Central America - Honduras - PROJECT ROATÁN Mesoamerican Archaeology Field School

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Summer Education Abroad Program in Honduras

University of South Florida

ANT 4824 Archaeological Field Methods (3-6 credit hours)
ANT 4180, Laboratory Methods in Archaeology (3 credit hours)

The estimated total program cost is $4,700 for undergraduates or $5,000 for graduates.

This estimate includes the program fee ($3,590), the Education Abroad Administrative Fee ($300), and the instructional fee ($810 for 9 undergraduate credit hours or $1,110 for 6 graduate credit hours). The final cost, which will be established in January 2010, will be based on enrollment and the currency exchange rate. The program provides all transportation while in Honduras, as well as all lodging, meals, and field trips. Participants are responsible for their own airfare (ca. $450 from Houston or ca. $650 from Miami), a Marshalltown trowel and other personal gear, any recommended books, and personal spending money.

Program Includes:
All lodging and meals
All program related, in-country transportation
Equipment
Instruction

Not Included:
International Airfare
Personal spending

Through assisting archaeologists in the field and laboratory, field school participants are trained in the methods, theories, and ethics of contemporaryarchaeology. Participants also learn about the cultures and history of Mesoamerica through seminars and field trips led by USF faculty, and gain a broader perspective on the world by living and working in a modern Central American community. Both undergraduate and graduate students are invited to participate. The program is designed to allow participants to learn and practice methods of archaeological survey, excavation, data collection and materials recovery, recording, and processing, as well as laboratory analysis and artifact cleaning and conservation.

The curriculum surveys modern field and laboratory analytical techniques appropriate to anthropological archaeology, stressing their relation to basic theoretical questions and assumptions. It also provides practical knowledge of, and experience in using, the methods of public and applied archaeology. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, the historical development of archaeology and cultural resource management are considered, and then the key concepts that define the discipline are analyzed. These techniques and strategies are simultaneously applied to investigate the archaeological site of El Antigual, a hilltop settlement with residential and ceremonial components that was occupied at the time of Christopher Columbus’ famous encounter with a local trading canoe in 1502 as he passed by the island on his final voyage to the Americas.

The curriculum also explores the evolving cultural traditions of southeastern Mesoamerica. Participants begin by examining the ideas that influenced prehispanic religion, economy, and politics. The continuities and changes in these traditions brought about by the Spanish Encounter are then pursued. More recent historical patterns and processes on Roatán and its neighboring islands are finally considered. This rich and complex history brought together a blend of indigenous Pech islanders, Spanish colonialists, African peoples, British and Dutch settlers, and Caribbean pirates and buccaneers, which gives Roatán its distinctive cultural character today.

The program is led by Christian Wells, a faculty member in theDepartment of Anthropology at USF who has worked in Honduras and neighboring countries for over 15 years. The first few days of the program are devoted to orientation to the community where we live and to the field site of El Antigual and its environs. The remainder of the program focuses on field and lab research, with participants divided into teams of three or four students each. Each team rotates among projects centered on survey, mapping, excavation, laboratory analysis, and public outreach.

The estimated total program cost is $4,700 for undergraduates or $5,000 for graduates. This estimate includes the program fee ($3,590), the Education Abroad Administrative Fee ($300), and the instructional fee ($810 for 9 undergraduate credit hours or $1,110 for 6 graduate credit hours). The final cost, which will be established byJanuary 2010, will be based on enrollment and the currency exchange rate. The program provides all transportation while in Honduras, as well as all lodging, meals, and field trips. Participants are responsible for their own airfare (ca. $450 from Houston or ca. $650 from Miami), a Marshalltown trowel and other personal gear, any recommended books, and personal spending money.

For more information, visit the USF Education Abroad Website or email Christian Wells. To apply, fill out anapplication and mail it, along with a copy of your curriculum vitae or resume and at least one letter of recommendation, to: Christian Wells, Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SOC 107, Tampa, FL 33620 USA. The deadline for applications is January 15, 2010 or until the program is filled. Assistance with funding for this program can be sought by applying for a USF Compass Scholarship ($500-$1000), an AIA Waldbaum Field School Scholarship($1,000), a Boren Scholarship (up to $20,000), or a low-interest (5.75 % APR) student loan from the USF Federal Credit Union (up to $2,500). USF Honors College students are encouraged to contact the Honors College for additional funding opportunities.

Prehistoric

The Bay Islands: “Tucked away in a corner of the Caribbean Sea, the Bay Islands were visited in July of 1502 by Christopher Columbus on his fourth and final voyage to the “New World.” Sighting an island covered by pine trees (‘Bonacca’, or Guanaja), he named it ‘Isla de Pinos’ and claimed it for Spain. According to Fernando Columbus, Christopher’s thirteen year old son who accompanied him on the trip, ‘Having come to the island of Guanaja, the Admiral sent ashore his brother Bartholomew, with two boats. They encountered people who resembled those of the other islands, but had narrower foreheads. They also saw many pine trees and pieces of earth called cálcide which the Indians use to cast copper; some of the sailors thought it was gold.’ Bartolomé de Las Casas (1951), the Spanish Dominican priest and editor of Columbus’ published journal, further tells us that Guanaja ‘tenía como vecinas tres o cuatro islas más…todas estaban bien pobladas.’” From the Project Roatan Field Manual by Dr. Wells and Dr. Davis-Salazar.

Dr. E. Christian Wells, Project Director and Field Supervisor
Christian Wells is Associate Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. He is an archaeologist whose principal scholarly interests include applied archaeology, economic anthropology, theory of ritual economy, cultural and ecological aspects of human/soil dynamics, microscale activity analysis using soil chemistry, and quantitative and formal modeling. Over the past 15 years, he has undertaken archaeological field research in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and other agencies.

Dr. Karla L. Davis-Salazar, Project Director and Laboratory Supervisor
Karla Davis-Salazar is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida. She is an archaeologist whose principal scholarly interests include environmental anthropology, complex societies, water management, mortuary ritual, ceramic analysis, and the prehistory of Mesoamerica and Central America. Over the past 15 years, she has undertaken archaeological field research at various sites in Honduras, with funding from the Ford Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, and other agencies.

http://uweb.cas.usf.edu/~cwells/roatan

Faculty Contact: E. Christian Wells
Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SOC 107, Tampa, FL 33620 USA.
Phone: (813) 974-2337