Field Season Soon to Begin

Well, I can say my first year as an assistant professor at GSU finished successfully. I enjoyed teaching environmental anthropology and archaeological theory. Intro to Anthropology, however, became my twice a week performance piece. Exhausting year, though. But now I am just a week away from starting a field season in the northern Basin of Mexico. We are excavating a few small Epiclassic period sites (600-900 CE) as well as doing some survey of some other sites in the area. The project is called the Northern Basin of Mexico Historical Ecology Project, and this season's work is one notch toward that goal. I previously directed the Proyecto Chinampero Xaltocan, which is also related to this project's end goals. The project focuss on places most archaeologists ignore: small communities, agricultural systems, canal systems, even a hacienda. That said, we are doing some limited survey at an Epiclassic period political center. My posts this summer will show a bit of what we are doing, but my agreement with National Geographic might limit some of the things I can post. Plus, I am always hesitant to show data before it's been formally reported. But we'll see. Right now I am just focusing on logistics and trying to get a paper out the door before I leave.  Stay tuned...