Sylabus 2014.pdf

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL IEP - PERUVIAN CENTRAL COAST

www.iep-pachacamac.org

INSTITUTO DE ESTUDIOS PERUANOS, IEPArchaeological Field School Peruvian Central Coast

2014 Season Syllabus

Dr. Enrique López-Hurtado, Program Director

Objectives:

Evaluation and certificate of successful completion:

Text Books:

Archaeology is a scientific discipline that aims to reconstruct how people lived in the pastthrough the study of the material remains they left behind. To this end archaeologists elaborateresearch questions about past societies that are answered through the systematic collection of fielddata. The objective of IEP's Field School is to provide hands on education on the most importantarchaeological field and lab methodologies such as excavation and recording of a variety ofarchaeological contexts, as well as processing, cataloguing and analysis of amazingly well preservedbotanical remains, ceramics, textiles, lithics, animal and human bones.

In order to obtain IEP's certificate ofsuccessful completion students will have to complete at least 4 weeks of field and lab work. Studentswill have to attend at least 3 of our 4 workshops and participate of at least 2 of our 3 sites andmuseums visits. Students will also have to demonstrate willingness to learn and good dispositiontowards teamwork.

Students may be able to obtain credit from their department after discussing that option with theirdepartment chair. Senior staff would be willing to discuss this with the department and providefeedback on student participation after the field season is completed.

Capriata, Camila. 2012.Instituto de Estudios Peruanos. Lima.

The field and lab manual will be distributed to all registered students for free.

White, Tim D. and PieterA. Folkens. 2005. Academic Press. New York.

This is one of the most complete human osteology manual, it is not mandatory to buy it and we have acouple of copies at our lab, but if you are interested in human osteology we strongly suggest you tobuy it.

Archaeological Field School IEP- Peruvian Central Coast Field andLaboratory Manual.

The Human Bone Manual.

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Program:

Week 1

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1.1.

1.2.

1.3.

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2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

Orientation session:

Power point presentation about IEP's research program at Panquilma including anoverview of the archaeological panorama of the Central Andean region, IEP's programgeneral research questions and the objectives of this particular season at Panquilma.

Introduction to field and lab manuals. These manuals contain all the information neededby students to familiarize with field and lab work procedures and protocols. Informationpresented in these manuals include the methodology applied in the excavation, graphicand written recording techniques, identification and preliminary analysis of recoveredmaterials in the lab, preventive conservation and cataloguing of different types ofarchaeological materials.

Visit to the site of Panquilma, survey of the different sectors of site. We will survey thepublic, domestic and funerary sectors of Panquilma with the objective of determining thelocation of this season's excavation units.

FieldActivities:

Beginning of the excavations in the public sector: The characteristics of Panquilma's public sectoroffer a perfect opportunity to learn how to recognize, interpret and record the most commonarchaeological features in public spaces such as platforms, plazas, benches, floors and storagefacilities. Given the amazing preservation conditions at Panquilma all of these features are verywell preserve and easy to recognize.

On site orientation session about the antecedents of the 2013 excavations atPanquilma's public sector: In general terms, students will be introduced to the discussionabout how to approach the excavation of public spaces. In particular, student will beintroduced to the specific research questions and objectives that the excavations inPanquilma's public sector pursue. This discussion will include the determination of thelocation of excavation units for this season and how to place a grid on the ground.

Using the profiles of already excavated test pits students will be introduced to the typicalstratigraphic deposition present in public spaces at Panquilma. In this exercise studentswill learn how to recognize natural versus cultural layers in public spaces.

Students will learn how to record a surface level, how to map it and take pictures of it,and how to properly record its elevations.

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2.4.

2.5.

3.

3.1.

3.2.

4.

5.

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1.1.

1.2.

2.

2.1.

2.2.

Students will be introduced to the excavation of natural stratigraphic levels.

Students will be introduced to the use of designated forms to record stratigraphic layersand the collection of materials.

LabActivities:

Students will be introduced the basic lab procedures on material processing. The firsttask will be to learn the difference between diagnostic and none diagnostic ceramicfragments.

Students will be introduced to the use of EXCEL and FILE MAKER data bases toprocess archaeological materials.

1 Workshop on research design and archaeological sampling methods. This workshop willdiscuss the capital importance of research design, the fragmented nature of thearchaeological record, the reasons why we sample in archaeology and an introduction to thebasic statistical sampling techniques used inArchaeology.

1 Saturday activity: Visit to the site of Pachacamac, located at just 21 km from Panquilma andconsidered one of the most important pilgrimage centers of the world. We will visit the mostimportant monuments at the site placing special emphasis in two aspects central to ourresearch program at Panquilma: Pachacamac's Pyramids with Ramp and the nature of theInka presence at this important pilgrimage center.

FieldActivities:

Continuing with the excavations in the public sector. At this stage students will be ableto recognize changes in the composition, color and texture between stratigraphic layersand how to record them. During this week, students will learn how to recognize and recordarchitectural features such as floors and headwalls.

End of the excavations in the public sector. By the end of week 2 students will be able toreconstruct the depositional sequences of the areas they were excavating. To this end,students will learn how to draw profiles and interpret them.

LabActivities:

Students will continue to work in the processing, classification and cataloguing ofarchaeological materials recovered during weeks 1 and 2.

By the end of this week students will be able to recognize between diagnostic and nonediagnostic ceramic fragments. At this stage students will also be able to recognize, classifyand process different types archaeological materials such as lithic, textiles, wood artifacts,and botanical remains.

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Week 2

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3.

4.

1.

1.1.

1.2.

2 Workshop on ceramic analysis. Ceramic fragments are the most important type ofarchaeological material recovered at Panquilma, and the results of its analysis constitute a keyfactor in the interpretation of the site. For this reason this workshop will focus first on the stepsto follow in designing a ceramic analysis including the formulation of a research question and aproper methodology.

2 Saturday activity. Visit to the Larco Museum (http://www.museolarco.org). The LarcoMuseum is one of the best and most prestigious private museums of Peru. Its permanentexhibit is, without doubt, one of the best in South America. Although primarily focused in thearchaeology of the Moche Culture of Peru's northern coast, it also offers a very good generaloverview of the different archaeological cultures that populated the central Andes during thedifferent pre-Columbian periods.

FieldActivities.

Beginning of the excavations in Panquilma's domestic sector: The beginning of the excavations inPanquilma's domestic sector represents a step forward in our training program. Panquilma'sdomestic sector is much more complex than the public sector in terms of the archaeologicaldeposition and architectural remains. Here students will learn how to deal with complexstratigraphic depositions as well as with multiple features that can include fire pits, middendeposits, whole vessels, and even funerary contexts.

Onsite orientation session about the antecedents of the 2013 excavations inPanquilma's domestic sector. In general terms students will be introduced to the discussionabout how to approach the excavation of domestic spaces. In particular, students will beintroduced to the specific research questions and objectives that the excavations inPanquilma's domestic sector pursue.

Location in Panquilma's map of the specific household compound that will beexcavated. This exercise will include the detailed description of the household compoundincluding number of rooms, patios, and different remodeling events. After completing thisexercise students will be introduced to the “household developmental cycle” concept. Thisconcept will be a key element in the interpretation of the results of the excavation ofPanquilma's domestic sector.

1.3. Excavation of the domestic sector of Panquilma. Students will apply what they learnduring the excavation of the public sector in terms of how to register a surface levelincluding how to map it, how to take a picture of it and how to properly record itselevations.

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Week 3

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2.

2.1.

2.2.

3.

4.

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1.1.

LabActivities.

Students will continue to work in the processing, classification and cataloguing of thearchaeological materials recovered during weeks 1 and 2.

Students will continue to recognize, classify and process different types ofarchaeological materials such as lithic, textiles, wood artifacts, and botanical remains.

3 Workshop on lithic analysis. This workshop's objective is to provide students with thebasic tools to perform a lithic analysis. In particular we will focus on the analysis of groundstones artifacts which constitute an important feature in the identification of domesticspaces.

3 Saturday activity: visit to the site of Cerro Azul. Contemporaneous to Panquilma andPachacamac, the site represents a complex settlement composed by a series of monumentalbuildings. As in the case of Pachacamac, the site of Cerro Azul is located right in front of thePacific Ocean and had a broad regional importance.

FieldActivities

Beginning of the excavation of Panquilma's funerary remains. A central aspect in the study ofPanquilma's domestic sector is the role of ancestor veneration practices in the organization of thesefamilies. For this reason one of the objectives of this season is the identification and excavation offunerary chambers inside Panquilma's household compounds. We will pay particular attention to therelationship between households' patios and funerary structures as well as to the characteristics ofthe burials in terms of types and number of offerings and to the sex and age of the individuals. Theexcavation of human remains represents the final and most advanced step in our program. Studentswill have to apply all the field techniques learned during the previous weeks in order to succeed at thisstage.

Onsite orientation session about the antecedents of the 2013 excavations ofPanquilma's funerary remains. In general terms students will be introduced to the discussionabout how to approach the excavation of human remains placing special emphasis in scientificethics. In particular, student will be introduced to the specific research questions andobjectives that the excavations in Panquilma's funerary remains pursue.

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Week 4

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1.2.

1.3.

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2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

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Identification and location in Panquilma's map of the specific funerary structure that willbe excavated. This exercise will include the detailed description of the particular funerarystructure and its spatial relationship with the rooms and patios of the household compound.After completing this exercise students will be introduced to the “funerary feast” concept. Thisconcept will be a key element in the interpretation of the results of the excavation ofPanquilma's funerary remains and its relationship with domestic spaces.

Excavation of a funerary chamber at Panquilma's domestic sector. Students will applywhat they learn during the excavation of the public and domestic sectors in terms of how toregister specific features including human osteological remains and grave offerings.

LabActivities.

Students will continue to work in the processing, classification and cataloguing of thearchaeological materials recovered during weeks 1, 2 and 3.

Students will continue to recognize, classify and process different types archaeologicalmaterials such as lithic, textiles, wooden made, and botanical remains.

Based on the manuals provided during this week's workshop on human osteologystudents will be introduced to the analysis of human remains.

4 Workshop on bioarchaeological analysis: Given the extraordinary preservation level in thePeruvian coast we are expecting to recover important amounts of paleobotanical,zooarchaeological, malacological, and human osteological remains. This workshop'sobjective is to provide students with an introduction to the most important methods andconcepts of bioarchaeological analysis. Topics covered will include identification andclassification of paleobotanical materials as well as the identification of pathologies andtraumas in human osteological remains.

4 Saturday activities: Farewell lunch

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Documents

Sylabus 2014.pdf