PALMAREJO COMMUNITY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT
Summer Field School in Honduras
May 29-June 24, 2006 [NOTE: The
field school will not run in 2007]
The Palmarejo Community
Archaeological Project is an applied archaeology project that investigates the
changing ways in which family farms in northwestern Honduras respond to
increased demands for agricultural products to counteract food insecurity
brought about through the process of globalization and urbanization.
Our main
research question is, how do rural farmers supply food to one of Central
America’s fastest growing urban centers while holding onto enough food to care
for their families? Palmarejo is a rural agrarian community that skirts the
edge of San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second largest metropolis. Interestingly, the
prehispanic residents of this area also lived adjacent to a large city, called
La Sierra. We are finding that the ancient farmers faced some of the same kinds
of problems with food and water insecurity as modern farmers—mainly issues with
quantity and quality. As farmers—then and now—increasingly specialize in a
limited range of crops, the diversity of foodstuffs in their diet decreases
considerably. When combined with food production shortages as a result of
landscape erosion, malnutrition quickly takes its toll on people’s health.
With
support from the National Geographic Society and the USF Office of
Undergraduate Research, we are investigating how the archaeological case of
Palmarejo can shed light on some of the ways that farming intensification (e.g.,
crop specialization) and extensification (e.g., farming on marginalized lands)
speed soil erosion and reduce crop yields. The greater goal of this effort is
to work with local farmers to develop sustainable landscape management
strategies to address their needs as they are increasingly pulled into a global
market economy.
The four-week summer research
program for undergraduates and graduates will introduce students to the ways in
which archaeology can address contemporary problems concerning urbanization,
poverty, and health in a Central American nation. Through assisting
archaeologists in the field and laboratory, participants will be trained in the
methods, theory, and ethics of archaeology. Participants also will learn about
the cultures and history of Mesoamerica through seminars and field trips led by
USF faculty, and will experience a new way of life as a result of living and
working in a modern Central American community.
Palmarejo
The prehispanic
site of Palmarejo, occupied during the seventh through tenth centuries A.D., is
a sizable village composed of nearly 100 buildings that represent temples,
palaces, and a ball court where an ancient ball game was played. Some of the
tallest buildings surround plaza spaces where religious ceremonies were
performed. There are also terraces bordering part of the site that were used
for agriculture and for diverting rainfall into a large reservoir. The main
settlement is surrounded by as many as 100 smaller towns and hamlets. Our
excavations in 2006 will focus on the agriculture terraces, field houses,
reservoir area, and workshop zone, where we believe the village’s inhabitants
may have processed agricultural produce and staples for exchange with other
regional centers.
Housing
Participants
will live in modern houses in Cofradía, a nearby town of about 15,000 people
located less than an hour from San Pedro Sula, Honduras’s main commercial
center and fastest growing city. The houses have many of the comforts of home,
including electricity and indoor bathrooms with running water. All houses are
located close to the town center, which has many new shops, including Internet
cafes, a large grocery store, and several restaurants and eateries.
USF Courses and Credits
ANT 4824
(graduate: ANG 6115-001), Archaeological Field Methods [3 credits];
students learn and practice
methods of archaeological survey, excavation, data and materials recovery,
recording, and processing.
ANT 4180
(graduate: ANG 6115-002), Laboratory Methods in Archaeology [3 credits];
students process data and materials recovered from survey and excavation in the
laboratory, including artifact cleaning, cataloguing, and analysis.
Three group
field trips:
1) Classic
Maya city of Copán and the Copán Sculpture Museum,
2)
Pulhapanzak waterfalls and archaeological site, and
3) Valle de
Sula Museum of Anthropology and History.
Participant Eligibility
This
program is open to regularly enrolled students from all academic disciplines. Both
USF and non-USF students may apply. Knowledge of conversational Spanish is
recommended, though not required, for participation. Students who have taken
introductory courses in Anthropology, and especially Archaeology, may be given
preference. All participants must be in good physical condition.
Estimated Program Cost
·
Program
Fee: $1,950
·
Study Abroad Administration Fee:
$300
·
Six
Credits of Tuition/Instructional Fee: $578 for undergraduate students ($226 per
credit hour for graduate students)
Payment Schedule
·
Non-refundable
deposit of $500 due by March 15, 2006 to guarantee enrollment
·
Remaining
balance due by April 15, 2006 to ensure participation in the program
Included Program Features
·
Six
USF undergraduate semester credit hours
·
All
ground transportation in Honduras
·
Dining
and living accommodations
·
Field
trips to museums and archaeological sites
Not Included Program Features
·
Airfare,
departure taxes, and passport fees (totaling roughly $400 with a departure from
Miami, FL or roughly $600 from Houston, TX)
·
Educational
materials and supplies (estimated at about $100)
·
Discretionary
and personal spending money
Funding Assistance
The
University of South Florida’s Office of Undergraduate Research may have funding
for USF program participants who meet eligibility requirements. Prospective
participants should inquire about these opportunities by contacting Dr. E.
Christian Wells, Department of Anthropology. The USF Study Abroad Office offers
partial study abroad scholarships for USF students, awarded on a competitive
basis. Completed applications are due February 15, 2006. To learn more, visit
the Study Abroad Scholarship website: http://web.usf.edu/iac/scholarship.html.
About the USF Program Directors
Dr. E. Christian Wells, Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at USF, is Co-Director of the Palmarejo Community Archaeological
Project and Field School. Since 1995, he has excavated at various sites in
Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, where he has conducted research on the ways in
which agrarian communities impact cultural and natural landscapes.
Dr. Karla L. Davis-Salazar, Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at USF, is Co-Director of the Palmarejo Community
Archaeological Project and Field School. For over a decade, she has worked at
the ancient Maya city of Copán, Honduras, where she has investigated the social
and ecological dynamics of water management in urban settings.
José E. Moreno-Cortés, Ph.D.
student in Anthropology at USF, is Co-Director of the Palmarejo Community
Archaeological Project and Field School. Over the past two years, he has worked
at Palmarejo and outlying communities, where he is investigating the processes
by which prehispanic farming households provisioned themselves through various
religious and economic mechanisms.
To apply
Fill out
the application available on the web:
http://uweb.cas.usf.edu/~cwells/palmarejo/application.pdf
and mail
(or e-mail) to:
Christian
Wells
Department
of Anthropology
University
of South Florida
4202 E.
Fowler Ave., SOC 107
Tampa, FL
33620-8100
DEADLINE: January
15, 2006
or until program is filled