Kelsey finds her first site!

I hope Kelsey forgives me for blogging about her, but I woke up at 2:00 am with a fluttering in my left ear that made think an insect had crawled into it, and so blogging seemed like the natural thing to do. The alternatives were: 1) keep working on the informe, which I will probably do when I finish blogging, or 2) peer review a couple of articles that are waiting in my Inbox. I didn't think it would be fair to the authors to review their cherished work while tired and grumpy, so I'm blogging.

Last Sunday, we decided to take a drive in the countryside. I wanted Aaron, one of my students, to see a bit of Chinandega, which is very picturesque, because he has never been to Nicaragua before.

If you follow the paved road north out of El Viejo, ancient Tezoatega, keeping the volcano on your right hand, you eventually come to Tonalá and then Puerto Morazán, where the road ends at the Estero Real,  It's a beautiful new road, which replaced one that felt like one giant pothole and looked like it had last been paved when Sandino was fighting the Marines. A few kilometers north of El Viejo, there is a turn-off to an even newer paved road to the left, about 8.5 km (as the crow files) north of the plaza in El Viejo. This second, smaller road is paved with what they call "adoquines," which are concrete paving blocks set together in an interlocking pattern.

The "adoquinado" road runs north, and after about 2 km, it comes to the village of Cuatro Esquinas, where I found a site last year. That site has the distinction of being the one I found at highest velocity. By the speedometer, I was doing about 50 kph when I saw the potsherd on the side of the dirt road there.I slammed on the brakes, threw the SUV into reverse, and backed up to the site. The sherd was only 2-3 cm across, so my three passengers were suitably amazed when I pointed to it through the window.

When you get to Cuatro Esquinas, there is a dirt road going west near the southern end of town. About 2.5 km along this road is the village of Amayo. To get there, you have to turn right (north) at the T-junction, and drive about half a klick. From the town, drive west another half a click and turn north.  On Sunday, we were winding our way south along that same road, when Kelsey asked me to stop. I looked out the window and there was a stone mound on a platform in the fallow field. Kelsey dismounted and said there was pottery along the edge of the road. We whipped out the camera and GPS and took a couple of photos and a GPS point. A young teenager carrying two kittens, one in each hand, strolled up.

(Another big aftershock just rattled the house--in real time as I'm typing. It's been more than 24 hours since the quake and we've felt dozens of aftershocks.)

The youngster introduced himself as the custodian of the farm, and he allowed us to go into the field and look at the mound. He also pointed out a couple of other nearby mounds.

Here's the mound, looking east from the road. The mound appears to be sitting atop the north end of a long platform.

Aaron, standing tall on the mound, flanked by kittens.

The loose rocks are mound fill. The cobble size is typical of the mounds in the region.

Looking north from the first mound toward another one pointed out by the watchman. The low mound is slightly left of the electrical post.

Kelsey playing with the kittens on the slope of the mound.

Lovely site. Nice drive. It's always a good day when you find a mound site. I'm pretty sure this is Kelsey's first. She decided to name it Tecomatepe, an indigenous toponym we found on the local INETER topographic quadrangle map sheet (2754_2). Good name for a sweet site.

The kittens were really cute. They acted like puppies.

Back to the informe! I wonder if I can write a type description before the next aftershock hits. (There's a sentence I never expected to write.)

Earthquake update

The aftershocks continued through the night. One of the early aftershocks was reported to magnitude 5.1 and another 4.8. Those rattled us pretty well, too. The government has gone into emergency overdrive mode, but I still have seen or heard reports of serious damage, injuries, or deaths. I heard a report on the TV or radio laast night that 4 houses had collapsed in Puerto Morazan, but I haven't heard it repeated. On the TV this morning, one of the officials, possibly a geologist, said that the building code prohibits construction on active faults, but I don't know if it's enforced. There seem to be many irregular settlements.

The quake was certainly strong enough to do a lot of damage, so the lack of destruction and casualties reflects well of the country's institutions.

Earthquake in Chinandega

The quake hit while we having dinner in a nice restaurant--Los Portales--in Chinandega. I've been in smaller quakes,but nothing like this. It was powerful, although we  could stay on our feet. We ran out into the courtyard by the pool. I've heard reports that it was a magnitude 6.1 centered on Puerto Morazan, a small, very poor town on the Estero Real about 30 kmnorth of us.

The aftershocks are continuing even now, at least 45 minutes later.

We're all okay--Kelsey and Aaron and my Nicaraguan family.

I haven't seen a lot of structural damage--no collapsed buildings in the street.

A lot of people are hanging out in the street, presumably to avoid injury if an aftershock knocks the house down. I also haven't seen buildings with large cracks in them.The electricity and water are still functioning.

However, my shaving cream can did fall into the sink,and I may need an extra scoop of ice cream to settle my stomach.

There have been many aftershocks, which continue.

Job Advertisement for an Archaeological Outreach Coordinator at the Florida Public Archaeology Network

The Department of Anthropology at Florida Atlantic University is advertising the position described below. Please note the closing date, which is rapidly approaching. Please do apply if you believe you are qualified. Thanks!

Cliff

Job Posting:

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Department of Anthropology seeks an Outreach Coordinator (position number 980313) for its grant-funded Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) office in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Coordinator must be knowledgeable about Florida archaeology and the overall mission of the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), assist the Regional Director with public outreach and other center efforts, and supervise staff and volunteers. A Master's degree in an anthropology or related field or a Bachelor's degree in anthropology or related field and two years of experience in anthropology, archaeology, or closely related field are required. Professional experience with public outreach, public interpretation, education, or heritage tourism required. Candidates must have excellent communication skills, be able to work independently, access a variety of buildings or field sites, and have a valid driver's license. Applications and personal information (CV/Resume, names of references, other supporting materials) must be completed on-line through the Office of Human Resources website at https://jobs.fau.edu, position no. 980313. The deadline for application is June 1, 2016.

Florida Atlantic University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law. Individuals with disabilities, requiring accommodation, please call 561-297-3057. 711.

Wiley's Manuscript submission system

Am I the only one who hates the manuscript management systems used by the big publishers? I asked this once before, in a rant about the Elsevier system, but I received no response. Now I've had a similarly unpleasant experience with what I think is Wiley's system, although in this case I was simply trying to submit a peer-review of an article.

First I found through trial and error that I had to change not one but two of my browser settings just to get the site to work. Then I had to change my password because they revamped the website and my old password, which was difficult to find, wouldn't work. Then they tried to force me to create a profile. Then I closed my browser and gave up. That's just far too much crap to go through for the privilege of reviewing an article. I thought nothing could be worse than Elsevier's website, but  I may have been wrong.

This probably all sounds petulant and querulous, but how much hassle should I put up with for the privilege of doing free work for a huge multinational corporation?

Peer review is a form of unpaid community service upon which these journals rely, so I am frankly astonished that the highly paid executives running these companies would make it harder for scholars to perform it.

It's crazy enough that I donate my time so that these corporations can get richer. I'm not inclined to jump through a bunch of hoops to do it. I'm happy to contribute to the advancement of science if the journal is published by a scientific society, but doing it for commercial publishers is just getting silly.

Funny and Beautiful*: Hope Jahrens's Blog

I don't remember reviewing any blogs in this space. It hardly seems like the best use of my time or this space.

But, I was paging (i.e., clicking) through the journal Nature this morning before my 8 o'clock class, and I saw a review of a new book entitled Lab Girl by Hope Jahrens.** The review was enticing, so I Googled the name and her blog popped up. The blog is fabulous, as funny and startling as it is strikingly and beautifully written. Some of the comics are hysterical. There is also some excellent advice. I thought the post "How to Turn A 'Good' Proposal Into An 'Excellent' Proposal in Eight Admittedly Arduous Steps" offered some of the best advice I've read on grant writing. And it was funny to boot.

 The blog is worth a look. So, pause Ph.D. Movie 2 and check it out.

*The writing, which is also funny. 
**Blog is not monetized. I don't get anything if you click through and buy the book.

Photos of the Rubén Darío site

These are photos of the Rubén Darío site in the Department of Chinandega, Nicaragua. Back in July of last year I posted photos of some of the ceramics from the site. It's an unusual site, located on the edge of the large Estero Real estuary, at the interface between the Tertiary uplands and the alluvial lowlands of the Nicaraguan Depression or Graben.

(Actually, I'm posting these for a friend because they are too large to e-mail.)

High density of pottery on the surface of the lowest terrace. Some sherds are large.

High density of pottery on the surface of the lowest terrace.

Looking upstream (south) along the channel of the Estero Apupú.

Looking upstream (south) along the channel of the Estero Apupú. Note the low energy of the stream.

Looking downstream (approximately north) along the Estero Apupú. The mangroves start within a couple of hundred meters (or less)

Creating a little bridge over the stream with driftwood.

On the west bank of the Estero Apupú. Note the soft, fine-grained sediments into which I am sinking. Pure muck. Cannot be washed out of clothing.

SAA Conference in Orlando

Well, the SAAs are over and, despite being held at that overpriced and rather creepy Potemkin Village near Orlando, the Annual Meeting was productive and interesting. Florida Atlantic University was well-represented by students and alumni.

The symposiumm I organized with Geoff McCafferty, Cerámica Sin Fronteras, went well. We had a prime time slot, Friday afternoon; interesting, original, and significant papers; and a good audience. Rosemary Joyce saved the entire symposium with her adapter for the projector's serial cable. We had participants from Canada, the U.S., France, and Honduras. My students Kelsey Willis and Ashley Gravlin Beman gave excellent presentations, for which I can take little credit because I merely offered a little coaching. Even though I'm directing their research, I learned (i.e., acquired new information) from their presentations. I want to convey my sincerest thanks to all who participated. I regret that more our of Central American colleagues could not attend, but I was delighted that Dra. Eva Martínez came from Honduras and spoke about her work in the Jamastrán Valley.

In addition to my symposium, several others included substantial participation by folks from FAU. Christian Davenport organized a session on the Belle Glade Culture. He is a Ph.D. candidate at FAU, and many of our students and former students presented papers in that symposium, inclulding Katie Smith, Dorothy Block, Rebecca Stitt, and, of course, Chris himself.

Valentina Martínez, one of the other archaeologists on the faculty, presented at least 3 posters, including one with Andres Garzon-Oechsle, a graduate student here, and another with Nicole Jastremski, a biological anthropologist in our department (and a former graduate student!).

Ryan Wheeler, Director of the R. S. Peabody Museum, former State Archaeologist of Florida, and graduate of our department, organized a symposium in honor of Wm. Jerald Kennedy, a professor emeritus in our department. That session included not only Dr Kennedy himself, but Michael Harris, the current department chair, and a whole passel of department alumni.

I noticed that there were other alumni of our program around in other sessions, but I don't even know the whole list of our former students, so they're difficult to track.

A small assemblage of twenty or thirty of us went out for a bite on Saturday night. What fun!

Cool website on women archaeologists

Trowelblazers has short biographies on women archaeologists, both historic and contemporary. They also include some geoscientists of various persuasions, but we can overlook that despite our strict "No Dinosaur" policy. They have dug up (no pun intended) some great historic photos to accompany the articles.

They also contributed to the development of a "Lottie the Fossil Hunter" doll that is cute beyond belief. If you scroll through the blog, you can enjoy photos of the doll performing fieldwork and analysis in different venues and contexts. Apparently, they take her on the road with them. It's a lot of fun. If the doll weren't sold out, I'd buy one.

Archaeological Material Culture

Cafe Press is a website to which one can send an image or logo, and they will print the design on a variety of objects, such as tee-shirts and coffee mugs, presumably on demand; they sell them through their online store and split the profits with you.

For some reason that eludes memory, I recently searched the site for "archaeologist" and found some interesting artifacts. ("Some" > 2000.) Most, inevitably, were banal: "My career is in ruins" or "Archaeologists do it in the dirt."  Even more predictably, there were some dinosaur items as well as, happily, some "No Dinosaur" items. (I'm not trying to sell anything, and I don't get a cut. This is a non-commercial, unmonetized blog!) I particularly like the bumper sticker that says, "Archaeologists don't dig up dinosaurs." Perhaps I should also mention the baby jumper that says, "Archaeologists Don't Dig Dinosaurs" because the picture of the dinosaur with the line through it is executed with a great deal of spirit.
  
The "Archaeology: Trowel and Error" coffee mug is fun, especially because the trowel they show in the picture is not the kind we use, hence the "error," I suppose, in the motto.

I got a kick out of the various objects you could buy with Munsell color charts emblazoned on them. (I linked to a 10YR travel mug, but you can pick the hue, apparently.) My enjoyment had nothing to do with the fact that my latest article is on the analysis of Munsell colors. (Subliminal message: It's open access, so please follow the link, download it, read it, and cite it!)

Probably my favorite item was the tee-shirt that read, "Archaeologists: Stronger than your average geek!"   The question of why I enjoyed this one so much could only be answered, I'm sure, after intensive psychotherapy, so we'll probably never know. Sadly, the yearnings of my Freudian neurosis will not be soon satisfied: the item is a little pricey and out of stock.