The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group has been formed to identify and define all the ceramic ware types that appear on pre-1650 Jamestown and vicinity sites. The impetus for this work is a conference that is to take place in the year 2000 entitled Capital and Countryside: Jamestown and its Hinterland. The objective of the conference is to gather and study the data that has been collected through the years on 17th-century archaeological sites in the Chesapeake. Pottery comprises an important component of this study for, of all the classes of artifacts, it yields the richest record of date, social status, household routine, and trade. Valid comparisons of the ceramic information, however, require a standard nomenclature for both ware and form. The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group proposes to do this by maintaining an on-line study collection of these wares.
This is just the beginning at an attempt to standardize the nomenclature of ceramic types found on pre-1650 sites in Virginia and to identify where those wares are being found. Eventually, this work could be extended to the latter half of the 17th century, and perhaps even the 18th century, and encompass much more of the Chesapeake region. It is anticipated that Native American ceramics could also be incorporated into this format.
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The Zooarchaeology Lab is directed by Thomas Wake, Research Staff, and was established in 1989 in order to facilitate the identification and analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites. The lab is located in Room A–357, in the A-level of the Fowler. With over 650 square feet of space, the lab provides ample workspace for students and researchers, as well as a number of computers for data entry and analysis. An intensive laboratory based zooarchaeology course is taught every other year by Wake. He is available to consult with students, set up volunteer or independent study projects, and develop research designs, sampling protocols, and evaluate results of interested investigators.
One of the most important aspects of any Zooarchaeological Lab is the modern comparative collection available for use in identification of archaeological faunal remains. The Zooarchaeology Lab maintains an expanding collection of Over 1,700 vertebrate specimens including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Native Californian species predominate, but domestic, Central American, and Peruvian taxa are well represented. A collection of over 10,000 mollusk specimens is currently being cataloged and available for use as well. The UCLA Department of Biology maintains a large collection of fish skeletons and a large bird and mammal skeletal collection is included in the Dickey Natural History Collection.
To date the lab has conducted over 200 separate projects from six continents. Archaeological animal remains have been collected, identified, and analyzed from the following countries: Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Denmark, Jordan, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Syria, Turkey, and the U.S. Within the U.S. most of the collections examined are from California, but include Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Washington. A list of recent publications is available.
The lab is currently conducting analysis on materials from a number of sites in North America (primarily California), Central America (Mexico), South America (Peru), and from Wake’s project at Sitio Drago in Panama.
Contact information:
E-mail: zooarch@ucla.edu [mailto:zooarch@ucla.edu]
Phone: (310) 206-1782
Room: A-357 Fowler Building
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The Teaching Lab is an open facility for undergraduates and graduate students studying archaeology. The lab has artifact study collections and is often used for teaching classes and holding meetings by student groups.
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The Southwestern Lab is directed by Greg Schachner, Assistant Professor of Anthropology. Schachner is currently planning a collaborative field project with state, federal, and private landowners, as well as native groups, in the area east of Petrified Forest National Park. Additionally, Schachner is working with Tiffany Clark, a Research Associate, to organize the extensive PARP collections (Pajarito Plateau Research Project) of the late Professor of Anthropology, Jim Hill. Several volunteers are assisting with this challenging project.
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The South Asian Archaeology Lab was established in 2002 and is directed by Monica L. Smith, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Archaeology Program. The lab highlights the archaeology of South Asia, the area encompassed by the modern-day countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Asia provides a wealth of exciting archaeological data, starting from the Paleolithic period hundreds of thousands of years ago to the Indus Valley (Harappan) periods, the Early Historic era, and the medieval period with its palaces and temples that continue to grace the modern landscape of the Indian subcontinent.
Please correspond with the lab’s director, Monica L. Smith, for further information about the research programs and student opportunities being developed in the South Asian Lab.
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The Rock Art Archive is directed by Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Research Associate.
The archive welcomes all visitors and researchers to their facility at the Cotsen Institute in the Fowler Building. The core of their data is formed by extensive private collections from the following regions: California, the Far West and Southwest U.S.; some eastern and several midwestern states; the Pacific islands; and a teaching collection of European sites. The archive also holds site reports, site records and research reports. All of their materials are non-circulating, and staff are on-site to assist people in locating the materials they need. For more information, visit the Rock Art Archive Web site.
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The Moche Archive is directed by Christopher B. Donnan, Professor of Anthropology. The archive focuses on the art and iconography of the Moche culture of northern Peru and houses thousands of unique photos and line drawings of objects in collections across the globe. His latest research was published by the Cotsen Institute Press: Moche Tombs at Dos Cabezas by Christopher B. Donnan, and Moche Fineline Painting from San José de Moro, by Donna McClelland, Don McClelland and Christopher B. Donnan.
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The Mesopotamian Lab is directed by Giorgio Buccellati, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. He continues to co-direct Urkesh excavations with Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, Research Associate.
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The Mesoamerican Lab is directed by Richard Lesure, Associate Professor of Anthropology. His current project is The Origins of Social Inequality in Early Formative Mesoamerica, which is an investigation of sociopolitical dynamics in Mesoamerica’s earliest settled villages, dated from 1600 to 1000 BC. Professor Lesure’s fieldwork has focused on the large village site of Paso de la Amada, on the coast of Chiapas, Mexico.
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The Mediterranean Lab is directed by Ernestine Elster, Research Associate and Archaeology Program alumna. She is currently working on the “Save Scaloria Project” to publish results from excavations of a well-known Neolithic cave in Italy.
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