Last week! Wrapping up...

We finished the last week of excavating, a few final interviews, and off we go! Some photos...

In case you were worrying about fertility in Pucará...

Excavation Area (Zona 1) with 5 units wrapping up

Another class visit from the UNA-Puno. David talking to Prof Edmundo de la Vega's class about Unit 5.

Speaking of Unit 5, we didn't expect to find clay blocks in our lower levels... crazy architecture!

Pukara architecture is supposed to look like this... 

With help from a landowner we were also able to locate the site of the 1955/1964 excavations. Nice polychrome sherd sticking out of an adobe wall over the midden area. Not bad!

Thank you to all the UCLA field school students, UNA students, area supervisors, and community members who worked with us this season. Keep checking for updates!

Week 6: Last week in the Field

It is the last week at Pukara and it should be exciting and busy. We are having another group of students from the University of the Altiplano-Puno (UNA) come to visit, we plan to finish up some interviews with community members for a local museum project we are developing (19 interviews finished!), and there are a number of very deep excavation units that need to be wrapped up.

Local potter making a "grotesco" sculpture.

We stayed in Puno today for an award ceremony hosted by the Rector of the UNA, which was to thank the project for supporting field practica for local students interested in archaeology and anthropology. It was a wonderful event and we have been thrilled to host a number of students and professors from the UNA over the last month. Check back next weekend!

(L to R) David, Barbara, UNA Rector, Liz, UNA Vice-Rector, UNA Dean of Social Sciences

Week 5 @ Pukara

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic, so these pictures are a little out of date. The last day in the field for the UCLA field school was July 23rd and the project has been very quiet since the students departed on the 25th. Here are a few pics from the last week in the field.

Visiting Honorato's house for a pottery demonstration

Last day of work @ Pukara for the field school students

Unit 3 (Robert, Becky & Barbara)

Unit 4 (Richard, Wilson, Matt, Aileen & Catie)

Unit 5 (Joe, Maya & Jesse)

Unit 6/7 (Javier, Yolanda, Ron, Maya & Amanda-- sorry Lizzie!)

the FOURce is strong with us

Here are a couple (long overdue) pictures of unit 4. As supervisor of this dynamic 4x2 unit, I had the privilege of working with some of the finest undergraduate and post-undergraduate students of both the US and Peru. Although we struggled through rock fall and compact soil, we were finally rewarded last week when we encountered meaningful stratigraphic change!

Oh how shallow the unit was 2 weeks ago...
(from left to right: Richard, Catie, Conversion, Aileen)


Yes, we match.

Last Friday our unit had a special guest appearance by Honorato, soil change guru (far left). At approximately 9:40am, he delivered a soil change. (Note rock fall in north and east profiles)

Week 4 (continued)

More photos from last week, more to come later this weekend from Week 5. Enjoy!

The feria (annual market) from afar. The street is packed with vendors, visitors, etc.

 Games, games and more games at the feria.

David finds the best hat ever... Honorato approved!

Andy Roddick, visiting from Bolivia, provides insights on the Middle Formative in the southern Titicaca Basin to the students from the UNA-Puno.

We really have been excavating-- Honorato cleaning up Unit 5. We found much earlier constructions and pottery than expected. It has been an excellent field season-- 2 weeks left of digging. 

Week 4: More Feria, lots of wind, visitors galore!

This will be short-- we are out the door to Pucará. Last week was very productive and included visitors from the University of the Altiplano-Puno, colleagues from Bolivia, and thousands of people attending the annual market (feria) in Pucará. I promise more photos next week!

Week 3: Digging & the Feria

This week is Pucará's annual feria, a huge market with products from all over the South-Central Andes. It will be busy and hectic, but hopefully we can get some excavating done in the midst of visiting pilgrims, sellers of everything imaginable, and lots of truck traffic. The students only have 2 more weeks in the field, so we will be busy trying to understand our excavation units on the platform. Wish us luck!