimes
ible, but leave traces that are discernable and often
a hint of those that remained behind can be gleaned specific for a nomadic way of life. A new interprefrom the historical sources, such as the Medjay
tation of existing data will lead to new insights,
(around 2250–1800 B.C.E.) and the Blemmyes
and new archaeological tools and techniques will
(around 600 B.C.E.–600 C.E.). At other times, their dramatically increase the number of sites and
traces appear in the archaeological record, such as
artifacts—as well as the information gleaned from
pan-graves (dating 1650–1500 B.C.E.) and Eastern
them. During the past decades, the anthropological
Desert Ware (dating 300–600 C.E.), but informatheory on the relationship between the settled mation on the indigenous history and culture remains
jority and the mobile minority in the Near East has
scarce and incomplete.
developed from the permanent conflict reflected in
It is clear that the pastoral nomads in the Eastmany historical sources to the symbiotic relationern Desert have always depended on the farmers
ship that can be deduced from archaeological and
in the Nile Valley, whereas the farmers needed the
ethnographical data.
products of the desert dwellers in almost equal
30 | Backdirt 2009
Life in the Eastern Desert: As a symbol of hospitality
and recreation, enjoying djabana (coffee with ginger
and sugar) is an important part of Beja life (cf. The
Archaeology of Mobility, pp. 518-520; photo by W.Z.
Wendrich).
Unfortunately, these insights come at a time in
which access into the Eastern Desert has become
increasingly difficult. A conference aimed to address the problems and possibilities of the study of
the dwellers of the Eastern Desert, as well as to provide an overview of the current state of our knowledge, took place at the NVIC on November 25–27,
2008. This meeting was organized by the author
and Kim Duistermaat, the current director of the
NVIC, with the assistance of staff members of the
NVIC and financial support of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Cairo and the Cotsen Institute.
The first two days of the conference were filled
with short presentations covering a wide variety of
subjects and time periods. The first session concentrated on the natural environment and the prehistory of the desert. A number of important sites
with petroglyphs were presented and discussed, as
well as the archaeology of some of the more ancient
sites in the desert. The second session centered on
current and future developments, both in the desert
and in research strategies. It became evident that
the area and its inhabitants have always been in flux
and that although certain aspects appear constant
there is no firm evidence of a true continuity in human activities or even of human presence.
Ongoing climate change and development of the
region for tourism are now transforming the Eastern Desert at a rapid pace and demand inventive
input concerning archaeological and environmental
preservation. Sessions on the second day of the conference centered on the area in Graeco-Roman times
(during which the Eastern Desert saw more visitors
from outside than ever before) and on the traces
of similar visitors during other periods, including
the Coptic monks who still retreat into the desert—where they inevitably compete with the native
inhabitants for space, water, and other resources.
During the lively discussion that followed these
sessions, as well as each individual presentation, it
was concluded that the distinction between outsider
and insider information was not as clear as initially
assumed and that as much information as possible
needs to be taken into account if we want to further
our knowledge efficiently. A lot can still be learned
from existing material and texts, much of which
are unpublished, as well as from the study of satellite imagery and reports and maps of the Colonial
period. Special attention needs to be given to the
understanding of the archaeoclimate and to landscape archaeology, together with the development
and testing of models for the movement of people.
As it would not have been appropriate to discuss
the history of a people so close to their homeland
without any of them present, the morning of the
third and last day of the conference was spent
talking to representatives of several Bedouin tribes
from the Sinai and the Egyptian Red Sea coast.
This part of the program was made possible by the
logistical and linguistic assistance of Karin van
Opstal, Rudolf de Jong, and Amir Gohar. The Bedouin appeared well aware of the changing of their
environment and lifestyle. All mentioned the push
of the deteriorating desert (with its lack of possibilities for improvement) and the pull of the city, with
its schools, jobs, and televisions.
At the same time, all were worried about losing
their customs and traditions, which feature prominently in their oral history and personal identity.
In the evening, the conference was summarized
and its preliminary conclusions discussed by Dr.
J. L. Bintliff (Professor of Classical Archaeology at
Leiden University) during the yearly Cleveringa
Lecture. This lecture is held in Leiden and many
other places worldwide to commemorate the brave
stance taken on November 26, 1940 by Dr. R. P.
Cleveringa, at the time Professor of Law at Leiden
University, when he denounced the firing of his
colleague Dr. E. M. Meijers by the Nazi government
solely due to his Jewish upbringing. The Cleveringa
Lecture in Cairo and the subsequent reception were
well attended by men and women of many different
backgrounds. The final proceedings of the conference on the history of the peoples of the Eastern
Desert, together with contributions of invited authors, will be submitted and hopefully accepted for
publication with the Cotsen Institute. For now, they
may be found at www.archbase.org/ED/.
hans barnard is a research associate
at the cotsen institute.
31 | Backdirt 2009
COMING FULL CIRCLE:
THE 2008 SEASON AT TARAPACÁ, CHILE
BY RAN BOYTNER
Figure 1: Satellite image of Caserones.
Figure 2 (below): Overview of TR 1024.
32 | Backdirt 2009
AS SOME OF THE MORE AVID readers of Backdirt know, the Tarapacá Valley
Archaeological Project is taking place in
one of the harshest places on earth: the
heart of the Atacama Desert. Four years of
work there revealed an astonishing range
of adaptations and great concentration of
sites. One in particular, named Caserones
(see Figure 1), is so large that is difficult to
imagine how the valley could have supported its population. As data were pouring in from our multidisciplinary research
team, we had to dramatically adjust our
initial understanding of the area and
confront the new realities exposed in the
material record.
Before beginning research at Tarapacá, we thought that the valley played an
important role in the resource acquisition
by the emerging Tiwanaku polity during
the first millennium A.D. We believed
that the administrative innovations of
Tiwanaku elites allowed the transportation of rich minerals from places such as
Tarapacá to the Titicaca Basin in significant quantities and that these resources
provided enough wealth to allow Tiwanaku to spread its political and economic
domination throughout the southern Andes. We were wrong. Of more than 5,000
ceramic sherds collected in our extensive
survey, only 3 may have been Tiwanaku.
Not only was there no evidence for Tiwanaku at Tarapacá, there was little evidence
for contact with the highlands at all prior
to the Late Intermediate period (ca A.D.
1000).
So what is going on? Like you, we were
scratching our heads. The literature suggests that a huge polity, likely a chiefdom,
Figure 3: Excavations at TR 1024. Image by
Ran Boytner
Figure 4: Excavations of the irrigation canals.
Image by H. Barnard.
Figure 5: Satellite image of irrigation canal
and agricultural fields. Image by H. Barnard.
emerged at Tarapacá at the exact time environmental conditions worsened dramatically throughout the Andes. It has been
suggested that even as major civilizations
collapsed elsewhere (Wari, Moche, Tiwanaku) the extreme desert environment was
supporting increased complexity and even
the creation of a vast irrigation canal and
field system.
These observations were difficult to
accept. A more intensive examination of
the literature revealed that this theory is
based on dates extracted from ceramic
fragments using thermoluminescence
(TL) dating technology, a notoriously
difficult technique with a wide margin
of error. In addition, radiocarbon dates
collected from Caserones in the 1960s
suggested occupation between A.D. 500
and 1000. But the context of the dated
materials was lost and it is impossible to
know what was dated exactly.
Thus, the 2008 season was dedicated
to solving the chronological sequence.
We focused our efforts on two different
locations. The first was the careful stratigraphic excavation of a site previously
identified by the 1967 Chile–California
expedition and by our own survey. The
1024 site (also known as TR 13) is of very
similar architecture to Caserones, lies
only 3 km to its north, and includes three
different architectural styles (see Figure 2).
We excavated eight different units
at the sites, carefully documenting the
different layers and extracting well-preserved organic samples for radiocarbon
analysis (see Figure 3). Our second effort
was focused on the large irrigation canal
originating at the mouth of Tarapacá and
ending at a very complex field system
almost 7 km to its south (see Figure 4).
We excavated three different cuts of the
canal, collecting organic samples from
its construction layers and observing
heavy microstratigraphy at the canal bed.
It is clear that water flowed at the canal
multiple times, which likely indicates an
extended period of use.
At the time of this writing, our radiocarbon samples are still being processed
for export permit by the Chilean authorities. We are still unable to offer results
and address the chronological problem.
However, ceramics recovered from the
lower layers at 1024 and the irrigation
canal are of the same style as those found
at Caserones. It seems that all three locations are contemporaneous and therefore
built when Caserones reached its zenith. If
confirmed by our radiocarbon results, this
will make a lot of sense.
As rainfall increased almost 20% over
time across the Andes, larger amounts
of surplus crops were produced—which
supported and strengthened an ever-increasing elite. State-level societies emerged
across the Andes, with Tiwanaku the
southern manifestation of such increased
complexity. Increased rainfall allowed
local residents of Tarapacá to expand their
subsistence activities, which led to the creation of larger sedentary sites. Local social
complexity evolved into a large chiefdom,
and when caravans of Tiwanaku merchants
traveled into the valley its inhabitants (having become more locally centrist) began to
reject Tiwanaku merchant wares and ideas.
Similar to the rejection of Hellenistic
ideas spread in the ancient Near East
prior to Alexander the Great, some communities chose to resist and protect local
identities and traditions. Caserones was
built as a response to the threat from the
highlands, with a large public building
at its center symbolizing its vast area of
influence. It became the center of the PicaTarapacá culture and thrived by engaging in the large-scale public works (the
canal and fields) that led to a phenomenal
increase in food production.
However, the Tarapacá Valley was
impacted by climate changes that undermined the subsistence and growth—and
thus the scope and influence—of the
major civilizations of the Andes. The
large, unified, and proud cultural tradition of Pica-Tarapacá collapsed and
endemic violence and war over very scarce
resources ensued. Kin-based small groups
abandoned Caserones and its large irrigation project and moved upriver, where
accessible water was still available. Even
there, competition for water and other resources was fierce—and thus settlements
were highly fortified and well protected to
guard against threat of violence.
The interpretations presented here are
far from our initial assumptions of the cultural evolution at the Tarapacá Valley. Not
for the first time, the data recovered from
actual archaeological investigation forced
archaeologists to dramatically alter preconceived ideas—but precisely these types
of intellectual challenges are what make
archaeology so fascinating and intriguing
to scholars and the public worldwide.
ran boytner is director of international research and a research associate at
the cotsen institute.
33 | Backdirt 2009
THE 2008 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
JAFFA CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECT
BY AARON BURKE
THE JAFFA CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECT
(JCHP), which was founded in early 2007 by its codirectors Aaron Burke, Assistant Professor of Near
Eastern Languages and Cultures (NELC) at UCLA,
and Martin Peilstöcker of the Israel Antiquities
Authority has completed its second full year of
activity. The activities of the JCHP in 2008 included
work on the first volume of the JCHP series as well
as on the publication of Jacob and Haya Kaplan’s
excavations (1955–1981), the initiation of research
excavations on the mound, and continued work on
the publication of the Ganor Compound and Qishle
excavations, which ended in 2007. Post-season work
continued during the 2008/2009 academic year on
publication and computer modeling of its remains.
2008 Field Season
Excavations, under the supervision of Kyle Keimer
and George Pierce (NELC Department graduate
students), were conducted during four weeks in
July of 2008 focusing on work within the Visitor’s
Plan of Jaffa showing location of Kaplan excavation
areas (by George Pierce).
34 | Backdirt 2009
Center in Qedumim Square. At the start of the
season, our goal was to undertake a deep sounding within the lowest levels of Area C—Kaplan’s
excavation area that is now enclosed within the
Visitor’s Center. Upon closer assessment of the area
and reflection upon references in Kaplan’s preliminary reports, we felt that it would be necessary first
to clarify further the remains of what was consequently revealed by our work to be a well-preserved
structure in Area C, which Kaplan had dated to the
third century B.C.E.
We were able to open four probes to explore this
structure, which revealed that the structure is far
more substantial than Kaplan ever realized—actually underlying the entire excavation area. Our
efforts focused on the first probe, which traced the
north wall of the central room to the west until the
west wall (which had never been excavated) was
exposed. The probe was dug down more than 2 m
and eventually reached the bottom of the ashlar
masonry walls in this corner (see reconstruction in
the image below).
These walls (probably of Hellenistic date, as
indicated by Kaplan) rest upon an earlier, possibly
Persian-period, wall of slightly different orientation
but that clearly served as the foundation for the
ashlar wall. Traces of the plaster floor in this room
were detected below the mass of early Roman fill,
including abundant ceramics used to backfill this
room.
Kaplan Publication Project
Most of our publication efforts were invested in the
preparation of a collection of 26 studies for the first
volume of the JCHP series for submission in late
2008. However, considerable work was also invested
in preparation for the publication of Jacob Kaplan’s
excavations, which is now being funded by the
Shelby White–Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. Analysis and ceramic readings of
the excavated remains from Areas B, D, G, and F
were completed in the field—and pottery readings
for Area A, which were initiated, were completed
for the early seasons (1955–1958). Members of the
JCHP team also continued the creation of a digital
archive of materials needed for the publication
project.
These electronic resources are now available to
all team members via the Online Cultural Heritage Research Environment (OCHRE) developed
by David and Sandra Schloen of the University of
Chicago. This data entry work continued in the
fall of 2008 with the hiring of undergraduate and
graduate students. The goal is the completion of the
basic data entry, including links to all electronic resources (i.e., photographs, drawings, and museum
records), by the spring of 2009—before returning
to the field for a resumption of analysis of these
materials.
Virtual Reality Modeling 2008
With the assistance of Robert Cargill, a recent
NELC graduate at UCLA, work was also begun
during September and October of 2008 on a virtual
reality model of the Hellenistic structure that was
partially exposed by Kaplan in Area C during his
1965 excavations and (as mentioned previously) was
the focus of our excavations in 2008. This work was
funded by the Kershaw Chair of Ancient Eastern
Mediterranean Studies, which is currently held by
William Schniedewind in the NELC Department.
A number of reasons made this structure the
best starting point for virtual reality modeling
efforts in Jaffa. First, this area consists of a well-preserved structure—the walls of which can be traced
over much of the area. Second, a large assemblage
of Hellenistic wares is available from the Kaplan
collection that can be accessed, scanned or modeled, and included within the model of this building. Third, because the area is already enclosed
within the Visitor’s Center it presents a unique
opportunity for improving the presentation of archaeological finds at Jaffa and thereby demonstrating the potential for investment in modeling efforts.
Finally, the area is also a good choice because of
the planned excavations for 2009 and 2010 that will
permit us to integrate our findings with the model
as it continues to develop.
Virtual reality model by
Robert Cargill of Hellenistic structure in Area C.
Summary
The second year of work by members of the JCHP
established a new milestone for the project. The
renewal of research excavations at the site in Area
C and combined work toward publication of older
excavations provide the project with a firm foundation for continued progress toward its primary
objectives: research, publication, presentation,
and conservation of Jaffa’s cultural heritage. The
support of the Cotsen Institute and the Israel
Antiquities Authority will ensure the longevity of
the project as it continues to attempt to meet the
challenges posed by an archaeological project in a
city undergoing urban renewal.
aaron burke is assistant professor of archaeology of ancient israel and the levant at ucla.
35 | Backdirt 2009
PAMBAMARCA AND UCLA
FIELD PROGRAM STUDENTS:
A match made in the Ecuadorian Andes
BY SAMUEL CONNEL AND CHAD GIFFORD
WE ARE THRILLED to highlight our relationship
with the Cotsen Institute, which has supported our
archaeology field school in the northern highlands of
Ecuador since 2002. The most valuable aspect of this
relationship is easy to summarize: with the Institute’s
support we have been able to develop and implement
a new model for field school education. In short,
we ask every student who joins the Pambamarca
Archaeology Project (PAP) through the UCLA
Archaeology Field Program to pursue original research of some type that focuses on the Pambamarca
region—home to the largest pre-Columbian fortress
complex in the New World. What began as a small
field school in 2002 has blossomed over the years
into an incredibly diverse and successful endeavor,
with more than 60 students, staff, and volunteers in
2008, including many from Ecuador.
Because of this requirement that each student
pursue original research, the greatest moments of
each field season inevitably occur when students
step into the unknown world of Ecuadorian archaeology and begin to think like scientists. In the
early years, students tended to focus on low-impact
ethnoarchaeology research, but as we recognized
the value of engaging students directly in the
research process we have encouraged students in
Left: Looking west from
Quitoloma across the
basin of Quito.
Right: Dancing during
las Fiestas del San Pedro
y San Pablo.
36 | Backdirt 2009
recent years to tackle larger questions involving
significant amounts of data coming out of the field
and into the lab. By design, then, our field program
has evolved into a teaching-focused research project
involving students in many levels of decision making and analysis.
What does this look like in practice? For starters, we are always pleased that many of the students
arrive on the project with their own research questions already formed—having read through much
of the relevant literature. In these cases, our task as
project directors on the project is simple: encourage
the students to complete “micro research projects”
on subjects tailored to their interests. Thus was
born the central pillar of our academic program.
Obviously, the demands on the project directors and staff are significant—as each student needs
to be carefully supervised and monitored. Basic
research scheduling is therefore often the most
important first step: each student needs to set aside
time every day and every week to conduct investigation and analysis. Like any scientist, they have to
think about the research design, logistics, feasi-
The entrance to Quitoloma (reconsolidation by Rudy Larios
and Ana Coronado).
bility, and implications of their project.
During the early weeks on the project,
most students spend time executing their
research plan. During the later weeks,
more and more turn in long hours in the
lab trying to amass and analyze as much
data as possible. Their final reports are
then written when they return home. They
have approximately a month to finalize
the report and hand it in, often bringing
in outside sources and data from library
research at their home institution.
The results have been impressive. In recent years, we have had papers submitted
on a wide range of topics—including Inca
roads, ground-penetrating radar, tactics
in warfare, GIS viewshed analysis, obsidian studies, weaponry, pottery, human
remains, and more. This past summer,
some projects expanded into the use of
contacts with the Banco Central Museum
in Quito, where students built on comparative collections. Currently, we have
three home-grown Ph.D-track students
working on the project, two M.A. theses,
and countless honors projects for institutions worldwide. For the first time, many
of these students have also presented their
research at professional meetings, which
has allowed them to gain professional
experience to complement their academic
pursuits.
We feel this teaching model has been
a success because it keeps everything
fresh each field season. It can also help
drive the overall research of the project,
provide new ideas, attract smart students,
create good work, help to organize material quickly as it comes to the lab and is
washed, and provide much of the preliminary analysis that should be required
Laying out a unit.
in order to complete a field season. That
is how it helps the project. But it also
helps the students, who are part of a new
generation that is thirsty for meaningful
research. We have amazing return rates,
with many students coming back to be
staff members. Students who have shown
the motivation to return to archaeology
for a second summer are the future of our
field.
In subsequent years, these staff
members take on expanded leadership
roles. At times, we feel that training new
staff members can become even more
time consuming than research—yet the
rewards are immeasurable, with a built-in
staff ready to contribute in the years to
come with knowledge of the system (from
everything to do with housing and food to
the artifact provenience string). So, even if
they are not destined to be archaeologists
in the end the leadership experience our
students take with them becomes another
critical part of our program.
When students are allowed to take
more of an ownership stake in a project,
good things happen. We take the best papers and incorporate them into our own
informes (reports) and promote presentations at conferences. For a look at the
results, check out the PAP session at the
Society for American Archaeology meeting in Atlanta in 2009! In our experience,
field programs that have moved away
from seeing students as nothing more
than a paying labor force have produced
the best results. We take as a pathbreaking model the Naco Valley Project run by
Ed Schortman and Patricia Urban from
Kenyon College. This single program has
produced an unimaginable number of
scholars who are working in archaeology, including the senior author and our
relatively recent Ph.Ds Andy Kindon and
Chris Attarian (to name a few UCLA
graduates).
Tom Wake, Director of the zooarchaeology lab, and Jeanne Arnold, Professor
of Anthropology have successful labs at
the Cotsen Institute because they provide a similar model for undergraduate
education that is critical to its long-term
success. We know that the UCLA Archaeology Field Program is a great way to
continue doing this, but we want to put in
a plug for other projects to try the same
model. If you are running a program, consider expanding the role of your students.
They have more to offer than you originally could have imagined.
Our summer program will run from
June 21 – July 25, 2009, in Ecuador. The
senior author also begins a program
investigating the Maya site of Aguacate
in Belize, employing the same teaching
model, from June 26 – August 29, 2009.
sam connell is assistant professor of
anthropology at foothill college and
a research associate at the cotsen insti tute. chad gifford is a dean at columbia
university.
37 | Backdirt 2009
GROTTA SCALORIA IN GENOA
WITH AN INTERNATIONAL CAST
BY ERNESTINE S. ELSTER
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GENOA, Italy, I had
the pleasure and privilege of welcoming almost two
dozen archaeologists and archaeological scientists
to “Scaloria Day” on October 24, 2008. The event
was organized by Eugenia Isetti and Antonella
Traverso of the Instituto Arkeologica Sperimentale
and cosponsored by the Cotsen Institute. Scaloria
Day 2008 was the culmination of a collaboration I
initiated two years ago with Drs. Santo Tiné, John
Robb, Isetti and Traverso with the express goal of
gathering and organizing all data from previous
excavations at Scaloria between 1932 and 1979 and
applying new approaches and/or scientific technologies never dreamed of during these earlier Grotta
explorations. Our goal: publication of a scholarly
monograph, various articles for Italian and English
journals, and design of a web site in English and
Italian.
Scaloria, in southeast Puglia, is a doublechambered prehistoric cave (carbon-14 dated to ca.
6000–5000 B.C.) of great interest to scholars and
students because it was heavily used for burial and
other types of ritual. It is an especially rich (see figures) and evocative “site” with considerable appeal
to the public at large. However, its finds have never
been fully documented or published. The Cotsen
Left: “Impresso”
sherd with perforation; context: burial
11, Early Scaloria.
Right: Pottery sherd,
red paint on rose
base; “Passo di Corvo” Lower Scaloria.
All photos courtesy of
Ernestine Elster and
Linda Mount-Williams.
38 | Backdirt 2009
Institute is historically involved in Grotta Scaloria
because the last official excavation (1978/79) had
been organized by one of UCLA’s archaeologists,
the late Marija Gimbutas (jointly with Santo Tiné).
Their collaboration ceased after the 1980 study
season, and the only publication is a preliminary
report by the 1978 season field supervisors the late
Dr. Shan Winn and Dr. Dan Shimabuku (now a
member of our Scaloria team).
Years later, Robb (who has long had a research
excavation in Calabria) reminded me of my responsibility to Scaloria (I was the only member of
the excavation still at UCLA)—and together we
brought the unique quality of the Grotta to the
attention of Chip Stanish, Cotsen Institute Director. By then, we could outline the commitment of
Tiné, Isetti, and Traverso and our plans to involve
collaborators.
In 2006, Professor Stanish approved a Cotsen
Institute pilot grant used to evaluate the viability
of the Scaloria Project—and in the spring of 2008 I
received a National Endowment for the Humanities
Collaborative Grant to support the participation
of an international group of scholars whose input
would bring to conclusion the full publication of
Grotta Scaloria. In addition, John Robb recently an-
Left: Pottery sherds;
rose base painted in red
and black; Late Scaloria.
Right: Burial in situ,
upper chamber, with
arms raised.
nounced that the Oxford Radiocarbon laboratory
has agreed to test another 19 samples. These awards
underscore our peers’ recognition of the importance of the cave and its publication.
Tiné, Isetti, and Traverso (Genoa)—along with
Robb (Cambridge) and myself—have been able to
involve collaborators from Italy, Hungary, England,
and the United States. The majority of Scaloria
Day PowerPoint presentations were in Italian, but
each contribution was also projected in English on
the screen along with the images. Presentations
covered paleobotany; lithic and bone technology
and typology; paleoanthropology; paleozoology;
pottery technology and typology from the upper
and lower chambers; cave geology, geomorphology,
and micromorphology; and the history of the cave’s
excavations. The scholars represented the following
universities: UCLA, Genoa, Lecce, Rome, Florence,
Milan, Budapest, London, and Cambridge. Museums represented included Manfredonia, Taranto,
and Liguria. Scaloria Day, held in an ancient Genovese palazzo, was an extraordinary and exhilarating event for all.
The site of Scaloria is an example of an old
archaeological problem: many excavations go forward, but tragically many are never published. This
is tragic because a great effort has been expended in
terms of time, thought, planning, work, and funds
only to result in unavailable information. Carefully packed boxes and shelved artifacts archived in
storage are important, but as materials age access
is compromised. We need the careful documentation that print and electronic publication provides.
The Cotsen Institute has a commitment to urge our
discipline to deal with this situation.
Last year the Cotsen Institute and the UCLA/
Getty Master's Program in the Conservation
of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials
cohosted an international conference at UCLA on
the conservation, storage, preservation, and access
of archaeological materials. I had the honor of
opening the conference on the issue of “publication
as access” and used Scaloria as one example of the
Cotsen Institute’s commitment to aging research,
which for any number of reasons had been left
behind. As it happens, a number of other researchers here at UCLA are involved in “rescuing” aging
excavations. All of these are listed in the forthcoming eScholarship publication of the Preservation
and Access of Archaeological Materials conference.
And as for Scaloria, we ended the meeting in Genoa thanking the participants and providing them
each with a timetable for manuscript presentation. I
hope to include some abstracts from these manuscripts in my next report for Backdirt. Stay tuned!
ernestine s. elster is a research associate at the
cotsen institute.
39 | Backdirt 2009
ARCHAEOLOGICAL GERRYMANDERING:
THE POWER AND PITFALLS OF GIS
BY MICHAEL J. HARROWER
DURING AND SINCE THE 1990s, applica(Harris 2006; Lock and Molyneaux 2006). However,
tions of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in
MAUP has yet to be examined in detail. Although
archaeology have expanded dramatically. Alongside a more extensive treatment is certainly warranted,
analysis of lithics, ceramics, faunal, and archaeothis short contribution briefly draws attention to
botanical remains, GIS has rapidly become a new
scale, categorization, and spatial aggregation issues
disciplinary speciality. The utility of GIS lies not
related to the MAUP.
only in the importance of spatial perspectives—as
The political phenomenon known as gerrymanlong ago reflected in the term spatial archaeology
dering can help illustrate the importance of the
(Clarke 1977)—but in related increased access to
MAUP and associated pitfalls exasperated by GIS.
satellite imagery, Global Positioning System (GPS)
The term gerrymandering was coined by the Boston
mapping technologies, and the multiscalar nature
Globe in 1812 to describe spatial manipulation of
of spatial perspectives offered by computer mapconstituency boundaries to gain inappropriate
ping software.
electoral advantage. By redrawing
The rapid rise of Google Earth
electoral districts to include or exGoogle Earth’s ease
as a tool of archaeologists demclude particular groups of voters,
onstrates the value of computer
politically motivated mapmakers
of use is perhaps only
mapping (Ur 2006), yet Google
can dramatically alter (even virtuEarth’s ease of use is perhaps only matched by its inherent
ally engineer) election outcomes.
matched by its inherent unreliunreliability as a “wiki” The impacts of size and shape in
ability as a “wiki” application to
the delineation of areal units—in
application to which any this case often long, sinuous, and
which any user can add content.
New iterations of Google Earth
meandering electoral districts—
user can add content.
and other online and offline
can be relatively easily overcomputer mapping applications
looked. The Redistricting Game
will undoubtedly help archaeologists slice and dice
created by the University of Southern California,
spatial data in an exciting variety of new ways.
Annenberg School (www.redistrictinggame.com)—
However, these opportunities require caution, and
produced to illustrate the influences of gerrymanperhaps a warning label that is missing in the recent dering—strikingly (and entertainingly) exemplifies
first generation of GIS-in-archaeology textbooks.
the malleability of election results when the same
Issues of scale and the definition space and
voters are regrouped in districts of different shapes
objects in GIS present some important yet inconand sizes.
spicuous pitfalls, among them those described by
What is the significance of such spatial malleaOpenshaw (1983) as the Modifiable Areal Unit
bility in archaeology? Archaeologists are constantly
making discretionary or arbitrary choices in definProblem (MAUP). The MAUP describes a type or
ing and delineating spatial phenomena. Choosing
category of capricious analytical results that occur
a survey area and defining particular areas as sites
because of discretionary (or arbitrary) data aggregation, categorization, and scale choices (Openshaw during survey; selecting the size, shape, and depth
of excavation units; and determining the number
and Taylor 1979). Indeed, problems encountered
and defining the range of slope, landcover, and
when aggregating or categorizing observations
drainage network categories can all have dramatic
into areal units of different shapes and sizes (and
therefore manipulating spatial scale) were identified effects on the outcomes of archaeological analyses.
Unfortunately, there are no simple solutions to the
by geographers as early as the 1930s but were never
MAUPand plasticity is often compounded when
recognized as a collective problem nor explicitly
conducting multivariate statistical analyses (Fothaddressed.
eringham and Wong 1991) or categorizing multiple
Similarly, the significance of the MAUP for
overlapping map data layers in GIS.
archaeological spatial analyses has been mentioned
The spatial malleability of results, however, is
(e.g., Kvamme 1990:269; Lock and Harris 2000:xxnot
merely an encumbrance, but probably just as
xxi; and McCorriston and Harrower 2005)—inimportantly
can be an important source of insight
cluding amid wider discussion of scale issues
40 | Backdirt 2009
and information. Just as modern correlations between income and crime, for instance, can and do
vary from the scale of the city block, census district,
county, or state level (Openshaw 1983:10–12) so too
can correlations between ancient variables analyzed at different scales. Understanding how results
change as a function of scale can yield critical new
insights and multiscalar spatial understanding.
Although archaeologists have recently recognized
and begun to address the unique range of scalar issues that arise in archaeological applications of GIS,
many (perhaps most) of the power and pitfalls of
spatial analyses in archaeology—including potential instances of accidental archaeological gerrymandering—remain to be explored.
References:
Clarke, David. L.
1977 Spatial Archaeology. Academic Press,
London.
Fotheringham, A. Stewart, and D.W.S. Wong
1991 The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem in
Multivariate Statistical Analysis.
Environment and Planning 23:1025–1044.
Harris, Trevor
2006 Scale as Artifact: GIS, Ecological Fallacy,
and Archaeological Analysis. In Confronting
Scale in Archaeology: Issues of Theory and
Practice, edited by Gary R. Lock and Brian L.
Molyneaux, pp. 39–54. Springer, New York.
Lock, Gary R., and Brian L. Molyneaux (editors)
2006 Confronting Scale in Archaeology: Issues of Theory and Practice. Springer, New
York.
McCorriston, Joy, and Michael Harrower
2005 Annales History, Geographic Information Systems, and the Analysis of Landscape
in Hadramawt, Yemen. In Temps et Espaces
de l’Homme en Société: Analyses et Modèles
Spatiaux en Archéologies, edited by J.-F.
Berger, F. Bertoncello, F. Braemer, G. Davtian, and M. Gazenbeek, pp. 31–41. Éditions
APDCA, Antibes.
Openshaw, Stan
1983 The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem. Geo
Books, Norwich, U.K.
Openshaw, Stan, and P. J. Taylor
1979 A Million or So Correlation Coefficients:
Three Experiments on the Modifiable Areal
Unit Problem. In Statistical Methods in the
Spatial Sciences, edited by N. Wrigley, pp.
127–144. Pion, London.
Ur, Jason A.
2006 Google Earth and Archaeology. Society
for American Archaeology: Archaeological
Record 6(3):35–38.
michael harrower is a cotsen postdoctoral
fellow at the cotsen institute.
Kvamme, Kenneth
1990 The Fundamental Principles and Practice of Predictive Archaeological Modelling.
In Mathematics and Information Science
in Archaeology, edited by A. Voorrips, pp.
257–295. Holos-Verlag, Bonn.
Lock, Gary R., and Trevor Harris
2000 Introduction: Return to Ravello. In Beyond the Map: Archaeology and Spatial Technologies, edited by Gary R. Lock, pp. xiii–xxv.
IOS Press, Amsterdam.
41 | Backdirt 2009
BYZANTINE ART IN THE MAKING
A Study of the Wall Paintings at the Enkleistra
of St. Neophytos, Cyprus
BY IOANNA KAKOULLI AND CHRISTIAN FISCHER
“...may I arrive in Cyprus,
the island of Aphrodite,
where the heart-healing Erotes
are mixing with the mortals,
in Paphos where the hundred-mouthed
ravines of the barbarous river
without rain bear fruit...”
[Vakhai: 402–408]
—Euripides
THE ENKLEISTRA OF ST. NEOPHYTOS
research project supports the development and
application of an innovative multidisciplinary approach in the interface of science and art history
toward the study and interpretation of important
twelfth-century wall paintings (see Figure 1) in the
Enkleistra (the place for reclusion) of St. Neophytos
in Paphos—in the context of Byzantine painting
tradition and practices in Cyprus and other places
of the Byzantine empire.
The goals of the project are to put forward
hypotheses about the significance of technical
Figure 1:
Detail of the painting
in the Bema depicting
St. Neofytos among the
archangels Michael and
Gabriel, who hold him
by the shoulders. An
inscription explains the
picture: “I fervently pray
that I may indeed be enrolled among the angels
by virtue of my habit.”
42 | Backdirt 2009
findings in understanding the relationship between
stylistic patterning and technological production
in the context of the religious and social structure
of monastic communities in the twelfth century
in Cyprus immediately prior to the Latin occupation, to make a full technical stylistic analysis of
the paintings of the Enkleistra in relation to other
twelfth-century paintings in Cyprus1, to identify
patterns of trade and intercultural exchanges with
the capital and other parts of the Byzantine empire,
and to aid in the classification and attribution of
ambiguously dated paintings in the Enkleistra
(Mango and Hawkins 1966; Winfield 1970, 1971;
Weyl-Carr and Morrocco 1991; Nicolaides 1996).
Another aim of this research is to foster cuttingedge research using noninvasive technologies for
the study of wall paintings in situ, where conventional methods of analysis requiring the consumption of samples to yield results may be limiting
factors (Chiavari et al. 1999).
1 Paintings of the twelfth century in Cyprus are found in
the painted churches of Asinou (1105/6), St. Chrysostomos (ca.1115 or slightly earlier), Lagoudera (1192), and
Perachorio (ca.1160–1180). Closer stylistic comparisons to
the St. Neophytos paintings in the Enkleistra are those at
Lagoudera (Mango and Hawkins 1966).
Figure 2 (left): Context view of the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos in Paphos.
Figure 3 (above): Plan of the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos showing the caves: the
Naos, Bema, and Cell with the tomb of the saint (from Mango and Hawkins 1966).
Paintings in the Enkleistra of
St. Neophytos, Paphos, Cyprus
Among the most important Byzantine
painting schemes in Cyprus is the mural
decoration in the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos in Paphos (Mango and Hawkins
1966; Stylianou and Stylianou 1985). The
unusual rock-cut structure of the cell
(Figure 2) and the unique surviving
painting of high artistic quality impress
visitors, pilgrims, and scholars.
According to written testimonies, the
Enkleistra (Figure 3) was painted in 1183
by Theodore Apseudes2—whereas the final
phase of the paintings (mainly in the Naos)
has been identified as work done after
about 1196. The caves are all covered with
wall paintings (Mango and Hawkins 1966),
which were restored in 1503 by another
monk of Neophytos (but this intervention
is visible mainly in the Naos and the Bema).
There are important stylistic differences
between the earlier and later wall-painting
schemes of the twelfth century. Whereas
the earlier style is characterized by a
rococo-like style of painting that appears
to have evolved in Constantinople in
the last quarter of the twelfth century
(Figure 4), the later style is more austere
and could be characterized as “monastic”
or “Comnenian provincial” (or “linear”)
(Figure 5; Mango and Hawkins 1966).
2 The fact that Apseudes was familiar with the
newest Byzantine style of painting and that he
signed his work suggests that he was not local
but a metropolitan painter who was working
in Cyprus at that time.
Methodology
This research takes a holistic approach to
material culture studies. Its methodology
takes the form of a comprehensive technical study of the paintings that will include
comparative data from in-situ scientific
analyses by harnessing the analytical
capabilities of a field ultraviolet/visible/
near-infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) spectrometer
covering a spectral range of 350 to 2,500
nm, combined with those of a handheld
XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy)
and multispectral imaging spectroscopy
(Fischer and Kakoulli 2006). In coordination with this work, research on art
historical and technical literature and ancient treatises on Byzantine and medieval
painting techniques and materials will be
brought to bear.
Preliminary Results
With the generous support by Dumbarton
Oaks, a first visit to the site to conduct
preliminary scientific investigations of the
paintings using noninvasive technologies
took place in September of 2008. During
this phase, the research at the Enkleistra
of St. Neophytos involved an introductory
visual inspection of the paintings, photography of a few selected panels using diffuse tungsten light, spectral imaging, and
preliminary spectroscopic measurements
of paint layers from two of the painting
schemes that were easily accessible (the
1183 and the post-1197 phase) using the
UV/Vis/NIR spectrometer.
The aim of this exploratory phase was
to establish the methodology for a potential full-scale research on this important
painting scheme of the twelfth century
in Cyprus and to assess the feasibility of
the methods and approaches for a holistic
study.
In-situ noninvasive spectroscopic
analysis using the UV/Vis/NIR spectrometer during the preliminary examination
of the paintings in the Enkleistra showed
very promising results with the identification of lazurite—the main component of
lapis lazuli (possibly imported in Cyprus
from Afghanistan through Constantinople)—red ochre, and other natural
pigments (Figure 6). Of significant importance was the detection (using portable
instrumentation) of organic materials
often difficult to identify even with highly
sophisticated analytical techniques (Chiavari et al. 1999).
The organic spectral signature identified could correspond to a surface protective layer clearly visible in some areas
(owing to its high gloss), which could be
attributed to previous conservation treatments or to the original binding medium
used to make the paint. Future detailed
investigations will, however, address these
questions. Discolorations of paint layers
(especially those containing red pigments)
are evident, and research will be carried
out to identify the products and mechanisms of the alteration processes. Additional data using multispectral imaging
and XRF in forthcoming campaigns will
enhance and complement these results.
43 | Backdirt 2009
Figure 4 (left): Painting in the Bema of St.
Neophytos dated to the 1183 painting phase
and characterized by the rococo-like style
developed in Constantinople.
Figure 5 (right): Painting in the Nave of the
Enkeistra dated to the 1196/7 phase and
characterized by the austere “monastic” or
“Comnenian provincial” style.
Major Contribution
of the Project
spectra of original paint layers that can
be used as a standard library that will
provide scholars interested in technical
studies of wall paintings the capability to
differentiate and identify paint variability
by comparing the unknown reflectance
spectra to a variety of standard samples.
This database will be available through a
dedicated web site.
The proposed project will further assist
in the development and use of noninvasive and nondestructive techniques
capable of investigating the surface or
the bulk of an artifact in a manner that
has statistical significance and that can
accommodate studies of the processes
of deterioration even when a slow rate of
change is involved. Owing to the multidisciplinary nature of this research, the
results will be published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals as well as in specialized volumes of Byzantine studies. The
project also promotes multidisciplinary
approaches and cross-discipline collaboration of scholars from different fields,
ranging from the natural sciences to the
humanities and social sciences.
Whereas previous studies of the techniques of Cypriot wall paintings have
concentrated on the relatively late
(fifteenth and sixteenth centuries) paintings of Askas (Howard 1992; Kakoulli
1994; Frieden 1997), on those (eighteenth
century) of Monagri, and on those (late
fifteenth century) of the monastery of
Christ Antiphonitis (Sister Daniilia et al.
2008)—with the only exception that of the
recent study of the contemporary Byzantine paintings at the church of Virgin
Phorviotissa at Asinou (Kakoulli et al.,
forthcoming)—the study of the paintings
in the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos will
be focused on the more important but
less well studied period of the late twelfth
century.
The technical study of the paintings in
the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos at Paphos
is therefore critical to an understanding of
the native artistic traditions (Dionysius of
Fourna 1974) that survived the end of the
eleventh century in Cyprus and the direct
(with the influx of painters) and indirect
(through Palestine and Asia Minor) influence from the capital in the twelfth century.
Part of the deliverables of this study is
the development of a spectral library of
UV/VNIR reflectance and fluorescence
44 | Backdirt 2009
ioanna kakoulli is assistant professor
in the ucla department of materials
science and the ucla /getty conservation
program. christian fischer is a cotsen
institute research associate.
References:
Vakhai by Euripides, http://www.enostos.net/cdrom/aphrodite.html
Chiavari, Giuseppe., Daniele Fabbri,
Silvia Prati, Rocco Mazzeo, Dimitrios
Bikiaris, Sister Daniilia, et al.
1999 Analytical Pyrolysis: Application
to the Chemical Characterisation of
Byzantine Painting Layers. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Nondestructive Testing and
Microanalysis for the Diagnostics
and Conservation of the Cultural and
Environmental Heritage Vol. 2, pp.
1147–1162.
Sister Daniilia , Elpida Minopoulou,
Fr. Demosthenes Demosthenous,
and Georgios Karagiannis
2008 A Comparative Study of Wall
Paintings at the Cypriot Monastery of
Christ Antiphonitis: One artist or two?
Journal of Archaeological Science
35:1695–1707.
Dionysius of Fourna
1974 Hermeneia: The Painter’s Manual of Dionysius of Fourna. Translated
by Paul Hetherington. [publisher],
London.
Spectral Data
Lapis Lazuli (blue) and Red Ochre (red)
CW.000.sco
CW.013.sco
0.30
Reflectance
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
Wavelength
Figure 6: Characteristic reflectance spectral of lapis lazuli and red ochre, two mineral pigments used in the twelfth-century paintings of the Enkleistra of St. Neophytos. The spectra were taken using the portable UV/Vis/NIR spectrometer during the 2008 campaign.
Fischer, Christian, and Ioanna Kakoulli
2006 Multispectral and Hyperspectral Imaging Technologies in
Conservation: Current Research and
Potential Applications. Reviews in
Conservation 7:3–16.
Frieden Vanessa
1997 The wall paintings of the church
of Agios Ioannis Prodhromos, Askas,
Cyprus: a technical study. Diploma
dissertation,Courtauld Institute of Art,
University of London 1997.
Howard, Helen
1992 Church of Archangel Michael,
Monagri, Cyprus: Scientific Examination of the Wall Paintings. Unpublished report, Courtauld Institute of
Art, University of London.
Kakoulli, Ioanna
1994 Philaretos’ Akra Tapenoses at
Monagri: Its Technique, Condition,
and Cleaning on the Context of Late
Byzantine Wall Paintings in Cyprus.
Diploma dissertation, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.
Kakoulli, Ioanna, Michael Schilling,
and Joy Mazurek
[Forthcoming] Techniques and
Materials of Byzantine Paintings in
the Church of Asinou, Cyprus. In The
Church of Asinou, edited by Annemarie Carr and Andreas Nicolaides. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Weyl-Carr, Annemarie, and
Laurence J. Morrocco
1991 A Byzantine Masterpiece Recovered: The Thirteenth-century Murals
of Lysi, Cyprus. [University of Texas
Press], Austin, Texas.
Mango Cyril A., and Ernst
J. W. Hawkins
1966 The Hermitage of St. NeophyWinfield, David C.
tos and Its Wall Paintings. Dumbarton 1970 The Church of Panagia tou
Oaks Papers, Harvard University Press, Arakos Lagoudera: First Preliminary
Washington, D.C Vol. 20, pp. 119–206. Report. [with an appendix by Cyril
Mango], Dumbarton Oaks Papers,
Nicolaides, Andreas
Harvard University Press, Washington,
1996 L’église de la Panagia ArakioD.C Vols. 23/24, pp. 377–380.
tissa à Lagoudera, Chypre: Edute
iconographique des fresques de 1192. Winfield, David C.
Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Harvard
1971 Reports on Work at Monagri,
University Press, Washington, D.C Vol. Lagoudera, and Hagios Neophytos,
50, pp. 383–395.
Cyprus. Dumbarton Oaks Papers,
Harvard University Press, Washington,
Schwartzbaum, Paul
D.C Vol. 25, pp. 259–264.
1986 Appendix 1 of Tokali Kilise:
Tenth-century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia by Ann Wharton
Epstein, Dumbarton Oaks Studies Vol.
22, pp. 52–59, Washington, D.C.
Stylianou, Andreas, and
Judith Stylianou
1985 The Painted Churches of Cyprus.
[Trigraph Ltd.], London.
45 | Backdirt 2009
THE PUKARA
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT
View of the Central
District of Pukara,
featuring the Qalasaya
complex.
THE LAKE TITICACA BASIN of Peru and Bolivia
is not a place that inspires ambivalence. First-time
visitors are either captivated by the vast frigid
landscape and sparkling blue lake or experience the
immediate urge to flee to warmer, oxygen-rich valleys of lower elevations. My first trip to the region
was in 1994, when Chip Stanish (then–Curator of
South American Archaeology at the Field Museum
of Natural History in Chicago) agreed to let me volunteer on his archaeological project in the town of
Juli (Department of Puno), Peru. I have such vivid
memories of arriving at sunrise to the airport in El
Alto, which is located at 13,600 feet above sea level
and overlooks the sprawling city of La Paz, Bolivia.
I stepped onto the runway and immediately felt
like I had been kicked in the chest from the lack
of oxygen and freezing cold temperature. Even the
presence of machine-gun–toting Bolivian military
personnel could not distract me from the early
morning glow of the snowcapped mountain of Illimani, a sacred peak that seemed to dwarf the city
below. At that moment, standing on the runway to
catch my breath and waking up from the overnight
46 | Backdirt 2009
flight, I knew that the altiplano (high plain) would
be my research base and second home.
In the late 1990s, after working on a variety of
projects in Peru and Bolivia, I began to explore
topics for my dissertation research. I decided to
excavate at Pukara, which is a well-known site
nestled at the base of a massive pink sandstone
outcrop in the northwestern Lake Titicaca Basin.
Pukara was an early population center in the region
during the Late Formative period (200 B.C.–A.D.
200), contemporaneous with the initial occupations
at the famous Middle Horizon site of Tiwanaku—
a neighbor to the southeast. At its largest extent,
Pukara covered at least 1 km2, which included a
central district of monumental stone constructions
and an extensive peripheral area with evidence of
commoner habitation and craft production. The
material culture from Pukara is quite impressive—
including beautiful polychrome and incised pottery
in many forms, intricate stone sculpture, and a
wide variety of bone tools for weaving, ingesting
snuff, and other activities.
Left: Excavations, 2001.
Right: Feline pottery
fragments on surface,
2006.
There have been a number of archaeological field
We have also conducted a partial geophysical
projects at Pukara, but the site seems to be cursed
survey (2000) and a mobile GIS mapping project
when it comes to publication. Pukara first gained
(2006) to define site boundaries and identify areas
the attention of Peruvian scholars in the 1920s, was of subsurface occupations. Our next project, beginexcavated in several areas by Alfred Kidder II of the ning in 2009, is directed at understanding the iniPeabody Museum in 1939, was revisited for limited
tial reasons populations began to aggregate in Putesting in the 1950s, and was the site of a multikara. This will be done by tracking the timing and
year restoration project by Plan Copesco (Peru’s
directionality of site growth. Were early Pukareños
branch of UNESCO) in the late 1970s. Fortunately,
motivated by economic opportunity? Access to
quite a bit of documentation from these projects is
ritual activities? Fear of local conflict? These quesarchived or available through scholars who have
tions will be explored through excavations both in
generously shared their field notes and drawings.
the central district and on the site periphery, which
Many of the artifacts are also
will be supervised by Luis Flores
stored in the local site museproject codirector), a number
Were early Pukareños (my
um—the Museo Lítico Pukara,
of Peruvian colleagues, and me
located in the modern town of
motivated by economic during July and August.
Pucará—and are available for
have received a generopportunity? Access to ousWe
future research projects.
International Collaborative
Pukara will keep our reResearch Grant (ICRG) from the
ritual activities?
search team busy for at least the
Wenner-Gren Foundation for AnFear of local conflict?
next decade (if not for the rest of
thropological Research that will
my career!). Due to its massive
sponsor our excavations, analysis,
size, the variety of monumental constructions and
and artifact curation and will provide funds for
occupation areas, and multiple occupations (it was
an educational program at the local museum for
reoccupied by the Colla during the Late IntermediPeruvian students and community members. Last,
ate period and the Inca during the Late Horizon) it
we will have the opportunity to train a number
has the potential to host a number of projects with
of undergraduate and graduate students through
distinct research goals. For example, my own rethe UCLA Archaeology Field Program—which is
search has explored changes in leadership strategies
an exciting opportunity to train the next generaduring the Late Formative—specifically through the tion of Titicaca Basin specialists and supporters of
study of public architecture in the central district.
archaeology.
elizabeth klarich is assistant director of the
cotsen institute. for more information about
the ucla archaeology field program, please visit
www.archaeology.ucla.edu or www.pukara.org.
47 | Backdirt 2009
RESTORING PROVENIENCE TO A
NATIVE AMERICAN FEATHER BLANKET
BY ELLEN PEARLSTEIN
CONSERVATION TECHNICAL STUDIES are
commonly carried out to illuminate materials and
methods of manufacture, and to assist in assigning
provenience. However, technical studies are rarely
used in support of post-Colonial museum goals of
benefiting traditional owners and indigenous communities. A technical examination was conducted on
an unprovenienced feather blanket purchased by the
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (ACCM) in Palm
Springs, California. The presence of turkey feathers,
yucca fiber cordage, human hair, associated botanicals, and a documented twining technique indicate
that the blanket is likely to derive from a prehistoric
Southwest culture rather than from a specifically
California culture—as originally believed.
The ability to correctly reattribute this blanket
shifted its value from a rare and elaborate wearing
blanket (McLendon 2001:133) to a child’s wearing blanket typically found in mortuary contexts
associated with funerary material. This reattribution changes not only conservation treatment and
display but the disposition of this object in the
museum’s collection.
Feather blankets under consideration are those
in which cordage is made by wrapping vegetable
fiber yarn with whole or split feathers or with strips
of bird skin, capturing tufts of feathers between
twined cords, or rolling feather down into cordage
without plant fiber support. Ample literature exists
about prehistoric fur and feather blankets from the
Southwest, the majority of which were excavated
in the first half of the twentieth century (Fewkes
1912:148; Hough 1914:71–73; Kidder and Guernsey
1919:174; Guernsey and Kidder 1921:65; Harrington
1930:116; Guernsey 1931; Harrington 1933:156–157;
Haury 1950:fig. 93). A rich resource is provided by
revival practices of contemporary Pueblo weavers
who have studied and replicated feather blankets
(Bellinger 1983).
Historical feather blankets from California have
also been studied, and McLendon (2001:132) attributes the only 14 known examples to tribes in the
north-central Sacramento River Valley. Prehistoric
examples of feather blankets have been found as far
west as Oregon and Nevada, but sites in California
have not provided preservation of archaeological
examples. Physical examination of the ACCM blanket and comparison with historic feather blankets
from California indicate similarities and differences in materials and construction methods.
48 | Backdirt 2009
Methods used in the study of the ACCM blanket
include visual analysis of construction along with
X-radiography and comparative microscopy of
fibers, feathers, hair, and seeds to reveal aspects
of manufacture. Morphological examination of
fiber and hair materials, including the preparation of surface and cross sections of fibers followed
by viewing with polarized light microscopy and
environmental scanning electron microscopy, was
conducted for comparison with reference materials.
Feathers and botanicals were examined by collaborating specialists.
The presence of turkey feathers on a leaf fiber
from the Agave family, the method of wrapping
the feathers on the fiber supports, and the presence
of a human hair bundle distinguished the ACCM
feather blanket as prehistoric Southwest rather
than from California. Similarities exist between the
open twining methods and the pre-loom supports
documented in use in California (Kroeber 1929;
McLendon 2001:143) and those postulated for the
prehistoric Southwest (Kent 1983:116–117) and
used by contemporary Pueblo revivalists (Bellinger
1983; personal communication with R. Sakiestewa
November 3 2008).
Although the identification of materials and
techniques is decisive in understanding the origin
of an object, the differences in context are more
important than the physical similarities when considering museum stewardship. There are complex
cultural differences between Pueblo and California American Indian feather blankets. California
feather blankets, currently found in both art and
natural history museum displays, are valued as rare
nineteenth-century examples of elaborate wearing
blankets given as gifts to Europeans to confer status
(McLendon 2001:133).
This contrasts sharply with prehistoric feather
blankets from the Southwest that exist in history
and natural history museum collections but are off
display and largely inaccessible on web sites. While
originally functional, Pueblo feather blankets
have been found in human burials and have been
requested for repatriation as associated funerary
objects through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Despite
the similarity in materials and construction which
suggests a historical connection, tribal California
and Southwest feather blankets in museums require
different approaches to management.
Upper left: Detail of the Agua Caliente feathered blanket. Photos courtesy of E. Pearlstein.
Upper right: Braided red border cord typically
found on California feather blankets as supports for wefts connected by half-hitch knots.
Middle left: X-radiograph image of the Agua
Caliente blanket permits a clear image of the
twined construction.
Middle right: Photomicrograph in which three
orange fiber bundles directly above the scale
are cross-sections of the plant fiber used as
the support for the feathers. Crescent shape
clusters are typical for yucca.
Lower left: Photomicrograph in which surface
view of a fiber bundle indicates features consistent with yucca.
of the Peabody Museum of American
Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 12,
No. 1. Harvard University, Cambridge.
Guernsey, Samuel J., and Alfred V.
Kidder
1921 Basket-Maker Caves of Northeastern Arizona. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 8, No. 2.
Harvard University, Cambridge.
ellen pearlstein is assistant professor
of information studies at ucla and a
faculty member of the ucla /getty master’s program in archaeological and
ethnographic conservation.
References:
Bellinger, Cindy
1983 Recreating the Anasazi Turkey Feather Blanket. Written and
produced by Cindy Bellinger, VHS,
Southwest Productions, Los Alamos,
N.M.
Fewkes, Jesse W.
1912 Antiquities of the Upper Verde
River and Walnut Creek Valleys, Arizona. 28th annual report of the Bureau
of American Ethnology,1906–1907,
Washington, D.C.: 181-220
Guernsey, Samuel J.
1931 Explorations in Northeastern
Arizona: Report on the Archaeological Fieldwork of 1920–1923. Papers
Harrington, Mark R.
1930 Paiute Cave. Southwest Museum
Papers No. 4 part 4:106–126.
Kidder, Alfred V., and Guernsey,
Samuel J.
1919 Archeological Explorations
in Northeastern Arizona. Bureau of
American Ethnology Bulletin 65.
Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C.
Kroeber, Alfred L.
1929 The Valley Nisenan. University
of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol.
24, No. 4, pp. 253–290. University of
California Press, Berkeley.
Haury, Emil W.
1950 The Stratigraphy and Archaeology of Ventana Cave, Arizona. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
McLendon, Sally
2001 California Feather Blankets:
Objects of Wealth and Status in Two
Nineteenth-Century Worlds. In Studies in American Indian Art: A Memorial Tribute to Norman Feder, edited by
C. Feest. European Review of Native
American Studies (ERNAS) Monograph 2, pp. 132–161. Vienna, Austria.
Hough, Walter
1914 Culture of the Ancient Pueblos
of the Upper Gila River Region, New
Mexico and Arizona. United States
National Museum Bulletin 87. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The above article is excerpted from:
Pearlstein, Ellen
2009 Restoring Provenance to a Native American Feather Blanket
Museum Management and Curatorship, Vol.24, No. 2.
Harrington, Mark. R.
1933 Gypsum Cave, Nevada. Southwest Museum Papers No. 18.
Kent, Kate Peck
1983 Prehistoric Textiles of the Southwest. School of American Research,
Santa Fe–University of New Mexico
Press, Albuquerque.
49 | Backdirt 2009
LOFKËND, ALBANIA:
AFTER EXCAVATION
BY SARAH MORRIS AND JOHN PAPADOPOULOS
EXCAVATIONS AT THE BURIAL TUMULUS
of Lofkënd in Albania concluded in 2007, when a
team from the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; the
Institute of Archaeology, Albania; and the International Center for Albanian Archaeology in Tirana
reached grave 100 (see Backdirt 2008, pp. 36). Burials ranging in date from the Late Bronze Age to the
Early Iron Age, along with a few recent interments,
yielded 150 skeletons and 883 finds—including 17
whole pots. Grave goods also consisted of jewelry of
bronze, iron, gold, bone, glass, semiprecious stone,
and some iron weapons, as well as many fragments
of ceramics, fired clay, and stone tools found in fill.
Once the final grave was removed, difficult tasks
still faced us. First and foremost was the reconstruction of the tumulus, using selected soil components from its fill and new mud-bricks manufactured by our local workmen—a process completed
in 2007 (see Backdirt 2008, pp. 36–37, and a fuller
report in the September 2008 issue of Antiquity).
In 2008, we experienced the satisfaction of seeing
the site restored to its landscape and secured by
nature’s own stabilizers—local weeds and plants—
after a year’s interval (Figure 1).
1
Figure 1: View of Lofkënd tumulus from the north, one
year after reconstruction (2008).
50 | Backdirt 2009
Thus, the tumulus has regained its shape—and
a local monument rejoins its original environment.
Dr. Samantha Martin-McAuliffe of University
College, Dublin, spent two seasons at the site as an
expert in architecture and landscape—and Dr. John
Foss joined us once more to complete his study on
the soils of the region. Their reports will greatly
enrich the final publication of the site.
Thanks to intensive work by our team of photographers, conservators, and artists, all of the graves
and most of their contents were registered, restored,
drawn, and photographed by the end of the 2007
season. What remained was to find further joins
among artifacts, especially ceramics, and to make
connections across graves to trace the narrative history of the tumulus. Seth Pevnick and Alda Agolli,
Archaeology graduate students, collaborated on a
ceramic typology of whole vessels and then worked
closely with artists and conservators to restore pots
from tumulus fill. They are responsible for publishing all pottery from the site, and their presentation
of it at the January 2009 meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) received the best
student poster award.
Objects of metal, bone, glass, and stone were
catalogued by Rovena Kurti of the Institute of
Archaeology in Tirana—and a typology was established by John Papadopoulos based on comparanda
from Albania and its neighbors. Meanwhile, a
catalog of tombs, their occupants, and archaeological content was assembled by Sarah Morris and
Papadopoulos—with skeletal identifications made
by Dr. Lynne Schepartz of Florida State University.
Papadopoulos’s arrangement of the burials into
five chronological phases of cemetery use inspired a
day-long session with our Albanian colleagues, Muzafer Korkuti and Skender Aliu, who have excavated
many tumuli in Albania (Figure 2). Finally, Lyssa
Stapleton, Archaeology graduate student, analyzed
mortuary customs throughout the tumulus—for
her M.A. paper and as a contribution to a chapter to
be coauthored by Schepartz and Papadopoulos. As
physical anthropologist for the project, Schepartz
will publish a full analysis of the human remains.
Absolute chronology is crucial to anchoring
our discoveries, and thanks to Brian Damiata,
Research Associate at the Cotsen Institute, we
initiated a comprehensive project for accelerator
mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating of organic
samples at the Keck Laboratory at UC-Irvine (UCI).
2
4
3
Thirty-two samples yielded the first
absolute dates for this area of the Balkans,
from Bronze Age to Ottoman periods,
including samples from Classical and
Hellenistic cemeteries at the Greek colony
of Apollonia. An article in preparation will
present these groundbreaking scientific
dates as a baseline for the chronology of
ancient Illyria, and future research will
apply stable-isotope ratios (extracted in the
same UCI lab) toward a study of paleo-diet
and subsistence strategies.
Soil samples were floated and sorted by
our field school (Figure 4) and analyzed
by Mac Marston (Archaeology Graduate
Student), who will be publishing the few
faunal remains (animal bones) along with
the floral material. Two Greek experts on
mollusks and fossils, Drs. Evi and Giorgios Theodorou, examined our shell and
geological finds for publication.
Perhaps the most exciting development
of the past two summers was the expansion of the treatment of artifacts with the
sophisticated analytic techniques brought
to bear by Vanessa Muros, Staff Research
Associate in the UCLA/Getty Master’s
Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials. A
portable handheld XRF unit brought from
UCLA in 2007 yielded the first chemical profiles of our metal and glass finds,
followed by sampling of these finds in
2008 for ICPMS analysis in Los Angeles.
This will link our copper alloy and glass/
faience artifacts to those being analyzed
from other sites around the Mediterranean, and will inform us about provenience and manufacturing techniques of
non-ceramic finds. Microphotography has
also revealed a rich set of textile impressions preserved in corrosion products
on iron pins and fibulae—the start of a
promising research project on ancient
textiles of the Balkan region. Muros will
also prepare a full report on the conservation and storage of Lofkënd artifacts for
the final publication.
Since our first visit to the site in 2003,
prehistoric stone tools dating much earlier
than the burials have been prominent in
surface collection and tumulus fill. Such
finds are common at other tumuli in
Albania, and were abundant in surface
survey conducted around Apollonia by the
University of Cincinnati and the Institute
of Archaeology, Albania [Mallakastra
Regional Archaeological Project (MRAP)].
What type of long-term history, and prehistory, shaped the landscape around the
tumulus?
To obtain one answer to this question,
since 2006 we have sought to expand our
exploration of Lofkënd with a surface
survey of the surrounding slopes and
valley. We invited Jamie Aprile, Archaeology graduate student, to initiate such a
project in 2007. The following summer,
thanks to the Cotsen Institute’s portable
GPS unit and the participation of our first
field school in Albania, saw four weeks of
intensive surface collection and process-
Figure 2: Team Lofkënd is all smiles after a
hard day negotiating chronology (left to right:
Seth Pevnick, Sarah Morris, Skender Aliu, John
Papadopoulos, and Muzafer Korkuti).
Figure 3: Jamie Aprile and field school students (Alison Adams and Serena Vartazarian)
consult with Muzafer Korkuti on lithics found
in the Lofkënd survey.
Figure 4: Field school students Shauna Kullmann and Eugen Ruzi floating soil samples.
ing of finds covering more than 450 tracts
of land. The Gjanica Valley emerges as an
artifact-rich landscape in the Old Stone
Age, with hundreds of stone tools—especially of the Middle Paleolithic era. Aprile
will publish the results of the survey, as
well as the lithics from tumulus fill.
The ancient environment around the
tumulus must have been heavily forested
and rich in abundant game for Stone
Age hunters exploiting the slopes above
the river. Yet settlements (or even pottery sherds) of the Bronze or early Iron
Age were rare, just as they were over five
MRAP seasons—a challenge to our quest
for occupation sites contemporary with
the Lofkënd tumulus. However, the other
plentiful category of tumulus fill was fired
clay impressed with reeds and plants. The
redeposition of this material points to
substantial remains of wattle-and-daub
architecture that once formed structures
somewhere in the surrounding area.
For many team members, the most difficult task lies ahead. Although preliminary catalogs are in place and individual
reports in progress, the stratigraphy,
comparative analysis, and final interpretation lie in the hands of the excavation
directors. Pulling it all together makes
“postproduction” the most challenging as
well as important stage in archaeological
research, requiring prolonged study leave
away from the field—in the library and on
the computer, and in close communication with our codirector in Tirana, Dr.
Lorenc Bejko, who will visit the United
States and the Cotsen Institute next year
as the AIA Kress Lecturer. Our reward for
many hours of writing and editing will be
to publish a monograph with the Cotsen
Institute devoted to the Lofkënd project.
sarah morris is steinmetz professor of
classical archaeology and material
culture at ucla. john papadopoulos is
professor of classics.
51 | Backdirt 2009
RECONCILING WITH THE PAST
BY MERRICK POSNANSKY
IN RECENT YEARS archaeologists have begun to
The Ottomans have been chosen to be forgotten
consider the impact of their work on public policy,
in the same way that Lenin and Communist rule is
on education, and on our feelings about our identiseemingly “forgotten” in many eastern European
ties and those of the communities we investigate.
countries. Can we wipe out the past that we do not
Many archaeologists are concerned about the ethics want to remember? Ancient Egyptians destroyed
of their work. How important is our research for
the cartouches of pharaohs, such as Akhnaten, connational identity? Taksidered unorthodox in reliing into consideration the
gion. Although appealing to
Can we wipe out the past that
cultural values of the areas
our patriotic and emotional
where we work, how should
feelings, the total destrucwe do not want to remember?
we adjust our archaeologition of the monuments of
Ancient Egyptians destroyed
cal priorities? ArchaeoloSaddam Hussein fall into the
gists are aware, as have been
same category. His regime
the cartouches of pharaohs,
historians for many years,
existed. We cannot wipe out
such as Akhnaten, considered
that there is an essential
the memory with tanks and
historiographical dimenhawser wires.
unorthodox in religion.
sion to our work.
The past is contested
We can only speak
territory. In pre-1939
from our present dimension in time and space—a
Europe, theories of racism and cultural superiordimension colored by our own social, political,
ity were intimately linked to specific populations,
and cultural environment. Our vision of the past
such as Aryans. In Africa, the monumental ruins
is shaped as much by that identity as by what we
of Zimbabwe were believed by popular historians
describe. We prioritize what we think is imporand politicians to be the work of south Arabians
tant. We are subjective in our interpretations even
(Sabaeans), Phoenicians, or Indians even though arthough we may strive to be objective in our techchaeological evidence had from the early twentieth
niques and approaches to the past.
century indicated that they were the work of local
Africanist archaeologists have had to justify
populations. Ancient Egyptians, west Africans,
excavating, interpreting, and integrating Imperialand Chinese were credited with Olmec figures and
and Colonial-era sites into the histories of newly
central American ruins.
independent countries. These sites are places that
We now think of such conclusions as fringe
were clearly identifiable with conquerors who spoke archaeology in much the same way we regard posdifferent languages, followed diverse strange relitulations about lost Atlantis, but at the time reputed
gious practices, and possessed social and cultural
scholars pressed the authenticity of what we now
identities very different from the people with whom regard as impossible theories. In South Africa,
they came into contact. This is not a new problem.
it suited the Afrikaner rulers to teach that Black
It is only in the last few years that sites and the oral
agricultural iron-working settlers in the Transvaal
histories of indigenous Americans have been intepostdated their own seventeenth-century arrival
grated into American history.
at the Cape. This was at a time archaeologists were
American history for many Americans had predemonstrating that the Bantu agriculturalists
viously meant the history of European settlement,
preceded the white Boer farmers by at least a milbeginning with either the Italian Christopher Colennium.
lumbus or the Christians who sought a new society
On the western coast of Africa, monuments
in what became known as New England. Recently I from the era of the Atlantic slave trade (during
traveled in the Balkans, where the Ottoman Turks
which more than 12 million Africans were transruled for more than 300 years. When one visits
ported to the Caribbean, Brazil, and North Amerinational museums there is not even lip service
ca) are now being contested. Fortified trading sites
given to that occupation, even though the minarets
were relatively neglected in the early Independence
of mosques and unique styles of walling among
days (pre-1965) as colonial relics and favored as
national ruins vividly indicate their presence.
regional prisons. They have now become places associated with the spirits of the transported Afri52 | Backdirt 2009
cans. Shrines were established, and African visitors
regarded them as “points of departure” special to
their history of desperation and loss of identity.
Forgotten, in the case of Ghana (the old Gold
Coast), was their original purpose as trading stations—when they were established as a “frontier of
opportunity” between the foreign traders and local
people, who were often highly involved in the later
slave trade.
The past of the people of present-day coastal
Ghana is not as much honored by an outside public
as the past of those Africans who were displaced
from the Gold Coast during the Atlantic slave
trade. Many of those so displaced came from areas
quite far away from the actual sites from which they
were shipped. It is the descendants of the slaves,
whose ancestors may have come from other parts of
west and west central Africa, who visit the forts in
disproportionate numbers.
In Gorée, Senegal, an eighteenth-century strucnumbers were also taken from southern Sudan and
ture originally built as a merchant’s large townnorthern Uganda, the area of the Upper Nile, as
house has been identified as La Maison des Esclaves recently as the last half of the nineteenth century—
and provided with a mythical identity as the point
during which upward of 30,000 a year came into
from which the largest number of Africans (numthe great slave markets of places such as Khartoum.
bered in millions) were exported to what later beFor every slave sold, another eight or nine had
came known as the U.S. History has been distorted
been killed in raids (not dissimilar to the raids
by changing the use and identity of monuments as
presently taking place in Darfur) or on the arduous
well as the numbers of individuals involved to suit
journey by foot from the Upper to the Middle Nile
the emotional needs of their visitors. An invented
area. Explorers such as Samuel Baker described
past has been shaped into a more acceptable part of
the deleterious effects. Their descendants, mostly
the heritage of Africa.
women and children, were absorbed into Arab
Whereas forts and castles are easily identifiable
clans and Islam and have lost the recollection from
monuments of the Atlantic slave trade on the west
whence they came. These slaves were held in thorn
African coast, in east and
bush enclosures (zeribas) for
central Africa little is known
up to three months just north
Imperial sites cannot be
about the descendants of
of the Congo Nile watershed,
the slaves and thus there has
awaiting caravans to the
fully legitimized as part of
been no comparable emonorth. It is imperative that
African history. They were
tional interest in discovering
archaeologists locate such entheir points of departure.
closures and excavate some of
clearly outposts of empire
This is not due to a deficiency
them so that we know more
and as such comprise part
in knowledge, because we
about the life of the slaves at
know from written records
the points of their departure.
of the archaeology of those
that the slave trade flourished
The forts of the Upper
empires.
and was condemned by misNile (such as Dufile) that I
sionaries such as David Livexcavated in the winter of
ingstone. Few of the slaves’
2006 and 2007 were built by
offspring visit ports such as Kilwa, from which
officers (such as Charles Gordon, immortalized in
many Africans were shipped. For this reason, there
the film Khartoum) of the then-Egyptian Governis no “shrine” complex at Kilwa. Slaves in great
ment—subsidized by Great Britain, the superpower
Ugandan students
excavating a Belgian
building at Dufile.
Photo courtesy of
Merrick Posnansky.
53 | Backdirt 2009
Left: European pottery
found at Dufile.
Right: Madi potters
making pottery similar
to the abaundant finds
of rouletted earthenware at Dufile.
of the time. One of their principal functions was
religions, and introduced infrastructural developto stem the nefarious slave trade from Uganda and
ment and social services such as education and
southern Sudan. The system collapsed with the
health care.
rise of the Mahdi, who seized control of the Sudan.
Transport networks and travel technology (such
Henry Morton Stanley led an expedition from 1887 as steamboats and railways) brought people closer
to 1889 to relieve Gordon Pasha’s successor Emin
together, and helped secure entry into a wider ecoPasha, who had managed to hold onto the most
nomic world system. Imperial authority, however,
southerly forts. These forts were not like those on
destroyed previous social orders and displaced
the west coast (built as trading stations with only
cultural systems without adequate consideration
a handful of soldiers in each) but were substantial
of their effectiveness. Nevertheless, most Imperial
military stations, often housing up to a thousand
sites ultimately had to operate as parts of a complex
troops and conducting farming in surrounding
related to both the land and the peoples among
areas.
whom they were located. In many studies, the
Dufile covered more than 11 acres and had suressential local element has been ignored; namely,
rounding banks and ditches that were probably at
the local labor who built and maintained the forts,
least 18 feet from ditch bottom to rampart top. They provided food to support the intruders, and served
were the emblems of Imperial rule. What should
as interlocutors with peoples outside the bounds of
be done with such substantial
the foreign establishments.
monuments? In countries
The sites were clearly
When it comes to the conwhere the victorious forces
military in the initial period,
built the forts, as in the westservation of Imperial sites, and some were missionary
ern U.S., the forts have been
and colonial as the years
the African component
developed as monuments
progressed. The local cultural
run by state or federal park
maps were redrawn, and the
has to be presented—even
services. But what do we do
scholar cannot provide an acthough it may be the more
with such monuments in Afcurate accounting unless the
rica (from which the Imperial
Imperial sites are included.
difficult to disentangle.
powers departed in the face of
Inclusion, however, does not
African nationalism)?
mean that such sites should
Imperial sites cannot be fully legitimized as part in any way be overemphasized—even though they
of African history. They were clearly outposts of
may be more monumental in the landscape or their
empire and as such comprise part of the archaeollocation may have shaped later history. The African
ogy of those empires. Their form reflected the ideas
proverb “Until the lions have their own historians,
of the military men responsible for their constructhe stories of hunting will always glorify the hunttion. Analysis involves comparisons with similar
ers” is relevant.
contemporary structures elsewhere in the respecThe task at hand is to put the African perspective empire. Analogies can often be attempted with
tive clearly into Imperial history. The whole picture
extraterritorial structures from other empires, such has to include both the lions and the hunters
as those of Rome and China—empires that brought facilitating an integration of archaeology with both
large areas under a single authority, provided new
oral and documentary history. Only if this integra54 | Backdirt 2009
tive approach is adopted can the descendants of
those Africans whose lands were ravaged, whose
social and cultural identity was shredded, feel that
there is a purpose in looking at the archaeology of
globalization in which on first sight the past of the
Imperialists is glorified at the expense of those they
conquered.
The study of Imperial sites cannot be ignored,
as there were more local people than outsiders associated with such structures during their heyday.
Documentary sources, often archived outside
Africa, provide most of the information about the
Imperialists—who left written accounts. Thus,
information on those who performed the drudge
work on Imperial sites has to rely on archaeological
data. The association of the intruders with the local
population was a significant factor in acculturation
processes. At Dufile, we discovered little about the
Egyptian and Nubian population except that they
relied largely on a meat diet in which cattle and
sheep were important (a diet familiar to them in the
Middle Nile) rather than on local fish and game.
What we did discover, however, was the prevalence of local ceramics—indicating that cooking
was performed by local women. Upper Nile women and their offspring brought south to Kampala,
the capital of Uganda, by Captain Lugard in 1891
and 1892 outnumbered the soldiers by ten to one.
They brought down distinctive mat-making and
basketry activities that persist in the substantial
Nubian communities of the present day. Imperialists initiated the military stations, but their
occupants became an essential component of the
northern Ugandan towns as traders and ulama
(holy men, doctors, and lay preachers). What we
would of course like to know more about was the
pattern of resistance to Imperial control. This we
cannot look for at the forts but in the surrounding
region, where local chiefs resisted. Such archaeology is difficult under the best circumstances, but
particularly so in an area where we are dealing
with societies that possessed a minimum of material culture and lived in houses that even today are
pretty ephemeral.
When it comes to the conservation of Imperial
sites, the African component has to be presented,
even though it may be the more difficult to disentangle. It is for this reason that I regard it as essential
that selected sites be preserved not as memorials
to past invaders but as sites where the process of
globalization occurred. Trying to project the image
that is most acceptable is all part of the work of cultural conservation. This is a process that follows after excavation and publication. In 2007, I went back
to Uganda to discuss cultural conservation with the
Uganda Museum and government officials.
Early in 2009, I will go again to Uganda to draw
up a management plan for a sustainable historical
monument. Sites such as Dufile should showcase
aspects of the integration of new ideas and of the
acculturation of the invading forces, and should
explore the ways in which a new African identity
was being forged. An emphasis has to be placed on
how the Imperial sites fit into the cultural landscape. This is probably best attempted through a
regional visitor’s center, bearing in mind that few
people in the locality (particularly school children)
ever have the opportunity of visiting the museum
in the capital. Sustainable monuments thus have a
vital role in education.
In some measure, such monuments compensate
for the wrongs of Imperialism that robbed populations of the fullness of their dynamic heritages.
The larger the site the easier it becomes to create a
regional cultural center that not only provides information about the site itself but serves as a milieu
for cultural activities, including music, dance, and
the demonstration of regional craft activities. In
this sense, a single site can be used to inform the
local population about the cultural heritage of the
local population. These are the stakeholders of that
heritage with whom we have to closely work—cooperating with chiefs and village elders to ensure
that what is presented is acceptable to them and to
visitors from within and without Uganda.
merrick posnansky is former director of the
cotsen institute and professor emeritus of
history and anthropology at ucla.
author’s note:
parts of this article were adapted from a paper
“justifying imperial sites: a dilemma for excolonialists” given in a panel (on “which pasts
for what future? political, ethical, and scientific
dimensions of salvage archaeology and cultural
heritage management in africa”) at the nineteenth
biennial meeting of the society of africanist archaeologists in frankfurt in september of
2008.
55 | Backdirt 2009
SURVEYING THE ARCHAEOLOGY
OF THE PETRIFIED FOREST
BY GREG SCHACHNER
THE PETRIFIED FOREST of Arizona is one of
the iconic landscapes of the American Southwest.
Renowned for the exposed remains of thousands
of iridescent petrified logs, the Petrified Forest has
been a destination for countless travelers over the
last century—first via the Santa Fe Railway, then
Historic Route 66, and now Interstate 40. Although
the Petrified Forest has captured the public’s imagination, the area has received comparatively little
attention from Southwest archaeologists. Collectors from East Coast and European museums often
visited the nearby town of Holbrook to purchase
prehistoric pottery in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, but archaeologists were drawn
to the more spectacular remains found at Mesa
Verde, Chaco, and in the Rio Grande Valley.
In the 1900s, archaeologists visited the Petrified
Forest sporadically (some of the earliest archaeology
in the region was actually conducted by the naturalist John Muir), but their findings were never central
to ongoing syntheses of Southwest archaeology
being developed by Alfred Kidder, Emil Haury, and
others. Even today, few Southwest archaeologists
would be able to provide a verbal summary of the
archaeology of the Petrified Forest—despite having
often voluminous knowledge of surrounding areas.
NPS archaeologist
Jay Theuer and Greg
Schachner at a Chacoperiod great kiva
in Petrified Forest
National Park. Photo
by Wes Bernardini.
56 | Backdirt 2009
In cooperation with the National Park Service
(NPS) and local landowners, I have recently begun
a long-term collaborative project intended to
reinvigorate studies of Petrified Forest archaeology
and contribute to ongoing preservation efforts in
this fast-developing region. Despite its foreboding
appearance today, there is ample evidence that the
Petrified Forest was continually and densely occupied throughout most of the prehistoric period (see
image following).
Archaeological studies in the area are well situated to contribute to a number of current debates
in Southwest archaeology, including investigations of regional systems and migration during
the late prehistoric period (A.D. 1275–1400) and
the founding of year-round farming villages in the
centuries prior to the rise of Chaco (A.D. 500–900).
An expansion of Petrified Forest National Park has
recently been authorized (although not yet funded)
and will provide new opportunities for research,
preservation, and education that will require more
resources than the NPS alone can provide. Archaeologists from UCLA and other institutions will be
an important part of these developing efforts.
The first phase of a new UCLA project, the
Puerco Ridge Archaeological Survey, began in the
Above: Greg Schachner, Wes Bernardini, and Will Russell retrieving the photography balloon at Wallace Tank.
Photo by Matt Peeples.
Right: Central portion of the Wallace Tank ruin. The
large tank is a twentieth-century expansion of a prehistoric reservoir. The tank is now nearly 150 m in length.
The round feature at the top of the photograph is a
modern overflow tank. Two of the four pueblos in the
village, containing roughly 100 rooms each, are visible
as concentrations of white sandstone rubble and lightcolored soil at the left-center and bottom-center of this
aerial photo.
summer of 2008. I visited sites in Petrified Forest
National Park with Jay Theuer (the park archaeologist) and conducted a surface survey of Wallace
Tank, a large Pueblo IV–period (A.D. 1275–1375)
village located on a private ranch east of the park. I
was assisted by Dr. Wes Bernardini of the University of Redlands and Matt Peeples and Will Russell of
Arizona State University in the latter efforts, which
included the production of the first instrument map
of the village, low-altitude aerial photography, and
systematic surface collections aimed at recovering
pottery (see images following).
Wallace Tank was a large village housing a few
hundred people in four multistory adobe and masonry pueblos surrounding an ancient man-made
spring-fed reservoir. Diagnostic pottery collections
suggest that it was occupied from the late thirteenth
century A.D. until about A.D. 1350. In addition to
a poorly known tradition of local pottery production, residents of Wallace Tank obtained pottery
from villages in surrounding regions—including
the Hopi Mesas, the Zuni area, and the region surrounding modern Snowflake, Arizona.
The great diversity of social relationships indicated by the pottery assemblage of Wallace Tank is
characteristic of many villages during this time period, when frequent long-distance migrations reformatted the social landscape following the depopulation of huge swaths of the Four Corners region to
the north. Future chemical compositional studies of
pottery from the Pueblo IV period Petrified Forest
villages will contribute to the ongoing and surpris-
ingly effective efforts by Southwest archaeologists
to understand the complexities of migration and
social relationships during this period.
A second season is planned for the summer of
2009, which will focus on archaeological survey
of the area surrounding Wallace Tank—including a detailed investigation of a contemporary
village a few miles to the east that was partially
excavated by Smithsonian archaeologists more
than 100 years ago and then “lost” to the discipline until 2003. NPS staff and UCLA archaeologists will also collaborate on a new project
investigating ancient agricultural practices using
a combination of field survey and GIS studies of
environmental variables. The archaeology of the
Petrified Forest is diverse and impressive and will
hopefully be the location of productive research
by UCLA faculty and staff for years to come.
greg schachner is assistant professor of
anthropology at ucla.
57 | Backdirt 2009
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Developing the L.A. NHM's exhibit Visible Vault:
Archaeological Treasures from Ancient Latin America
BY KAREN WISE
A NEW EXHIBIT has opened at the Natural History Museum (NHM) of Los Angeles County. Born
of necessity and developed and installed in only a
few months, the new exhibit must fill multiple visitor and functional needs. We hope it is worthy of
visiting again and again over the years it is open.
A conventional exhibit that had not been updated since the early 1980s, the ALAH was organized by region and archaeological culture. The
exhibit was popular with both schools and families.
Teachers from across Los Angeles brought their
sixth-graders to see objects from Aztec, Maya, and
The NHM of L.A. County is in the middle of
a major renovation and exhibit program. By the
end of 2012, more than half of our public space
will have been renovated, restored, and filled with
new exhibits. Unfortunately, the first phase of any
museum renovation is closing exhibits and moving collections. One of the exhibits that had to be
closed was our popular Ancient Latin American
Hall (ALAH). The question of where to store the
600 objects on display in the hall needed to be
answered urgently.
Inca civilizations—which they study as part of the
California curriculum on ancient history and civilizations. Families of all backgrounds also visited the
exhibit. Visitor surveys indicated that our visitors,
particularly those with Latin American heritage,
take pride in being able to come to the museum and
explore the exhibit with their children. Although
visitors typically seek out objects that come from
what they consider their ancestral home regions,
many express interest in being able to see objects
from the entire region.
Nayarit statue, Rio de
Ixtlan Style 200 B.C.–
A.D.500, featured object
in Visible Vault exhibit
Photo by Dan Watson.
58 | Backdirt 2009
Jennifer Saracino, Curatorial Assistant, working
on mounting an object
for Visible Vault exhibit.
Visitor interest and the needs of our school visitors motivated us to find a way to keep the collection on display. We had neither time nor space to
develop a conventional exhibit, but we decided to
close a less popular exhibit to create a new home for
the archaeological collections from Latin America.
We decided to place the objects into visible storage.
The new space is not appropriate for all objects, but
it features ceramic, stone, and certain gold objects
and includes some artifacts never before on display.
Visible storage exhibits provide museum visitors
with a glimpse into a museum’s rich collections—
and ideally imparting the flavor of what it feels
like to be a scholar or a museum curator working
behind the scenes. Many visible storage exhibits
provide visitors with access to collections databases,
allowing them to explore the information associated with the objects on display. Whereas such exhibits fascinate motivated visitors already interested
in the topic, and who feel at home playing with
computers, they do not always succeed with more
casual visitors. To make our visible storage exhibit
more accessible to all visitors, we decided to take a
more multilayered and visitor-friendly approach.
The Visible Vault is organized by region. The
sections holding the objects from the three bestknown civilizations—Aztec, Maya, and Inca—are
clearly labeled to allow teachers and others looking
for objects from these civilizations to find them easily. Responding to our visitors’ desire to see objects
from throughout Latin America, we selected 39
featured objects for display in special display cases
to provide full visual access and to incorporate
standard printed labels. The remaining objects—
approximately 650 artifacts—are shown in storage, and are only partly visible. For these objects,
we modified our standard (custom-built) storage
boxes to provide better visibility without risking
the safety of the objects. The safety of the artifacts,
particularly in the case of an earthquake, is always
foremost in our minds—and our collections managers were very creative in thinking about visitor
needs as well as collections safety.
Finally, we wanted to provide a rich visitor experience with the image and information data about
the objects held in our collections database. We decided to forgo standard keyboard-driven individual
screens in favor of multiuser larger touch screens
that allow visitors to explore the objects by country
of origin, archaeological culture, and theme. For
Object mounted for exhibit. Ties placed around
object and tied in back.
Hot glue, archival foam
block, board, and ties
used for construction.
example, visitors interested in personal adornment
can browse a list of objects showing such features as
tattoos and hairstyles.
The needs of our visitors, combined with limitations of time and space, inspired us to try a new
approach to visible storage. We hope it will be a
successful approach, and we look forward to inviting our visitors to enjoy the objects on many levels
and to explore the collections in new ways. Visible
Vault: Archaeological Treasures from Ancient Latin
America opened December 19, 2008—with a public
celebration of the exhibit held January 24, 2009. A
series of three lectures related to the archaeology
of Latin America, featuring Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology scholars, will be held at the NHM over
the next year.
karen wise is vice president of public programs
at the natural history museum of los angeles
county and a research associate at the cotsen
institute of archaeology.
59 | Backdirt 2009
EXCAVATIONS AT THE ANCIENT
CITY OF SISUPALGARH
BY MONICA L. SMITH AND RABINDRA KUMAR MOHANTY
This article is not authorized for electronic distribution. For a paper copy, please contact the
cotsen institute publications office at [email protected] or 310-825-7411.
60 | Backdirt 2009
JO ANNE VAN TILBURG
& CRISTIÁN ARÉVALO PAKARATI
62
EASTER ISLAND
PHOTO ESSAY
PATTY CIVALLERI
66
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE
CONFUCIAN LANDSCAPE
LI MIN
72
EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES
IN SOUTH AMERICA
SHAUNA K. MECARTA
& ELIZABETH KLARICH
78
EMPIRES OF DIVERSITY
GREGORY ARESHIAN
84
METAL & LANDSCAPE IN
ANCIENT ANATOLIA
JOSEPH LEHNER
92
FEATURES
A MONUMENTAL TASK ON
EASTER ISLAND
62 | Backdirt 2009
A MONUMENTAL
ON EASTER ISLAND
BY JO ANNE VAN TILBURG AND
CRISTI• N ARÄ VALO PAKARATI
EASTER ISLAND (Rapa Nui), Chile, is located in the southeast Pacific at the southern limit of the tropics. The monolithic stone statues
(moai) of Easter Island are world-famous objects of artistic imagination
and engineering ingenuity. Rapa Nui National Park is the world’s largest
archaeological sculpture garden. It was registered as a World Heritage
site in 1995. The Rano Raraku archaeological zone holds nearly 95% of
the 1,000+ statues we have inventoried to date. A striking natural landmark partially filled with a fresh water lake, Rano Raraku is located
within Hotu Iti—the eastern and lower-ranked of two sociopolitical
districts. Although statues were subsequently moved to ceremonial site
destinations in the coastal and interior zones of the 163.6-km2 island,
nearly 50% of the total corpus remains in Rano Raraku.
Left: Overview of Rano Raraku interior slopes and quarries.
63 | Backdirt 2009
Above: Rano Raraku interior slope with standing and fallen moai.
Nineteen individual quarries reach to the volcano rim.
R
ano Raraku is formed of consolidated
tephra ash or tuff arrayed in roughly
horizontal bands. On the volcano’s
interior, the tuff is exposed in irregularly
shaped flows (papa) on the north-facing side—which
slopes to 28 degrees. Visually subdivided into two
large and spatially discrete areas, the papa are all
different in elevation, tilt, stone quality, accessibility,
and workability.
Rano Raraku tuff is friable, porous, and susceptible to deterioration. It is a distinctive yellow-orange
when freshly quarried (a color sought because of
its cultural associations with the chiefly class), but
weathers to black. These and other inherent weaknesses of the stone material, coupled with the fact
that Rano Raraku is a major tourist destination, create an urgent conservation imperative. Other threats
include subtropical climate conditions, a failure to
integrate archaeological survey and conservation
data, uncontrolled livestock, and undirected community action.
From 2002 to 2007, our Easter Island Statue Project (EISP, www.eisp.org) crews mapped the interior
of Rano Raraku and all of the statues and quarries
in it to the highest level of accuracy. Our field tools
of choice were a Trimble 5700 GPS base unit with
Zephyr Geodetic antenna, a Trimble Trimmark 3
radio unit with TSCE data collector, and a Trimble
5800 GPS rover unit. Dr. Peter Boniface of California
Polytechnic University, Pomona, established our survey on the geodetic monument created by Pasadena’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1992 and located about
64 | Backdirt 2009
10 km from our main base station and control point
network in Rano Raraku.
Matthew Bates, EISP project surveyor, registered
survey points on statues lying on slopes as well as on
those free of the quarries. Statues standing upright
and embedded in the ground lean at various angles
from the vertical. Points were taken equidistant
in front of and behind each of them, giving the
facing directions as well as the XYZ locations. All
data were downloaded to a laptop via the infrared
connection and Thales Ashtec software. GPS points
were imported to a Microstation design file. CAD
files containing survey points and digitized versions
of field sketches were imported into Adobe Illustrator and EISP database manager Alice Hom drafted
the map based on field sketches by Cristián Arevalo
Pakarati
For over 20 years, we have compiled standardized conservation observations on every statue.
Initial analysis suggests an alarming rate of deterioration: every statue in Rano Raraku is in poor
or extremely poor condition, with near-complete
erosion and decomposition of stone surface and
structural problems. A generous grant to EISP was
recently announced by Larry Coben, cochairman of
the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) Site
Preservation Task Force. “Our selection of the Easter
Island Statue Project and our first preservation project, restoring and preserving the magnificent Temple
of Athena in Turkey—which is well underway—exemplify the model of preservation the AIA seeks to
promote,” says Coben.
Above: Standardized conservation data collections include
stone surface descriptions.
The newly funded Easter Island Statue Conservation Initiative is being carried out in cooperation
with CIOA’s Christian Fischer, visiting scientist
Nathan Myhrvold, and Chilean conservators at the
Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restuaración.
Our goal is to focus initially upon the conservation
of Rano Raraku’s interior quarry. In phase I of the
project, selected statues will be laser scanned and
two statues of high archaeological and iconographic
interest will be examined in detail. Stone preservation techniques to arrest the rapid deterioration of
the target statues will be developed.
Our map, with its mass of linked and illustrative
data, will serve as the organizing and presentation
tool for all of our archaeological data. It will allow
visualization of historical and ecological linkages,
support the analysis of statue type data in the context
of social theory and the semiotics of spatial organization, and contribute to the understanding of the
statues as components of ecological, political, and esoteric systems. It will also provide a permanent home
for conservation data, advance the understanding of
the Rapa Nui cultural heritage, and permit informed
management and maintenance of the community’s
patrimony.
jo anne van tilburg is a research associate and
director of the rock art archive at the cotsen
institute. cristián arévalo pakarati is a native of
rapa nui, a professional artist and co -director
of the easter island statue project (eisp). he has
published widely with van tilburg.
Above: GPS mapping crew registers points on statues in Rano Raraku.
Additional Readings:
Bahamondez, P. M.
1990 Acciones de conservación sobre los moai de Isla de Pascua. Su evaluación en laboratorio. In Resúmenes presentados a
la Reunión Internacional Isla de Pascua, Chile, edited by A. Elena
Charola, Dirección de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museos, Santiago.
Baker, P. E.
1993 Archaeological Stone of Easter Island. Geoarchaeology: An
International Journal 8(2):127–139.
Boniface, P., and Jo Anne Van Tilburg
2004 Thales Promark 2 on Easter Island. Electronic document,
www.eisp.org.
Cristino F., Claudio, Patricia Vargas C., and Roberto Izaurieta S.
1981 Atlas arqueólogica de Isla de Pascua. Universidad de Chile
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Centro de Estudios Isla
de Pascua, Santiago.
Van Tilburg, Jo Anne
1990 Respect for Rapa Nui: Exhibition and Conservation of Easter Island Stone Statues. Antiquity 64:249–258.
Van Tilburg, J., C. Arévalo Pakarati and A. Hom
2007 Mapping Features. In Recording, Documentation, and Information Management for the Conservation of Heritage Places:
Illustrated Examples, edited by R. Eppich and A. Chabbi, pp.
32–36 Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles.
65 | Backdirt 2009
EASTER ISLAND
A Photo Essay by Patty Civalleri
T
he Director’s Council (DC) offers many
wonderful perks for nonacademic “armchair archaeologist” types. The DC is the
highest level of the Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology’s support group, Friends of Archaeology. Among these perks are invitations to lectures
presented by some of the world’s specialists on a
wide variety of archaeological topics, quarterly catered dinner lectures with some of the most accomplished and widely published experts from around
the world, and of course many travel opportunities
with these experts. However, this particular perk
was truly special.
DC members were invited by one of the Cotsen
Institute’s long-time Research Associates—Dr. Jo
Anne Van Tilburg—to one of the most fascinating,
mystery-shrouded, and remote places in the world:
Easter Island [i.e, Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui (“Navel
of the Earth”)—as I later learned]. Van Tilburg, who
has spent two decades on the island and published
many wonderful books and articles (including my
favorite, Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and
Culture) is not only an internationally recognized
expert on Easter Island, but a researcher who is
amassing the largest digital archive on Rapa Nui
66 | Backdirt 2009
statues (moai). However, that is a topic for another
article. Van Tilburg and Rapa Nui artist Crisitián
Arévalo Pakarati—codirector of the Easter Island
Statue Project—took us through the historical depths
of the island that only they and a handful of locals
truly understand.
Before going to Easter Island, my impression was
of an arid desert island with big heads on it—and
not much else. To gain such a deep understanding of
the population, the history, and the locals was much
more than I could have hoped for—and I assume that
Easter Island and I will cross paths at least one more
time during my lifetime.
The biggest surprise for me about the island was
the moist tropical air and the lushness of the trees
and flowers. For some unknown reason, I had expected a much more arid environment. It is clear that
the Polynesians knew exactly what they were doing
when they settled on this island so many centuries
ago.
Have you been thinking of joining the DC? Now
is the time for you to enjoy life’s experiences such as
this one! There are more trips like this planned for
2009. Please join us.
Ahu Tongariki
This group of 15 moai (statues) stand on Ahu Tongariki, one of the most famous ceremonial
sites (ahu) on Easter Island. In 1960, this group was struck by a tsunami„ only to be raised
by Chilean archaeologists in the 1990s for a second time. At approximately 30 feet tall, the
fifth statue from the left is the second largest moai statue raised on an ahu. The Tongariki
statues from the rear appear as though they may be watching over Rano Raraku, the statue
quarry mountain in the background. In reality, there were many residences between these
statues and the quarry—which today are difficult to see.
Orongo
ï BirdmanÍ Tradition
The legend of the birdman is quite
dramatic. As the story goes, young
men representing 12 different lineages
(tribes) would descend from this cliff
into the blue waters below. They
were to swim to the large islet in the
distance (about a mile away) and fetch
the egg of a sooty tern. The first one
back with an intact egg became the
new ruler. (And maybe his image was
eventually turned into a moai statue
for posterity?)
67 | Backdirt 2009
BirdmanÍ s Nest
These dwellings (top), at Orongo, perched with a beautiful view of the islet (see previous page), were temporary
residences of the folks active in the Birdman ceremonies.
These structures were built to protect the inhabitants
from harsh subtropical weather conditions. Above, Ron
Steensland and Charlie Steinmetz of the DirectorÍ s Council carefully examine these structures. Below, rock art
from a cave used in the Birdman ceremony. The paintings
depict sooty terns.
68 | Backdirt 2009
Lectures in the Sun
Van Tilburg tells delightful stories of the ancient islanders
and how they managed to build and transport these huge
statues. The statues of Tongarikiiki stand watching and
listening in the distance.
69 | Backdirt 2009
Courage of the Ancients
Bikini Watch
When driving across the island one afternoon, we came
across this unbelievable scene. An ancient tradition, called
haka pei, is practiced every year on the island (below). When
given a signal from the costumed ñ warrior,î a competitor at
the top of the hill climbs aboard a sled made of banana stalks
and slides down this hill. The competition was in full progress,
and the excitement of the onlookers was contagious (below).
This is Anakena (above), one of the most picturesque beaches
on Easter Island. Our group was treated to a catered picnic
lunch under the shade of the palm trees, and then we were off
for a swim in the warm local waters. All the while, this lineup
of truly beautiful moai kept watch over our frolicking. At first
glance, these statues looked too good to be ancient. However,
their burial in the clean sands for several hundred years kept
them well preserved.
70 | Backdirt 2009
Rano Raraku Crater
The moai were carved from the stone inside Rano Raraku,
an ancient volcanic crater (pictured below). Today, the inside
of the crater is littered with statues in various stages of
completion. It was from here that the mega-ton statues were
transported (utilizing various forms of manpower) and placed
in their final settings on ceremonial sites all around the island.
Top right: statues in situ on the craterÍ s exterior.
patty civalleri is a member of the director’s council (dc).
for more information about the dc or the friends of
archaeology, please visit www.ioa.ucla.edu/support/foa.
71 | Backdirt 2009
Archaeology of the
Confucian Landscape
The Politics of Memory at the Shaohaoling Site
By Li Min
72 | Backdirt 2009
My forthcoming regional archaeology project is centered
at the historic city of Qufu, where Confucius and more
than 70 generations of his descendants resided since the
mid first millennium B.C.E. Few places in China are like
Qufu, where the past is intricately connected to aspects
of everyday life. One could casually wander through the
neighborhoods mentioned in the Analects and encounter
a descendant of the philosopher.
T
his historic city also has
an unusual configuration.
What is now the urban core
was once within the perimeters of a Ming walled city of the sixteenth century, which was dominated
by temples and palatial compounds
dedicated to the memorialization
of the philosopher. The Ming city,
however, was only a seventh the size
of the Bronze Age city that enclosed
it—covering an area of approximately
10 km2, which remains only partially
inhabited due to protection efforts. To
the north of the city lies the enormous cemetery for the Confucian
lineage, which rivals the Ming city in
size. Beyond the confines of the city
wall, several of the very important
sites in early China are located in the
region. My aim was to understand the
historical transformations of the cultural landscape in and around Qufu,
particularly regarding preservation
and incorporation of the past within a
modern setting.
My first close encounter with
this historic landscape took place at
an eleventh-century cult center in
the eastern suburbs. Research into
its construction reveals an example
of how monumental architecture
figured into political negotiations and
cultural competition. The story began
with the 1004 invasion by the troops
from the Khitan Empire, a traumatic
experience for emperor Zhao Heng of
the Song Empire in the south (reigning period 998–1023; temple name
Zhenzong, “the true ancestor”). The
proposal to move the capital to the
south was rejected by officials, and
the emperor reluctantly led a royal
campaign to confront the Khitan
army. When the two armies reached
a stalemate after fierce battles, Zhao
Heng seized the opportunity to end
the conflict with a peace treaty under
which the Song government had to
forego claims over disputed territories
in the northern Central Plains and
make a substantial annual payment of
73 | Backdirt 2009
Above left and right: remains of stone foundations for the marble statue of the
Yellow Emperor in the Jingling Temple.
silk and silver to the northern empire. Although tax
The choice of the Yellow Emperor in the politics of
revenues collected from the cross-border trade more
remembrance was a calculated move. In their effort
than funded the annual payment, for the “Son of
of state building, the Khitan rulers across the northHeaven” to yield to the northern barbarians brought
ern border already engaged in appropriating potent
about a sense of humiliation difficult to reconcile in
cultural symbols from the Central Plains and started
financial terms.
to present themselves as the heir of the legendary
There was also the unspoken agony of losing to the
sage. Zhao Heng’s promotion of the Yellow Emperor
northern empire two recent royal ancestral tombs in
not only upstaged Khitan in his exclusive claims to
the disputed territory. These are the only ancestral
supernatural favor but bypassed the embarrassment
tombs that Zhao Kuangyin, the dynastic founder
of leaving behind the ancestral burials in occupied
and uncle of the reigning emperor, could trace in his
territory. The move shifted the time scale of the
modest genealogy. In an effort
ancestral remembrance from
The choice of the Yellow Emperor
to reduce the damage, Zhao
decades to millennia, from
Heng tried to back away from
recent to remote antiquity,
in the politics of remembrance was
his uncle’s account on the
and from modest human oria calculated move. In their effort
whereabouts of these ancesgins to the heroic and impectral tombs—but the officials
cable. In essence, Zhao Heng
of state building, the Khitan rulers
simply refused to budge. In
embarked on an enterprise of
across the northern border already
addition to the political hucreating ancestors—setting in
miliation from the treaty, the
engaged in appropriating potent cul- motion a ritual reform.
emperor now faced a serious
Shift in temporal frametural symbols from the Central Plains work took place in tandem
legitimacy crisis in the ritual
realm and was keen to search
with a shift in ritual geograand started to present themselves as
for creative solutions.
phy. Whereas his uncle barely
the heir of the legendary sage.
Wang Qinruo, Commisremembered the location of
sioner of Military Affairs,
his recent ancestral tombs,
got the hint and masterminded a series of auspicious
Zhao Heng had very specific knowledge about the
omens verifying the legitimacy of the Song imperial
ancestral landscape of the legendary sage—from no
house. It was so well received by the emperor that
less than the sage himself. In his dream, the YelZhao Heng eventually changed his reign name to Dalow Emperor told Zhao Heng that he was born in
zhong Xiangfu (the Auspicious Talismans of the Great
Shouqiu, Qufu, which the court scholars could readMean) to emphasize the significance of these superily verify with extant textual accounts from the Han
natural blessings. On October 8, 1012, the Yellow
period. The rest was a matter of making the miracle
Emperor (a legendary sage king attributed to the third
visible with ritual elaborations, which consisted of
millennium B.C.E. and a major figure of religious
monumental architecture and ritual performances—
Daoism in historic China) presented himself in Zhao
fixing the myth in grand material form and cultural
Heng’s dream as the great ancestor of the Song royal
memory that would render any doubts of fabrication
clan and endorsed the emperor’s benevolent career.
irrelevant.
74 | Backdirt 2009
The monumental structures at the Shaohaoling
site attest to this huge effort. Zhao Heng ordered the
construction of the Jingling Palace as a state cult
center to pay homage to the Yellow Emperor at the
site of his alleged birthplace. Everything was aimed
at creating a sense of grandeur. Later historians related that the majestic royal temple consisted of 1,300
pillars and took four years to complete. A marble
sculpture of the sage was housed in the main hall. An
earthen mound was built north of the royal temple,
marking the resting place of the Yellow Emperor.
Left: Map of Qufu drawn in the early twelfth century. The large walled
enclosure on the map is the Bronze Age city wall of the first millennium
B.C. The palatial complex in the smaller rectangule to its east (marked) is
the Jingling Palace. The large palatial complex at the southwest corner
of the old city is the Confucian temple, residential compound for the
senior Confucian lineage, and the Duke of Zhou’s temple. The wooded
area north of the old city is the Confucian lineage cemetery. (Image
courtesy of Cao et al. 1990, pp. 51.)
Right, top: A pair of 17-m stelae were left uninscribed when the region
was overrun by the Jurchin invasion in the early 1120s. Bottom: The
pyramid-shaped burial mound known as the Shaohao Mausoleum.
75 | Backdirt 2009
Roof tiles from the Jinglinggong Temple at the Shaohaoling site.
Zhao Heng decreed ritual sacrifice at the temple
along lines similar to those of the royal ancestral
temple. He ordered the construction of a new walled
city next to the cult center in 1012 and named it the
Xianyuan (“birthplace of the sage”). This was followed by the relocation of the county headquarters
of Qufu to the new city. In 1111, Emperor Zhao Ji upgraded the earthen mound to a stone-covered pyramid with masonry of 2,662 polished stone blocks.
Zhao Heng also understood that his propaganda
would be most effectively conveyed by having newly
constructed monuments embedded within existing
cultural traditions. Zhao Heng appointed the head
of the Confucian lineage as administrator for the
new city, as well as chief guardian of the cult center.
Qufu, the central site of the Confucian landscape,
was now incorporated into Zhao Heng’s grand
scheme for a sacred landscape centered on the Yellow
Emperor—the great royal ancestor. Although the
event says little about the historicity of the legendary
sage memorialized, the archaeology of this dynamic
landscape reveals how memories of the ancient past
were articulated into the contemporary international
politics of the eleventh century.
Through Zhao Heng’s efforts to evoke cultural
memories of the remote past to cope with the political crisis of the early eleventh century, Confucianism
and Daoism—the two great religious traditions indigenous to China—converged under extraordinary
76 | Backdirt 2009
circumstances and left impressive archaeological
remains in the eastern suburb of the old Qufu. This
is one of many dramatic episodes that transformed
the cultural landscape of the region.
My investigation of the archaeological remains
of this fascinating site, known as Shaohaoling, the
Shaohao mausoleum, started in 2002 when I served
as a project archaeologist in a historical conservation
project sponsored by the Canadian International
Development Agency (directed by Hal Kalman). The
walled city at Xianyuan measures some 600 by 600
m, and traces of its moat and rammed earth wall are
still visible on the surface. Although the northern
gate and its watchtower were demolished in 1967,
many architectural remains were scattered in the
neighborhood.
The foundation of the main palatial structure
measures 175 m on the east-west axis and 125 m on
the south-north axis. Stone foundations and large
fragments of the marble statue of the Yellow Emperor
were found on the surface at the center of the site. In
1985, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Archaeology located the rammed earth palatial foundation
that had incorporated well-arranged floor bricks and
carved stone pillar bases at a depth of .5 m below
ground level. The Song deposit measures 2.7 m in
thickness and is filled with bricks and roof tiles of the
period, which frequently can be seen on the surface.
Archaeological evidence reveals that the construction of the Jingling Palace was not completed by the
time of the Jurchin invasion in the 1120s, as neither
of the two enormous steles (each measuring 17 m
in height) had inscriptions from the Song period.
A survey conducted by Qufu archaeologist Xiang
Chunsheng and myself identified Neolithic pottery
from the fourth to the third millennia B.C.E., Han
stone-chamber tombs, Han projectile points, and
glazed ceramics from Song and Yuan periods, which
reveals the deeply layered history at the site.
The pyramid located at the very end of the palatial
complex measures 12.2 m tall, and 28.5 m in width
at the bottom and 11 m in width at the top. Its
shape closely resembles that of the Song royal tombs
located in Gongxian, Henan. The dedication of this
elaborate tomb and surrounding tomb complex,
however, was changed to another legendary sage king
(Shaohao), which was the result of an empire-wide
reconfiguration of ritual landscape by the dynastic
founders of the Ming Empire during the fourteenth
century. The imperial advisors had in mind different locations where the sage king should have been
buried according to their perception of the ritual
geography. The site’s association with the Yellow
Emperor and the important ritual significance of this
cult center site in the international relations of the
relatively recent past was conveniently forgotten, and
other sites rose to become dedicated cult centers for
royal patronage of the Yellow Emperor.
The successive Ming and Qing rulers faithfully
sent regular envoys to present ritual offerings to the
sage Shaohao, as seen on the many stone inscriptions
left at the site recording these events.
Preliminary research at the Shaohaoling site revealed a relatively small episode in the making of the
local landscape, including the world known to Confucius and his time, the built world through which
Confucius was known and memorialized, and evidence of the war, trauma, remembrance, and amnesia
that left their imprints on the historical landscape. In
the forthcoming field research on the archaeology of
Confucian landscape, I am promoting regional survey as the primary method of documenting long-term
social and cultural transformations evidenced in the
distribution of archaeological remains.
The project builds on the important contribution
of earlier generations of archaeologists working in
the region, particularly the systematic probing and
excavation inside the Bronze Age and early Iron
Age city of Qufu during the 1970s and 1980s under
the directorship of Zhang Xuehai (Shandongsheng
Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiusuo 1982). The rich data
gathered from the urban quarter within the walled
city allow for comprehensive understanding of the
urban development and the social structure of late
Bronze Age society in China (Buck 1986; Xu 2000;
Falkenhausen 2006). Together, these research efforts
make the investigation at the regional level possible
and necessary. The regional approach will make a
potential contribution to an understanding of many
episodes of convergence between the past and present
under changing circumstances in a landscape richly
endowed with history and constantly transforming
itself through reinterpretation of the past.
li min is assistant professor of asian languages
and cultures, anthropology, and the interdepartmental archaeology graduate program at ucla.
References:
Buck, David D.
1986 Archaeological Explorations at the Ancient Capital of Lu at Qufu in Shandong Province. Chinese Sociology and Anthropology
19(1):9–65.
Cao Wanru, Zheng Xihuang, Huang Shengzhang, Niu Zhongxun, Ren Jincheng, and Ju
Deyuan (editors)
1990 Zhongguo gudai dituji (Historical Maps of
China), Vol. 1. Warring States to Yuan. Wenwu
chubanshe, Beijing.
Falkenhausen, Lothar von
2006 Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius
(1000–250 B.C.): The Archaeological Evidence.
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of
California, Los Angeles.
Hong, Xu
2000 Xianqin chengshi kaoguxue yanjiu (An
Archaeological Study of Early Chinese Cities).
Yanshan chubanshe, Beijing.
Shandongsheng Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiusuo
1982 Qufu Lu gucheng (The City Site of Lu in
Qufu). Qilu shushe, Jinan.
77 | Backdirt 2009
Exploring
Opportunities
A Staff Trip to South America
By Shauna K. Mecartea and Elizabeth Klarich
78 | Backdirt 2009
With a suitca se full of Cotsen Institute of Archa eology Press
books, promo tional mater ial, and very warm clothin g, Liz
Klaric h, Assist ant Direct or and Andea n archae ologist, and
Shaun a Mecar tea, Direct or of Public ations and Comm unications, arrive d in Lima, Peru, in July of 2008 to begin a
three-week trek throug hout Peru and Bolivi a. Althou gh the
trip was developed for the purpo se of invest igating potent ial
publis hing and book distrib ution option s in Peru, as well as
captur ing video and still shots for upcom ing comm unicat ions
projects, it ended up being so much more.
The trek create d a contex t in which Shaun a — a nonarc haeologist and first-t ime visitor to the southe rn hemisphere
— could see firstha nd the place of Cotsen Institute projects
within Andea n archae ology. The opport unity to travel with
an experi enced archae ologist to sites that had been excava ted
by Cotsen Institute schola rs and often publis hed by the Cotsen Institute Press was truly remarkable for Shaun a.
79 | Backdirt 2009
B
eginning in Lima, we arranged to meet
with university publishers to explore
copublishing opportunities in various
formats, including bilingual editions of
Cotsen Institute books. We also scheduled appointments to meet with academic book distributors,
providing each with packets of promotional materials about our Andean archaeology titles. Because we
were unsure of the level of interest, we toted numerous volumes to our meetings and found that we left
empty handed after each visit. From these experiences, we realized that there was a significant market for our books and that we will be able to better
serve our South American colleagues through expanding our distribution of titles outside the United
States. In addition, there are exciting possibilities for
developing copublishing relationships with Peruvian
archaeology publishers to create bilingual volumes
that reach more readers. It was hard to believe that
we made so many productive connections in just the
first week of arriving in Peru!
Above: School parade in Cuzco.
All photos by Shauna Mecartea.
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After our stay in Lima, our next stop was Cuzco—at an
elevation of 9,000 ft. The arrival literally took our breath
away as we adjusted to the beauty and elevation of the Andes. Although Shauna had read about the Andes through
our publishing program, she had never witnessed the
landscape and culture of highland Peru. With an expert
leading the expedition, Shauna learned about the previous
and ongoing projects throughout the Andes from Liz, who
has been working in the region since 1994.
The first order of business was to visit the Sacred
Valley Travel Study Program that was part of the UCLA
Archaeology Field Program—a Cotsen Institute initiative directed by Ran Boytner. Our visit’s purpose was
multifaceted. We were there to evaluate the program by
interviewing the participants and project director to ensure quality control and to accumulate picturesque video
and photographs of the Sacred Valley to use in print and
electronic media for future promotional materials.
We met with the program participants while they were
staying in Ollantaytambo—a famous Inca site noted for
its proximity to Machu Picchu and for being one of the
last strongholds of the Inca Empire during the Spanish
conquest. The students stayed in both Ollanta and
Cuzco during the program, which integrated coursework about ancient Andean history and culture with
field trips to renowned sites throughout the Sacred
Valley. On the night we arrived, we had the opportunity to join in one of the cultural events. With the group
at a local restaurant, we watched while experienced
Peruvian chef and staff set up the pachamanca—a
temporary earthen oven used throughout the Andes to
cook large meals.
The head chef described how the pachamanca was
created and what types of foods are cooked in it. We
watched while various types of potatoes, beans, poultry,
tamales, and other local foods were placed into the oven
for cooking. After several hours, we were able to enjoy
the divine meal that was taken out of the pachamanca
and shared with Peruvian colleagues in attendance. The
next morning the students headed off to hike the Inca
Trail to Machu Picchu and we continued on our way.
After the field program experience, we packed our
bags and headed for Puno, Peru—home to multiple
Cotsen Institute projects and Shauna’s first glimpse of
Lake Titicaca. At an even higher elevation than Cuzco
(13,000 ft above sea level), it was a tough adjustment to
both the altitude and cold in that it was winter in South
America. The bus ride through the altiplano (high plain)
was mesmerizing, as the huge mountains and dry land
with various shrubs passed by on the landscape.
After arriving in the city of Puno, we headed
straight to what is affectionately called the “Puno
House.” It includes residential space, laboratories,
and collections storage for the Programa Collasuyu,
codirected by Charles Stanish, Professor of Anthropology and Cotsen Institute Director. The house
and labs are managed by Cecilia Chávez, a Peruvian
archaeologist who has been active in the Titicaca
Basin for almost 20 years. At the house, we filmed
the collections, lab spaces, and some of the active
projects, which we hope to include in future fundraising materials.
The Puno House was our home base as Liz led
several excursions to nearby archaeological sites and
active field projects. One of the hair-raising trips on
the desolate and deteriorated Pan-American highway
was to Pukara, the earliest population center in the
region—which reached its largest extent during the
Late Formative period (200 B.C.–A.D. 200). For more
information on Pukara, please see Liz’s article on
page 46. Along with the archaeological site, there is a
small site museum—the Museo Lítico Pukara—that
has been rehabilitated over the last decade through
the support of several researchers working in the
region, especially Stanish. We had the opportunity
to film the facilities and collections, which we plan to
use to promote the development of local archaeological site museums and community centers across the
globe.
Between visiting archaeological sites, creating
videos, taking photographs, and meeting with colleagues, we were able to enjoy the local culture and
Above: Inca terraces at the site of Ollantaytambo.
Right: Preparing the pachamanca.
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food. We visited women’s weaving cooperatives to see how traditional textiles are made today.
Eager to share Peruvian cuisine with Shauna, Liz had
her try at almost all of the typical dishes—including
ceviche, hamburgers made of alpaca, and Peruvianinspired Chinese food referred to as chifa.
We said goodbye to Puno as we left for the Bolivian border to visit Tiwanaku, La Paz, Copacabana,
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and the Island of the Sun. At Tiwanaku, the focus of an upcoming Cotsen
Institute–edited volume, we filmed a
video of both the site and an interview
with a local Aymara maestro (expert
excavator) about his experiences working on archaeological excavations. To
reach the Island of the Sun, the setting
of a multiyear project directed by Stanish in the 1990s, we passed through
the port town and pilgrimage center of
Copacabana.
Upon our arrival, we saw hundreds
of decorated cars waiting to be blessed
during the festival for the Virgin of
Copacabana. As cars poured in for
the festivities, we took a boat to the
island and had an opportunity to visit
a local community center sponsored
by Stanish’s project and a number of important Inca
pilgrimage sites. While Liz spent time with her colleagues, Shauna huffed and puffed her way across the
island—following a steep Inca trail. Surrounded by
blue water as far as the eye could see, it felt more like
an island in an ocean rather than in the middle of a
slightly saline lake.
Opposite page, top: Town of Pucará, Peru, location of the
site of Pukara.
Opposite page, bottom: Island of the Sun, Bolivia.
Above: Shauna, left, and Liz, right, at Machu Picchu, one
of the Field Program's destinations.
With the trip almost over, we returned to the
Puno House and passed through Cuzco before flying
back to the United States. Armed with thousands
of pictures and hours of video, and free of Cotsen
Institute books, we were ready to leave Peru. The trip
provided us with more than new media and potential
international collaborations. It left us with wonderful
memories, a new appreciation for and understanding
of archaeology, and a lot of opportunity for future
work once we returned to Los Angeles.
shauna mecartea is director of publications and
communications at the cotsen institute. elizabeth
klarich is assistant director of the cotsen institute.
Andean Connections
The Cotsen Institute has a long history of scholars
working in the Andes, including Christopher B.
Donnan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology
and former Director of the Fowler Museum, who
specializes in Moche art and iconography and has
discovered famous sites such as Sipán and Dos
Cabezas. Charles Stanish, Professor of Anthropology and Cotsen Institute Director, has also
directed projects in the Lake Titicaca Basin for
more than 20 years.
Spanning multiple time periods and regions,
the breadth of Andean scholarship associated
with the Cotsen Institute is also reflected in the
Cotsen Institute Press’ list of publications—
Excavations at Cerro Azul, Peru: The Architecture
and Pottery by Joyce Marcus (2008); Chavín: Art,
Architecture, and Culture edited by William J.
Conklin and Jeffrey Quilter (2008); Moche Tombs
at Dos Cabezas by Christopher B. Donnan (2007);
Moche Fineline Painting from San José de Moro by
Donna McClelland, Don McClelland, and Christopher B. Donnan (2007); Machu Picchu: Exploring an Ancient Sacred Center by Johan Reinhard
(2007); Kasapata and the Archaic Period of Cuzco
Valley by Brian S. Bauer (2007); Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology–1 edited by Charles Stanish, Amanda B. Cohen, and Mark S. Aldenderfer
(2005); and Archaeological Research on the Islands
of the Sun and Moon, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia: Final
Results from the Proyecto Tiksi Kjarka edited by
Charles Stanish and Brian S. Bauer (2004).
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EMPIRES
OF DIVERSITY
a Photo Essay by Gregory E. Areshian
By the time Xerxes the Great ascended the throne of his father Darius the Great in
486 B.C., the Persian Achaemenid Empire had subjugated most of the Middle East,
eastern Mediterranean, and the southern parts of Central Asia. On the western
margins of this gigantic empire tiny Greek city-states fought one another in the
name of democracy and glory and successfully resisted further expansion by
the Achaemenids. The northern frontiers of agricultural Central Asia were
periodically attacked by the Sakas and other nomads and to the
east, beyond the Indus River, Buddhism was emerging. However, the attention of the “King of Kings” and of his imperial
administration had decisively shifted toward the management of an incredible sociopolitical, economic, ethnic, and
cultural diversity that was unified within the newly
established imperial world.
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Figure 1: Naqsh-e Rustam: Achaemenid rock tombs and Sasanian reliefs.
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Figure 3: Baga-Stana (Old Persian “Place of God”), modern Bisitoun: The rock
monument of Darius I (522-486 B.C.) with his trilingual cuneiform inscription
in Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite.
Figure 2: Persepolis: Relief on a door jamb of the Throne Hall started by
Xerxes (485-465 B.C.)and completed under Artaxerxes I depicting armies
from different peoples supporting the throne of the King of kings.
Figure 4: Persepolis: Relief over the entrance to the rock tomb of Artaxerxes
4
III (359–338/7 B.C.) depicting the peoples of the Achaemenid Empire supporting the platform on which the King of kings sacrifices to the eternal fire
of Ahuramazda.
Figure 5: Persepolis: Tachara building of Darius I.
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Contrary to the earlier Assyrian imperial reign of
terror, the Achaemenids followed a new motto with
regard to conquered people: “Live, and let others
live.” This was expressed by many means including
the monumental rock art propaganda depicting the
organized support of the “King of kings” and of his
supreme god Ahuramazda by the peoples incorporated into an imperial “union” by means of force and
of incentives.
For the first time in human history, even a special
ritual-ideological capital of the empire (Persepolis)
was built in order to promote the unifying imperial
agenda. In the second century B.C., the new Parthian
Iranian Empire gradually took over territories of the
weakening Seleucid heirs of Alexander the Great. The
heavily armed cavalry of the landed class (gathered
from the subjected countries) became the new dominant military and sociopolitical force.
No dominant ethnic majority existed and minority
elites became the pillars of support to the ruling imperial dynasty. This trend persisted through the ages
of the subsequent Sasanian Iranian Empire, during
which the image of the shahanshah (“King of kings”)
was transformed into that of a royal mounted hunter
and of a powerful knight riding legendary horses and
defeating enemies in a tournament-like combat.
The iconography even of Ahuramazda was
reinvented: the supreme god himself became a
divine knight vesting kings in royalty and glory.
The conquest by the Caliphate and conversion to
Islam (seventh through ninth centuries) were unable
to eliminate differences among ethnicities, social
classes, and cultures. Specifically, Iranian forms of
multiculturalism continued to thrive throughout the
Saljuq and Mongol periods.
In addition, this period saw a successful search
for a new all-Iranian identity, which began with the
Safavid period in the sixteenth century. Millennia
of Iranian history have created an unbelievably rich
cultural heritage, which we would like to convey to
Backdirt’s readers through a gallery of images taken
during an archaeological trip to Iran in October and
November of 2008. Let’s hope it will become possible
to develop joint international archaeological projects at such famous sites as Naqsh-e-Roustam and
Bishapur. Many critically important questions concerning our human past await exploration through
multidisciplinary research projects in Iran.
gregory e. areshian is a research associate and
visiting professor with the cotsen institute, the
department of history, and the department of
near eastern languages and cultures at ucla.
Figure 6: Persepolis: Relief on a door jamb in the “Council
Hall” depicting the King of kings under an umbrella.
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9
Figure 7: Naqsh-e Rajab: Rock relief depicting Shapur I (A.D. 241-272) on
horseback followed by his courtiers and generals.
Figure 8: Taq-e Bostan: Relief depicting Khusraw II Parviz (‘the Victorious,”
A.D. 590-628) riding his famous Armenian (according to the Persian poet
Nizami of Ganja) horse Shabdiz. Another, less likely, hypothesis suggests
that it may be a depiction of Peroz I (A.D. 457-484).
Figure 9 (right): Bishapur: Rock relief depicting Bahram I (A.D. 273-276) on
his steed.
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Figure 11: Tabriz: Interior of Masjid-e Kabud (“The Blue Mosque”)
completed in 1465 under Turkic Qara Qoyunlu Sultan Jahanshah
and known throughout the Middle East as the “Turquoise of Islam.”
Figure 10: Yazd: Masjid-e Jami mosque founded by the Saljuqs and rebuilt by
Mongol Ilkhans at the beginning of the 14th century.
Figure 12: Hamedan: Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, a major Jewish holy place of pilgrimage; according to another version this is a
mausoleum of Jewish queen Susan, wife of Sasanian King of kings
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Yazdgird I (A.D. 399-420). The extant building
back
to the
Mongol Ilkhanid period.
Figure 13: Esfahan: The Armenian All Savior’s cathedral completed in
1663 presents a clear evidence of the Iranian Safavid architectural influences on Christian architecture.
Figure 15: Shiraz: Inner courtyard garden of the Naranjestan Palace built in the
1870s under the Qajar Dynasty which housed the famous USA-Iranian Institute
of Asia in the 1960s–1970s.
Figure 14: Esfahan: Chehel Sotun (The Forty Columns) Palace built by
Shah Abbas
II (1642-1666);
18th century wall painting depicting a Safavid
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lady wearing a European hat.
Figure 16-17: Shiraz: Reliefs in the Naranjestan Palace demonstrating attempts
to revitalize the Achaemenid art after 2,400 years.
Figure 18: Yazd: General view of the modern Zoroastrian cemetery.
Figure 19: Yazd: Altar of the Zoroastrian Atashkadeh fire temple; the legend holds
that this sacred fire has been continuously burning since A.D. 470s even when transported from one temple to another. The present temple was rebuilt six decades ago.
Figure 20: Esfahan: Mausoleum of the distinguished American researcher of Iranian
art Arthur Upham Pope (1881-1969) and his wife Phyllis Ackerman built in Professor
Pope Park on the bank of Zayandeh River.
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&
at a short-lived iron age urban center in anatolia
Photograph of the
ancient city on
Kerkenes Dağ taken
by hot air balloon
during the 1993 field
season. View from
the north facing
south. The heavily
fortified city walls
encircle the expansive remains of the
city, where from this
vantage point, urban
compounds and
streets are visible.
Image courtesy of
Geoffrey Summers.
Recent Research at Kerkenes Dağ
BY JOSEPH LEHNER
Research in the development of complex technological systems
in ancient Turkey has demonstrated that communities are often
actively involved in a complex network of production, consumption, and exchange of raw materials and manufactured objects.
This research has also shown us that these patterns of material
use and exchange often develop together with socioeconomic,
political, and religious aspects of ancient societies in both urban
and rural landscapes.
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The monumental
entrance of the
Palace Complex.
The stone paved
entranceway would
have been flanked
on either side by two
massive columns
and platforms before
reaching a large
wooden doorway.
Image courtesy of
Geoffrey Summers.
H
ow exactly technological systems are
integrated into these landscapes, however, becomes an increasingly difficult
feature to ascertain due to limitations in the
archaeological record and methods of analysis.
For example, many sites are fragmentary because of later reuse, recycling, or natural causes
of disturbance such as erosion—thus allowing
only “palimpsest” perspectives of a site in both
time and space. In addition, we are only recently witnessing the rapidly developing field of
archaeological chemistry. Developments in this
field grant the extraordinary opportunity of
garnering finer detail of not only the structural
and compositional characteristics of materials
but the decision-making processes involved in
their exchange and manufacture on local and
regional scales.
The heavily fortified urban center on the
Kerkenes Dağ in central Turkey holds enormous promise for this research. Arguably
the one of the largest pre-Hellenistic urban
centers on the central Anatolian plateau, this
short-lived Iron Age capital has been identified as Pteria—a frontier capital among the
expanding Lydian, Neo-Babylonian, and
Persian Empires during the sixth and seventh
centuries B.C. The site is traditionally thought
to have been catastrophically destroyed by
Croesus of Lydia in 547 B.C. Interestingly, recent research provides clear evidence for a city
wide destruction, in addition to architecture,
inscriptions, cult and material culture that are
distinctly Phrygian in character. The ancient
city was first surveyed and mapped by H. H.
von der Osten and F. H. Blackburn in 1926,
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2009 2009
Left: Map of Kerkenes Dağ.
Right: North central Anatolia with location of Kerkenes Dağ and
other important archaeological sites. Base map attributed ESRI 2008.
and later examined by archaeological excavation by
E. Schmidt in 1927 as part of the Hittite Expedition
of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. From 1991 to the present, Drs. Geoffrey and
Françoise Summers of the Middle Eastern Technical
University in Ankara and Dr. Scott Branting of the
University of Chicago continue long-term research
at the site involving extensive survey, remote sensing, and selective excavation.
The remains of the city cover the undulations
of the low granitic mountain—not unlike other
Anatolian sites, such as at Boğazkale, Göllüdağ, and
Phrygian Ankara. The 7.5 km of city walls, constructed entirely of uncut cyclopean masonry and
a glaçis fortification, encircle the entire city and are
punctuated by seven gates. The construction of the
city indicates a certain degree of urban planning—
with large rectangular urban blocks and compounds
that are aligned according to an irregular though
loosely radial network of long straight streets and
pedestrian pathways.
The presence of at least two large open spaces in
the northeast city near the so-called Cappadocian
Gate and the Lower City may have been focal points
of interaction. At the same time, restricted space at
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the Palatial Complex—located on a high flat ridge
in the southern city—is evinced by the presence of a
partial glaçis fortification, a monumental entrance,
and a vast series of smaller internal structures. The
architectural and material traditions so far evident
at Kerkenes indicate that there existed a diverse
series of buildings and possibly economically specialized neighborhoods that existed simultaneously
across the city.
Ongoing remote sensing has revealed nearly all of
the 271-ha city plan, which has guided excavations
in key areas in several urban contexts across the city.
Other than a small Byzantine fortification, a small
Late Roman/Byzantine-period village, and pastoralist usage of the site, virtually no other period of substantial use is so far known to overlie the earlier Iron
Age city. In addition, the two to three generations
of urban occupation at the site provides for unusual
chronological resolution. This affords us the opportunity to treat the remains of the city as an urban
laboratory where, unlike many urban sites, we can
effectively begin to understand social and economic
dynamics across most of the urban landscape within
the city walls. For example, supercomputer-assisted
agent-based models are currently being adapted by
Branting and collaborators at the Argonne National
Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois to simulate pedestrian movement, decision-making processes, and interaction within the city. These data allow us to begin to
reconstruct not only the city as it was abandoned but
to begin to theorize and test how individuals once
used and constructed urban space during the Iron
Age in central Anatolia.
Extensive examination of the material remains
from excavations is currently underway. In addition to a unique array of intricately worked stone
sculpture, inscriptions in Old Phrygian and frag-
Left: The city walls preserve even today a sense of monumentality.
At the rear of this image and built upon a rise of exposed bedrock
are the remains of the Byzantine fortification.
Top right: The view in this image is taken from near to the Cappadocian Gate, which has a clear view of the southern and eastern
horizons. A major east-west trade route passed through this
region, which guided merchants from Persia, Assyria, Babylonia
and Lydia to cities like that at Kerkenes Dağ. The high mountain in
the disance is the Erciyes Dağ, a 3916 m (12,847 ft) stratovolcano in
northern Cappadocia.
Bottom right: From within the city, one has a clear view of nearly
all horizons. To the north and east are several metal ore resources
in the Pontic and Akdağ Mountains that the residents of Kerkenes
Dağ exploited and used to manufacture finished metal objects.
ments of ivory furniture inlay, a diverse assemblage
of well preserved metal objects represent yet another
facet of the highly specialized metallurgical tradition well known in Anatolia. Stylistically, Phrygian
metalwork is relatively well known. However, the
technological processes involved in their production
and which specific raw materials were used await
further elaboration.
One aspect of my own research is the characterization of the techniques and materials used in
the metallurgical traditions known to Kerkenes. By
understanding the specific technologies employed,
it will become increasingly possible to elucidate the
relationship between technology and society at that
time. One facet of this study involves the precise
measurement of lead isotopes to assess probable provenience of the raw materials used to manufacture
the finished metal objects. Theoretically, every metal
ore source has a unique composition that is characterized by its mineralization and geological age such
that radiogenic and stable isotopes can be used to
“fingerprint” each respective ore source.
By comparing the isotopic fingerprints of finished
metal objects to the known ore sources, it is possible
to infer with often high degrees of probability from
which ore sources the raw materials came. Isotopic
signatures may also be used to determine if metalsmiths recycled expended metal objects. Once these
analyses are completed for all objects, larger patterns
of metals exchange should no doubt emerge. These
combined data will shed light on the ancient technological practices once employed by the Iron Age
craft specialists and no doubt form a crucial body of
information that may allow the inference of social
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Metal Artifacts
Top left: A copper tin alloy plaque, pierced along the edges for its attachment to leather or
clothing. The top square contains the image of a lowering bull with an upwardly curved tail.
The bottom square, though heavily fragmented, contains the image of a griffon. Both images
are surrounded by a series of small stylized rivets that are separately attached. Conservation by
Noel Siver. Photo by Murat Akar.
Bottom left: Bun-shaped ingot of lead. Lead was readily available and commonly used in
ancient Anatolia. It was used for many aspects of metal technology, including alloying, casting
and in the manufacture of specific objects such as small trinkets and personal adornments.
Lead ingots were readily transported and exchanged in this convenient shape across much of
the ancient Near East. Photo by Murat Akar.
Bottom right: Copper tin alloy sheet metal cut and worked into the bottom portion of an ibex.
This example is one of two that were found buried at the Palace Complex monumental entrance. Small nail piercings indicate that these stylized metal ibexes may have been fastened
to the surface of the wooden palace doors. Conservation by Noel Siver. Photo by Murat Akar.
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Left: Soaking copper rich artifacts in a diluted solution of EDTA provides a way to semi-invasively sample the objects for trace levels of
lead without having to remove solid samples. The lead enriched
solutions are then collected into a vial for simple transport back to
Los Angeles, where they will be analyzed using TOF-ICP-MS.
Right: The author taking samples at the dighouse depot at
Kerkenes Dağ.
and economic patterning within the urban makeup
of the ancient city. In addition, we can also begin
to understand how the residents of the ancient city
on the Kerkenes Dağ participated in broad regional
exchange networks during this period of large scale
geopolitical negotiation and reconfiguration.
By combining materials analysis with the patterns
inferred from the excavations and urban surveys of
the ancient city on the Kerkenes Dağ, we come closer
to understanding precisely how various communities interacted and related not only within the city
but with other regions. The chronological resolution
of the site will allow for a broad pan-urban assessment of metal usage, providing for a unique look at
how people took part in technological systems and
exchange. This research will continue at Kerkenes
Dağ as part of my master’s and dissertation research,
and I look forward to continuing work at the site in
the coming years. I owe many thanks to the Kerkenes
Dağ project directors Geoffrey and Françoise Summers and Scott Branting for their support in this
research, to my academic advisor Elizabeth Carter,
Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at NELC, and
to Professor David Scott, David Scott, Professor of
Art History and Chair of the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program, who has offered much assistance and
guidance in this project. The Kerkenes Dağ web site
can be found at www.kerkenes.metu.edu.tr.
2007 SHULGI: A Geospatial Tool for Modeling Human Movement and Interaction. Proceedings of the
Agent 2007 Conference on Complex Interaction and
Social Emergence. Argonne National Laboratory,
Argonne, Illinois.
joseph lehner is a student in the interdepartmental archaeology graduate program at ucla.
Further Reading:
Branting, Scott A., Yanwei Wu, Rangamani Srikrishnan, and Mark R. Altaweel
Draycott, Catherine, and Geoffrey Summers
2008 Sculpture and Inscriptions from The Monumental Entrance to The Palatial Complex at Kerkenes Dağ,
Turkey. Oriental Institute Press, Chicago.
Schmidt, Erich F.
1929 Test Excavations in the City on Kerkenes Dagh.
American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 45(4):83–92.
Summers, Geoffrey
1997 The Identification of the Iron Age City on
Kerkenes Dağ in Central Anatolia. Journal of Near
Eastern Studies 56(2):81–94.
2001 Keykavus Kale and Associated Remains on
the Kerkenes Dağ in Cappadocia, Central Turkey.
Anatolia Antiqua 9:39-60.
2006 Aspects of Material Culture at the Iron Age
Capital on the Kerkenes Dağ in Central Anatolia.
Ancient Near Eastern Studies 43:164–202.
Summers, Geoffrey, and Françoise Summers
2008 A Preliminary Interpretation of Remote Sensing and Selective Excavation at the Palatial Complex, Kerkenes. Anatolia Antiqua 16:53–76.
Yener, K. Aslıhan
2000 The Domestication of Metals: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia. Brill, Leiden.
97 | Backdirt 2009
Between the Lines »
ACTING DIRECTOR
WINS 2009 SAA BOOK AWARD
LOTHAR VON FALKENHAUSEN, Acting
Director of the Cotsen Institute and Professor of
Art History, won the 2009 Society for American
Archaeology (SAA) Book Award for his publication
Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250
BC): The Archaeological Evidence, published by the
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press in 2006. This
is an exciting honor for both Falkenhausen and the
Cotsen Institute, as it marks the Press’ first award.
With only two titles selected for the prize each
year, Falkenhausen’s book was awarded because of
its high quality content, writing, organization and
presentation. It is also given because it “is expected
to influence strongly the direction and character
of archaeological research, and/or contribute to
our knowledge of the archaeology of a particular
reason,” according to the SAA Web site.
In the volume, Falkenhausen develops a selfconsciously archaeological perspective on the
social conditions in this time. He analyzes clan and
lineage organization, social stratification, gender
and ethnic differences, as well as social change over
time. Falkenhausen not only presents new data, but
also thinks about these data in new ways, empha-
At the CIOA booth during
the 2009 SAA meeting in
Atlanta. From left: Shauna
Mecartea, Rowan Flad
(Archaeology Program
alum and Associate
Professor of Anthropology at Harvard), Lothar
von Falkenhausen, and
Elizabeth Klarich.
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sizing the nexus between the social order and ritual
practices and introducing anthropological approaches as-yet rarely tested in China.
He accepted the Book Award at the SAA annual
meeting in Atlanta, GA on April 24, 2009, during
an award ceremony in which he received a plaque.
A reception hosted by the Cotsen Institute Press
was held in the exhibit hall the same day in the
Cotsen Institute booth to celebrate Falkenhausen’s
achievement. Reception attendees enjoyed sparkling wine and fruit dipped in a chocolate fountain
while discussing the book with the author.
As exemplified by his award-winning publication, Falkenhausen is strongly drawn to topics that
involve the meeting of archaeological evidence and
historical texts, and has been interested in bringing
out some of the methodological challenges in this.
He is particularly interested in making archaeological evidence speak to issues in the history of science
and technology; examples for this include his longterm research on ancient Chinese musical instruments and acoustics (published in the form of an
earlier book, Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the
Culture of Bronze Age China [1993], and a number
of articles), as well as his ongoing fieldwork on salt
production in China that began in 1999.
Falkenhausen came to UCLA as an Associate
Professor of Art History in 1993 and was promoted
to Professor in 1997. Since 2004, he has concurrently
served as the Associate Director of the Cotsen Institute, a position that was recently renewed for a second five-year term. In addition to his active research
program and mentoring of students at UCLA,
Falkenhausen has been pivotal in the development
of East Asian archaeology across the campus. In
2006, Falkenhausen collaborated with the Deans
of Humanities and Social Sciences and colleagues
from several departments to formulate a successful
Institutional Enhancement Grant for East Asian
Archaeology from the Luce Foundation. This grant
resulted in the hire of a second specialist in Chinese
archaeology—Li Min (Ph.D. University of Michigan,
2008)—and also supports a slew of visiting scholars
from East Asia over the next three years, culminating in an international conference on the economic
archaeology of ancient East Asia in 2010.
Currently, Falkenhausen is working on a number of projects: a book-length synthesis of economic
dynamics in pre-Imperial China; a project on the
history of antiquarianism in China sponsored by
the Getty Foundation; a full commented translation
of the Zhou li, the only one of the Thirteen Confucian Classics never to be translated into English;
and editing of a projected two-volume publication
of Mr. Lloyd Cotsen’s collection of Chinese mirrors,
which will be forthcoming in 2009 and 2010. An
international conference on Chinese mirrors will be
held at UCLA in late 2009, and there are plans for a
traveling exhibition, at the end of which the collection will be donated to an institution in China. After completing his term as Acting Director of the
Cotsen Institute this summer, Falkenhausen will
continue to pursue his active role at the Institute
as scholar and mentor, while contributing to the
further development of East Asian archaeology at
UCLA. shauna mecartea is director of publications and
communications at the cotsen institute.
Shauna Mecartea and Eric
Gardner prepare for the
reception at the CIOA
booth in honor of Professor von Falkenhausen’s
award.
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CELEBRATING LLOYD COTSEN
ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY
On March 3, 2009, Scott L. Waugh, Executive Vice
Chancellor and Provost, and Chip Stanish, Director of the Cotsen Institute, hosted a reception to
celebrate the 80th birthday of longtime benefactor
Mr. Lloyd Cotsen. At the reception, Waugh, Stanish,
Ernestine Elster, Research Associate, and Marla
Berns, Director of the Fowler Museum, spoke of Mr.
Cotsen’s contributions to the Institute and UCLA
in general, highlighting his generosity and vision.
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A slideshow illustrating his participation in field
archaeology and his sponsorship of Cotsen Institute
faculty and student projects was displayed at the
venue. He was also given a photo album showcasing
his many years of involvement at UCLA. Cake and
a champagne toast ended a lovely evening on the
Fowler Terrace. The faculty, staff and students of the
Cotsen Institute thank Mr. Cotsen for his years of
friendship, guidance and support.
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A DIGITAL FUTURE: MULTIPLE INITIATIVES
LAUNCHED BY THE COTSEN INSTITUTE
THE COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
(CIOA) PUBLICATIONS OFFICE is pleased to
announce the continuation and launch of several
digital initiatives throughout 2009 in an effort to
further the dissemination of archaeology at UCLA
and beyond. In October of 2008, the Publications
Office launched a newly designed web site for the
Cotsen Institute. This web site embodies the Cotsen
Institute’s new brand, which incorporates the new
UCLA identity and reflects the Institute’s mission
and vision. As part of a larger Institute project
called the Communications Initiative, which
began in the summer of 2007, the new web site was
complemented with updated print promotional
material.
Special features on the web site include a Flashdriven home-page highlight; RSS subscriptions to
our News, Events, and Publications feeds; multimedia resources such as podcasts and streaming videos; iCal and vCal downloads for events;
and more. The web site also hosts an Interactive
Research Map, which highlights Cotsen Institute
research projects, field programs, and internships on
an interactive global map. In addition, Cotsen Institute donors and friends can now contribute to the
Institute and join Friends of Archaeology online.
The Publications Office is proud to have participated in this project, which was generously supported by Cotsen Institute Director Charles Stanish
and the Administration Office, and hope that the
new Cotsen Institute brand reflects the dynamic
environment that is CIOA. In an effort to produce
innovative digital publications, the Cotsen Institute
of Archaeology Press (formerly the Publications
Unit) launched its eScholarship repository account
online in November of 2008. The repository is a service of the eScholarship initiative of the California
Digital Library, and is an open-access publishing
platform that offers UC departments, centers, and
research units direct control over the creation and
dissemination of the full range of their scholarship—including journals and peer-reviewed series,
postprints, and seminar papers. These materials are
freely available to the public online.
Through our online branded account, eScholarship will host the newly established Cotsen Digital
Archaeology (CDA) series. The CDA series presents
the results of original archaeological and conserva102 | Backdirt 2009
tion research through digitally initiated and accessible publications that integrate innovative multimedia and data links. The series is made available
through eScholarship at no cost to consumers. All
digital publications will be available in print format
for a fee through print-on-demand services.
Several pilot publications are in production
and will be available beginning 2010. Ellen Pearlstein, Assistant Professor of Information Science
and Conservation Program faculty member, is
editing the first publication in this series. In addition to the CDA series, Cotsen Institute Press
will offer postprints of previously published titles
on our eScholarship account. (Our Cotsen Institute Press repository account can be visited at
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cioa.)
eScholarship provides alternative publication
services online for the UC community, supports
widespread distribution of the materials that result
from research and teaching at UC, and fosters new
models of scholarly publishing through development and application of advanced technologies.
Cotsen Institute Press is proud to be participating
in this publishing program, and looks forward to
producing the first volume in the new digital series.
Last, as part of the marketing of the UCLA
Field Archaeology Program the Publications Office
collaborated with University Communications to
launch a video and text blog on the UCLA Magazine web site. The video and text blog highlight
the unique experiences of the participants of the
Fayum Field School in Egypt as they learn about
archaeological method and theory in the field. The
project—codirected by Willeke Wendrich, Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures—has received extensive press due to it being
the first archaeological field program in Egypt to
allow U.S. undergraduates to participate.
The episode installments for the video
blog, edited by the Publications Office, can
be viewed on the Cotsen Institute web site at
www.ioa.ucla.edu/multimedia-resources or on our
Playlist on UCLA’s YouTube channel. The multimedia and digital initiatives launched by the Cotsen
Institute mark a new era and an innovative way of
engaging with and informing the public and other
scholars about recent archaeological research and
programs offered by the Cotsen Institute.
CELEBRATING MACHU PICCHU
AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
THE COTSEN INSTITUTE PRESS celebrated
the publication of Machu Picchu: Exploring An
Ancient Sacred Center (Fourth Revised Edition)
by Johan Reinhard with a public book lecture and
private reception at the Natural History Museum
(NHM) of Los Angeles County in January of 2008.
Reinhard, Explorer-in-Residence at the National
Geographic Society and Senior Research Fellow
at the Mountain Institute and famed for his
discovery of the Ice Maiden, has been conducting
anthropological field research in the Andean
countries of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and
Ecuador for more than 20 years.
The volume, which marked the first in our new
series World Heritage and Monuments, examines
Peru’s Machu Picchu—one of the world’s most
famous archaeological sites—from the perspective
of sacred landscape and archaeoastronomy. Using
information gathered from historical, archaeological, and ethnographical sources, Reinhard demonstrates in the full-color book that the site is situated
at the center of numerous sacred mountains—several of which are associated with the sun’s passage.
Machu Picchu formed a cosmological and sacred
geographical center for a vast region. Reinhard
also examines some key architectural features at
Machu Picchu and nearby sites, interpreting them
as forming parts of this ceremonial center, where
economic, political, and religious factors combined
in one of the most rugged areas of Peru.
During his talk, which was held in the North
American Mammal Hall while stuffed birds and
reptiles peered out from the famous dioramas,
Reinhard presented important insights and breathtaking images from his volume. After the presentation, Reinhard was available for book signing. The
reception in the museum foyer, which is home to
a life-size tyrannosaurus rex replica made famous
recently in the film Night at the Museum, bustled
with Cotsen Institute donors and affiliates enjoying
Peruvian appetizers and drinks to the sounds of
traditional Andean music.
The book lecture, cosponsored by the Cotsen
Institute and the NHM, proved successful and the
Cotsen Institute hopes that this type of collaboration will continue into the future. Since its launch,
Machu Picchu has been heralded by K. Kris Hurst
at About.com as “a perfect travel edition,” as it “has
lots of engaging prose detailing the history and current archaeological understanding of Machu Picchu
and the Inca empire who built it.”
for more information about machu picchu or
our other publications, please visit our web site
at www.ioa.ucla.edu/publications/browse-books.
103 | Backdirt 2009
Between the Lines »
NEW TITLES FROM THE
COTSEN INSTITUTE PRESS: 2008-09
The Archaeology of Mobility:
Old World and New World Nomadism
EDITED BY HANS BARNARD AND WILLEKE WENDRICH
COTSEN ADVANCED SEMINARS 4
ISBN: 978-1-931745-49-9 (P), 978-1-931745-50-5 (C)
$55 PAPER, $89.95 CLOTH
A majority of laymen, politicians and scholars consciously or subconsciously understand
settled living as the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. Accounts of people surviving
and even thriving in peripheral areas are often instrumental to construct and maintain the
dichotomy between ‘the desert and the sown.’ It is sometimes stated that mobile peoples
obtain their material culture from neighboring settled populations, rather than produce
their own, and that they do not leave recognizable archaeological traces apart from ‘ephemeral campsites.’ From the 24 chapters in this volume, however, it is clear that there is indeed
an ‘archaeology of mobility.’ By applying specific and well-defined methods, it is eminently
possible to come to a better understanding of mobile people in archaeological contexts. Such
an archaeology of mobility encompasses much more than tracing ephemeral campsites.
Much like any other group, mobile people produce, appear to use and discard a distinct
material culture which includes functional objects, art and architecture. This book provides
a ready-made reference to this world-wide phenomenon and is unique in that it tries to redefine pastoralism within a larger context by the term mobility. It presents many new ideas
and thoughtful approaches, especially in the Central Asian region.
The South American Camelids
BY DUCCIO BONAVIA
MONOGRAPH 64
ISBN: 978-1-931745-41-3 CLOTH, 978-1-931745-40-6 PAPER
$110 CLOTH, $75 PAPER
In this book, Duccio Bonavia tackles major questions about camelids, from their domestication to their distribution at the time of the Spanish conquest. One of Bonavia’s hypotheses
is that the arrival of the Europeans and their introduced Old World animals forced the
Andean camelids away from the Pacific coast, creating the (mistaken) impression that camelids were exclusively high-altitude animals. Bonavia also addresses the diseases of camelids
and their population density, suggesting that the original camelid populations suffered
from a different type of mange than that introduced by the Europeans. This new mange, he
believes, was one of the causes behind the great morbidity of camelids in Colonial times. In
terms of domestication, while Bonavia believes that the major centers must have been the
puna zone intermediate zones, he adds that the process should not be seen as restricted to a
single environmental zone.
Bonavia’s landmark study of the South American camelids is now available for the first
time in English. This new edition features an updated analysis and comprehensive bibliography. This book will be of broad interest to archaeologists, zoologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and a wide range of students.
104 | Backdirt 2009
Excavations at Cerro Azul, Peru:
The Architecture and Pottery
BY JOYCE MARCUS
MONOGRAPH 62
ISBN: 978-1-931745-56-7 CLOTH, 978-1-931745-55-0 PAPER
During the Late Intermediate period (AD 1100-1470), the lower Cafiete Valley of Peru was
controlled by the walled Kingdom of Huarco. While inland sites produced irrigated crops,
the seaside community of Cerro Azul, 130 km south of Lima, produced fish for the rest of
the kingdom. Cerro Azul’s noble families lived in large, multipurpose compounds with tapia
walls. Their pottery had its strongest ties with valleys to the south, such as Chincha and Ica.
This volume is the final site report on the architecture and pottery of Late Intermediate
Cerro Azul. During the course of excavation, the University of Michigan Project excavated
two tapia buildings in their entirety, saving every sherd from every room, walled work area,
feature, and midden. The Project determined the function of every room, including those
whose functions changed over time, owing to seismic damage. The Cerro Azul pottery was
analyzed using the type-variety system, with petrographic analyses of local and nonlocal
varieties by James Stoltman.
Chavín: Art, Architecture and Culture
EDITED BY WILLIAM J. CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER
MONOGRAPH 61
ISBN: 978-1-931745-46-8 CLOTH, 978-1-931745-45-1 PAPER
This book is the first in more than a decade to provide new information on the Chavín phenomenon of ancient Peru. Thought by some to be the “Mother Culture” of ancient Peruvian
cultures, Chavín is remarkable for its baroque, sophisticated art style in a variety of media,
including finely carved stone monuments, beautifully formed pottery, and magnificent
and complex metallurgy. Also, the textiles from Chavín are incredibly innovative, both
iconographically and structurally. They, in fact, form the foundation for the later Andean
textile evolution. Chapters in this book cover new interpretations of the history of the site of
Chavín de Huantar, studies of related cultures, the role of shamanism, and many other topics of interest to specialists and the general reader, alike.
Andean Civilization:
A Tribute to Michael E. Moseley
EDITED BY JOYCE MARCUS AND PATRICK RYAN WILLIAMS
MONOGRAPH 63
ISBN: 978-1-931745-54-3 CLOTH, 978-1-931745-53-6 PAPER
$50 PAPER, $80 CLOTH
This volume brings together exciting new field data by more than two dozen Andean scholars who came together to honor their friend, colleague, and mentor.
These new studies cover the enormous temporal span of Moseley’s own work from the
Preceramic era to the Tiwanaku and Moche states to the Inka empire. And, like Moseley’s
own studies — from Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization to Chan Chan: The Desert City to Cerro Bául’s Brewery — these new studies involve settlements from all over the
Andes — from the far northern highlands to the far southern coast. The papers in this book
demonstrate the enormous breadth and influence of Moseley’s work and the vibrant range
of scholarship by his former students and collaborators in fieldwork.
105 | Backdirt 2009
COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
CORE FACULTY
Jeanne E. Arnold
Jeanne Arnold (Professor of Anthropology) continues work on three primary research projects. Two projects focus on complex hunter-gatherers on the North American Pacific Coast and the third is a modern
material culture study of contemporary Los Angeles households. Ongoing work on the Channel Islands
centers on evidence for the invention of Chumash plank canoe, craft production systems and political
economy on the northern Channel Islands, and the role of property ownership in the emergence of political leadership. Work also continues with the Department of Anthropology’s Center on Everyday Lives of
Families.
P. Jeffrey Brantingham
Jeff Brantingham (Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Anthropology) was recently promoted to Associate Professor. He continues to conduct research on paleoanthropology of the Tibetan Plateau, method
and theory, evolutionary theory and simulation modeling. One of his projects is the UC MaSC (Mathematical and Simulation of Crime) Project, which is funded by the Human Social Dynamics Program at
the National Science Foundation. The project integrates theoretical, methodological and empirical work
to develop analytical and computational models of crime pattern formation. Simultaneous development
of mathematical and simulation models, as well as empirical testing, will provide a guide for the experimental use of these tools in the social sciences. Also, the interdisciplinary foundation of the project will
provide a model for collaboration between mathematicians and social scientists.
Aaron Burke
Aaron Burke (Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) is the co-director of the Jaffa
Cultural Heritage Project (JCHP), an interdisciplinary cultural heritage project with a research focus on the
history and archaeology of Jaffa in Tel Aviv, Israel. Initiated in January 2007, the project is a collaborative
effort between its senior partners, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and UCLA, and other partners including The Gutenberg Universität in Mainz (Germany) and the Old Jaffa Development Company. Burke received a Shelby White-Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publication Grant for 2008–2009 with Dr. M.
Peilstöcker, co-director of JCHP, for the publication of Bronze and Iron Age remains from Jacob Kaplan’s
excavations in Jaffa. He will also be directing a UCLA Archaeology Field Program at Jaffa in 2009.
Elizabeth Carter
Liz Carter (Professor and Chair of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) continues work at the site of
Domuztepe. The site, located at a major crossroads between highlands and lowlands along the SyroAnatolian frontier of south central Turkey, has been the focus of survey and excavation projects since
1995. In order to share the results of this project and others in the region, Carter and her students hosted a
variety of speakers through the Anatolian Research Interest Group, which met on many Friday afternoons
throughout the school year at the Cotsen Institute.
106 | Backdirt 2009
Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney
Kara Cooney (Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) is an Egyptian art and archaeology expert (see page 18). She earned her PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University in
2002. She has been part of major archaeological excavations in Egypt at the royal temple site of Dahshur,
elite Theban tombs and the craftsmen’s village of Deir el Medina. Cooney has taught at Stanford, UCLA,
and Howard University. In 2005, she was co-curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.” In 2002, she was Kress fellow at the National Gallery of
Art where she was involved with the installation of the Cairo Museum exhibition “Quest for Immortality:
Treasures of Ancient Egypt.” Her first book, The Cost of Death: The Social and Economic Value of Ancient
Egyptian Funerary Art in the Ramesside Period was published in 2007. Welcome, Kara!
Christopher B. Donnan
Chris Donnan (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Chair of the Cotsen Institute Executive Committee) retired in fall 2008 with plans to continue research in the Moche Archive at the Cotsen Institute.
As the first Cotsen Summer Scholar in Archaeology, Donnan spent one month in residence at the School
of Advanced Research. During his month-long stay in Santa Fe, Donnan utilized this uninterrupted time
and wonderful workspace to write extensively and meet a number of scholars in the area. He completed an
article on Moche state religion and made significant progress on a book about the excavations of Dos Cabezas, which will be a companion guide to the popular Moche Tombs at Dos Cabezas published last year
by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. Also, Donnan is close to completing a book on the excavation of Chotuna, a site that corresponds to an ancient Peruvian legend.
Susan B. Downey
Susan Downey (Professor of Art History) has been a member of the Mission Franco-Syrienne de Dura-Europos (Syria) since 1988 and continues to instruct, publish and lecture on the results of this multi-year project. While she contributes significantly to the Interdepartmental Archaeology Graduate Program through
the instruction and mentorship of graduate students, she is also very active in a number of key administrative committees at UCLA. Downey also regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Greek and
Roman art and archaeology and travels for public and university lectures on her research in Syria and Iraq.
Ioanna Kakoulli
Ioanna Kakoulli (Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering with joint appointment in the
UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials) operates in the multidisciplinary field of archaeological sciences (interfacing science and archaeology) with
research interest in the study of material culture from the macro to the nano-length scale using novel noninvasive and non-destructive techniques and portable imaging and spectroscopic technologies. She is the
director of the Archaeomaterials Group (http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/ioa/archaeogroup/), and co-director
of the Tarapacá Valley Archaeological Project in northern Chile and project ByzanTiuM (Byzantine Technique and Materials) in Cyprus.
107 | Backdirt 2009
Richard Lesure
Richard Lesure’s (Associate Professor of Anthropology) interests include ancient belief systems, social relations, and sociopolitical organization, as well as the conceptual framework of archaeology and the history of
anthropological thought. His field research has concerned pre-state (“Formative”) societies of Mesoamerica
and he has worked along the Pacific coast of Chiapas and in the highland state of Tlaxcala. In February
2008, he organized a small conference of scholars working on Archaic to Formative sociopolitical transformations in the Soconusco area of coastal Mexico. The conference, hosted at the Cotsen Institute, included
archaeologists with a number of specializations and incorporated multiple geographical, temporal, and
analytical scales of analysis to address the period of 4000-400 BC in Chiapas. Lesure edited a manuscript
entitled Early Formative Soconusco: El Varal and the Problem of Inter-Site Assemblage Variation that was
accepted for publication by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press and will be available this summer.
Li Min
Li Min (Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures) received his PhD in Anthropology from
the University of Michigan in 2008, and his MA in Anthropology from University of British Columbia in
2000. He was hired Fall Quarter 2008. Focusing mostly on Chinese archaeology, Li has co-directed excavations at Daxinzhuang funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, conducted
lab research on faunal remains and ceramics, and participated in land survey, and underwater reconnaissance on shipwrecks and coastal settlement sites at Changdao Archipelago (see page 72). Welcome, Min!
Kathryn J. McDonnell
Kathryn McDonnell (Assistant Professor of Classics) is a Classical archaeologist interested in various
aspects of Italian archaeology, particularly the material culture and archaeology of the Roman Empire. She
co-directed the excavations at San Martino in Torano di Borgorose, Italy. Her research interests include
Roman tombs, the archaeology of non-elites, the archaeology of gender, Latin epigraphy, and historical and
Roman slavery. Her current project is a book on Roman tombs and the construction of social identities.
Sarah Morris
Since 2004, Sarah Morris (Steinmetz Professor of Classical Archaeology and Material Culture in the
Department of Classics and Advisor of the Post-baccalaureate Program in Classics), along with John K.
Papadopoulos, and Lorenc Bejko (ICAA & Institute of Archaeology) have been co-directing the excavation
of the burial tumulus at the site of Lofkënd. The project was carried out as a collaboration of the Cotsen
Institute, the International Center for Albanian Archaeology (ICAA) and the Institute of Archaeology,
Tirana. The overall aim of the Lofkënd Archaeological Project was to initiate protohistoric investigations
in south-central Albania and the final season of excavations at the Early Iron Age tumulus was in 2007 (see
page 50). Morris is also exploring Bronze Age vessels from Greece to trace the early development of wine
and wine-related materials.
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John K. Papadopoulos
The primary research projects of John Papadopoulos (Professor of Classics) all have to do with the theme
of death and particularly burial grounds in the formative period between ca. 1200 and 600 B.C. He is
actively involved in the excavation, research, and publication of three important Early Iron Age cemeteries: the burial tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania (see page 50), the Early Iron Age cemeteries in the area of the
Athenian Agora, and the cemetery that spans the Late Bronze Age through the early Classical period at
the site of Liatovouni in Epirus, northwest Greece. Research on these cemeteries—one in the heart of the
ancient Greek world, the other two on its periphery—are dispelling scholarly notions of a “Dark Age” and
are showing that this is a formative period that led directly to the creation of the ancient Greek city-state.
Ellen Pearlstein
In addition to her research interests (see page 48), Ellen Pearlstein (Assistant Professor of Information
Studies with joint appointment in the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials) continues to promote collaborative conservation education. In 2008,
Pearlstein received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and hosted a symposium
entitled, “Storage Symposium: Preservation and Access to Archaeological Materials” (see page 15). The
results of the symposium will be published electronically through the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Press in their new digital publications series.
Gregson Schachner
Greg Schachner (Assistant Professor of Anthropology) is a Southwestern archaeologist currently working on three primary research projects: completing a book manuscript based upon his recently completed
fieldwork in the El Morro Valley of New Mexico; continuing his examination of social developments
during the Pueblo I period (A.D. 700-900); and establishing a long-term research project east of Petrified
Forest National Park in Arizona. Schachner is also working with Tiffany Clark, a Research Associate of the
Cotsen Institute, to organize and manage the extensive collections of materials from the Pajarito Archaeological Research Program, a major research project (1977-1981) directed by the late Professor James N. Hill.
David A. Scott
David Scott’s (Professor of Art History and Chair of the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials) principal interests are the analysis of museum objects,
the characterization of pigments, ancient metals and microstructure, the teaching of conservation, and the
archaeometallurgy of pre-Hispanic Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. He is involved in a number of research
projects, including recent data collection from museum objects at the San Diego Museum of Man, and
keeps the members of the Cotsen Institute regularly updated with quarterly Pizza Talks.
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Monica L. Smith
Monica Smith (Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Interdepartmental Archaeology
Graduate Program), along with Dr. R.K. Mohanty, directs the excavation project at Sisupalgarh, India, an
ancient city of the early centuries A.D. (see page 60). Smith’s research examines the role of cities for the
ordinary person in the past, and how urbanism developed as centers of economic, social, ritual and political
networks. She also sustains a long-term interest in the archaeology of food, the growth of ancient states and
empires, and the way in which ordinary goods define and sustain trade networks in both the past and the
present. Recent publications include papers in Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Journal of Archaeological
Method and Theory, Complexity, and reports of fieldwork published with her colleagues in Indian journals.
Charles S. Stanish
Chip Stanish (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Cotsen Institute), his graduate students,
and Peruvian colleagues have continued their excavations and mapping of a major settlement complex
in the northern Titicaca Basin of Peru. This area, known as Taraco, housed a massive mound and pyramid complex from approximately 1400 B.C. to A.D. 900. Excavations revealed adobe pyramids that were
constructed in the first millennium A.D. along with earlier complex architecture from the first millennium B.C. Based on years of field research in the Titicaca Basin, Stanish has been writing a volume for the
Cotsen Institute’s new World Heritage and Monument Series.
Lothar von Falkenhausen’s (Professor of Art History and Associate Director of Cotsen Institute) interest comprises Chinese archaeology in all its aspects, including connections with other parts of Eurasia.
Falkenhausen is serving as Acting Director of the Cotsen Institute for Winter and Spring 2009 while conducting a number of interdisciplinary projects both in the US and abroad. His publication, Chinese Society
in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 B.C.): The Archaeological Evidence, won the 2009 Society for American
Archaeology Book Award, which is an exciting honor for both Falkenhausen and the Cotsen Institute, as it
marks the Press’ first award (page 98).
Willeke Z. Wendrich
Willeke Wendrich (Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) is co-directing a UCLA
excavation and survey project in Egypt that concentrates on the landscape around Lake Qarun in the
Fayum Oasis, and specifically the development of agriculture. In cooperation with the Rijksuniversiteits
Groningen (the Netherlands) and archaeobotanist/co-director René Cappers, the project concentrates on
the two major periods in which agriculture was developed in this region: the Neolithic and the GrecoRoman periods. Her last field season hosted a field school through the UCLA Archaeology Field Program,
marking the first time US undergraduates were able to work on a project in Egypt. Wendrich is also
Editor-in-Chief of the recently launched UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology online, a worldwide cooperation of Egyptologists, archaeologists, linguists, art historians, geologists and all other disciplines that are
involved in research in Egypt. She also is the Faculty Director of the UCLA Digital Humanities Incubator
Group and a member of the Cotsen Institute Digital Initiative Committee and the Editorial Board.
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LIST OF DONORS
We want to take this opportunity to thank the donors who supported us this year. Everyone who donates helps to make the Cotsen Institute a special place and we appreciate the efforts of the members of the Friends of Archaeology, the Director’s Council, and those who
support our labs and archives.
Donor news is available on the Cotsen Institute web site and in our e-newsletters. Please regularly visit www.ioa.ucla.edu/news to learn
about latest Institute news and accomplishments or sign up for a RSS feed at www.ioa.ucla.edu/rss-subscription to receive updates automatically. To receive our bi-annual e-newsletter please e-mail [email protected]. Thank you!
Abbamontian, James A.
Absalom, Phyllis L.
Adelson, Harold E.
Anderson, Darlene T.
ArchaeoPaleo Resource Management, Inc.
Areshian, Gregory E.
Arnold, Deborah
The Arvey Foundation
Bailey, Jeanne McKenzie
Baker, Douglas A.
Baldwin, James E.
Bambush, J. A.
Bartley, Pamela Hunt
Bass, Harris D. and Margaret
Beaudry-Corbett, Marilyn P.
Bendat, Julius
Bernacchi, Bernard D. and Eugenia B.
Bernard, Nancy S.
Birdsong, Mary Evans
Blackwell, Patricia Renaye
Boochever, David R. and Kathleen
Brady, James E.
Bretney, John C.
Brooks, Elizabeth J.
Bruce Ford Brown Charitable Trust
Buccellati, Giorgio and Marilyn
Buescher, Jim and Roberta
Butler, Randall D.
Cahill, William H. and Frances
Cairns, John P.
Cano, Wendy
Cascadden, Neil and Sharon
Harry and Ovsanna Chitjian Family Foundation
Ciervo, Kathy Stephens
Civalleri, Roger and Patricia
Conte, Courtney B.
Corbett, Don
Costin, Cathy Lynne
Cotsen, Lloyd and Margit
Cotsen 1985 Trust
Cowley, Marjorie H.
Crouse, Carol
Crowell, Frederick P.
Deal, Nan H.
Diamant, Jacquelin
Dillon, Dejon M.
Donohue, Sally
Duque, James M. and Mercedes
Dusette, Guanda M
Dye, Willie E.
Elster Family Survivors Trust
Elster, Ernestine
Eve, Debra
Fahey, Janet L.
Fitzpatrick, Nigel
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation
Girey, Helle
Gloege, Gwynne
Gottesman Family Trust
Grancell, Sherman
Grasse, Gale
Halfon, Oli
Healy, Patrick K.
Hector, Bruce P.
Henderson Jr., Theodore C.
Herrman, William H.
Hersholt, Janet R.
Hession, Edwin and Cathleen
Hilton, Michael R.
Holman, Rose-Lee
Holmes, Marillyn H.
Holz, John F. and Marguerite
Hull, Gordon E.
Hullett, Katherine
Jacobson, Lawrence H.
Johnson, Tracy E. and Barbara C.
Kamin, Stan
Kay, Jean Steinmetz
Kendle, David W.
Lawson, Beverly Diane
Leland, Mary Jane
Leventhal, Richard M.
Liem, Chin C.
Long, Douglas M.
111 | Backdirt 2009
Lopez, Anna Nelson
Lutkehaus, Nancy
Manske, Tippian
Marks Jr., Walter N.
Mauck, Judi L.
Mc Clain, Nadra M.
Mc Cormick, Kathleen Paige
Mc Norton, Fred H.
Merkle, Henry J.
Metastasio, Mary V.
Metcalfe, Howard H.
Miller, Jordan and Felice
Morales, Gail
Morehouse, Martha Jo
Morley, Selma E.
Muir, Arthur
Arthur Hughes Muir Jr. Trust
Mulkey, Linda
Nevin, Shawn J.
Norris, Tania
O’Donnell, Janet Lee
Orellana, Sandra L.
Orrange, William W. and Susan
Papadopoulos, John K.
Perreault, Patricia R.
Perry, Carolyn T.
Peter, Richard C.
Peyrat, Jean A.
Pine, Benjamin L. and Rue C.
Polinger Family Foundation
Porcasi, Peter and Judith F.
Porter, Nancy K.
112 | Backdirt 2009
Pritzkat, Barbara Wynn
Purcell, Christopher
Rohde, Michael F.
Schenck, Barbara J.
Schoch, Ed
Schwartz, Charles
Silton, Jill
Stanish, Charles
Steensland, Ronald
Steinmetz Family Trust
Steinmetz Foundation
Steinmetz, Charles
Stepans, Elga
Struthers, Baerbel
Sweitzer, Noel
Switzer, Irma Lang
Tournaire-Cooper, Helene
Tuttle, Robert
Van Slyke, Noel E.
Wachtel, Edith
Wake, David B. and Marvalee
Walker, James L.
Waters Charitable Trust
Watson, Leroy and Lisa
Wood, Barbara Lynn
Yamamoto, Andrew J. and Magdalena
Young, Robin
Zuccaro, David and Viola Herzberg
MESSAGE FROM
THE ACTING DIRECTOR
The Cotsen Institute proudly looks back on another year marked by many
and diverse accomplishments. The present volume reports on archaeological projects on four continents—from China to Chile, from Chaco Canyon to
Albania—but these constitute only a sampling of an even richer panoply of
ongoing engagements by members of the Institute. Any visitor walking down
the corridors can sense the whirr of creative minds producing cutting-edge
scholarship. We feel privileged to be able to continue the work we love—and
which we feel has an important contribution to make to today’s world—even
under the current conditions of worldwide economic turmoil.
Lothar von Falkenhausen at the
reception honoring his award-winning
title Chinese Society in the Age of
Confucius at the 2009 meeting of the
Society for American Archaeology.
One recent highlight in the life of the Institute was a reception on March 3
in celebration of Mr. Lloyd Cotsen’s 80th birthday. Words cannot adequately
express our thanks to Lloyd for his generosity over many years. It is only fitting
that he was honored recently with UCLA’s highest honor, the UCLA Medal (see
p. 11).
Two of the Institute’s founding figures were recently honored for a lifetime of
achievement in archaeology. Christopher B. Donnan, Professor Emeritus of
Anthropology, received the Trowel Award from the Cotsen Institute (see p.
13), and just before this issue of Backdirt went to press, news reached us that
UCLA has named Giorgio Buccellati this year’s Dickson Emeritus Professor.
Our congratulations to both of them. In addition, my Chinese Society in the
Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC): The Archaeological Evidence won the 2009
Society for American Archaeology Book Award in the academic category;
this is particularly gratifying as the book is a Cotsen Institute publication. This
award is an apt recognition of the tremendous recent improvement of Cotsen
Institute Press publications under the able leadership of Shauna Mecartea.
Another extremely exciting development is the exponential growth in our
UCLA Archaeology Field Program, capably directed by Dr. Ran Boytner (see p.
6). Capitalizing on the manifold connections of its members all over the world,
the Cotsen Institute has taken the lead in building opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from institutions all over the world to obtain
high-quality training in archaeological field techniques while experiencing life
in exotic places. This program is a cornerstone in the Institute’s ongoing efforts to broaden its impact beyond UCLA.
Happy reading!
Professor of Art History and Acting Director of the Cotsen Institute
PUBLIC PROGRAMS IN REVIEW: 2008-2009
COTSEN VISITING SCHOLAR
LECTURE SERIES
COTSEN INSTITUTE
PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES
DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL/FRIENDS OF
ARCHAEOLOGY DINNER LECTURES
Recent Advancements in the
Archaeology of Jerusalem
Searching for Older Women:
Women’s Lives and Women’s
Work ca. 25,000 Years Ago
Spending for Death: Egyptian Funerary Arts during Economic Recession
Dr. Ronny Reich
Haifa University
Dr. Ronny Reich, a faculty member
of the Department of Archaeology
at Haifa University, is the Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology 2008–2009
visiting scholar. In his capacity as a
Senior Archaeologist with the Israel
Antiquities Authority he has been
conducting excavations in the City
of David in Jerusalem since 1995. He
has published numerous articles on
Second Temple Period archaeology
in Israel and is well known for his coedited volume on The Architecture of
Ancient Israel.
A New Interpretation of the Canaanite Water System of Jerusalem
Thursday, January 8
New Epigraphic Discoveries from
Iron Age Jerusalem
Of Fish-Bones and Clay Chips in Iron
Age Jerusalem
“Gathered to their forefathers”:
Death and Burial in Jerusalem
in the Iron Age
Thursday, February 12
Professor Emerita Olga Soffer
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Professor Kara Cooney
Near Eastern Languages and
Cultures
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Women in the Middle: Inka
concepts manifested in Farfan Burials
Adventures of Illyria: Excavating
the Prehistoric Tumulus of Lofkënd
in Albania
Professor Emerita Carol Mackey
California State University Northridge
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Professor John Papadopoulos
Department of Classics
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Discovery of the Nimrud Treasures
Excavating the Shang Frontier in
Eastern China
Donny George Youkhanna, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor at Stony Brook
University; Former Director General
of Baghdad’s National Museum
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Co-sponsored with Archaeological
Institute of America and Fowler
Museum at UCLA
Open House
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Manipulating the Imaginary: A Trip to
the wonderland of Ancient Miniature
Sculpture from Mesopotamia
Gregory Areshian, Ph.D.
Research Associate and Adjunct
Professor at the Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology at UCLA
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Professor Min Li
Department of Asian Languages
and Cultures
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
COTSENæ INSTITUTEæ
OFæ ARCHAEOLOGY
Backdirt
University of California, Los Angeles
405 Hilgard Ave
A 210 Fowler, Box 951510
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1510
AL-31
Address Service Requested
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Org.
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Paid
UCLA
BACKDIRT
Annual Review of the
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
2009
NEW TITLES FROM THE COTSEN INSTITUTE PRESS
Edited by Joyce Marcus and Patrick Ryan Williams
ISBN: 978-1-931745-54-3 cloth, 978-1-931745-53-6 paper
These new studies cover the enormous temporal span of Moseley’s own work
from the Preceramic era to the Tiwanaku and Moche states to the Inka empire. And, like Moseley’s own studies — from Maritime Foundations of Andean
Civilization to Chan Chan: The Desert City to Cerro Bául’s Brewery — these new
studies involve settlements from all over the Andes — from the far northern
highlands to the far southern coast. The papers in this book demonstrate the
enormous breadth and influence of Moseley’s work and the vibrant range of
scholarship by his former students and collaborators in fieldwork.
annual review 2009
Andean Civilization: A Tribute to Michael E. Moseley
The South American Camelds
By Duccio Bonavia
ISBN: 978-1-931745-41-3 cloth, 978-1-931745-40-6 paper
Bonavia’s landmark study of the South American camelids is now available
for the first time in English. This new edition features an updated analysis and
comprehensive bibliography. This book will be of broad interest to archaeologists, zoologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and a wide range of
students.
Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000–250 BC):
The Archaeological Evidence
By Lothar von Falkenhausen
Ideas, Debates, and Perspectives 2 • $80 cloth, $50 paper
ISBN: 978-1-931745-31-4 cloth, 978-1-931745-30-7 paper
The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1000-250 BC) was a crucial period during which the
Chinese Classics came into being and famous thinkers such as Confucius (ca.
551-479 BC) laid the intellectual foundations of traditional Chinese civilization. Complementing and often challenging the surviving writings, Lothar von
Falkenhausen develops a self-consciously archaeological perspective on the
social conditions in this time.
Winner of the 2009 SAA Book Award!
For a complete list of titles, visit: www.ioa.ucla.edu/publications/browse-books.
To place an order contact our distributor, David Brown Book Company, at (800) 791-9354.
For more information, contact the Cotsen Institute Press at (310) 825-7411 or email [email protected].
A MONUMENTAL TASK
ON EASTER ISLAND

ess a monumental task on easter island

Transcription

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