Investigations at Piedras Negras, Guatemala: 1998 Field Season

Between Mountains and Sea: Investigations at Piedras Negras, Guatemala
Stephen D. Houston, Héctor Escobedo, Perry Hardin, Richard Terry, David Webster, Mark Child, Charles Golden, Kitty Emery, and David Stuart

Acknowledgements

The Piedras Negras project exists because of a generous regional concession from the Instituto de Antropología e Historia (IDAEH), directed by Dr. Juan Antonio Valdés. Staff from the Departamento de Monumentos Prehispánicos of IDAEH, especially its chief Lic. René Ugarte, contributed to our work through their professional oversight. No work would have taken place without our seventy-five laborers – in effect, our investigative collaborators – from Dolores and Sayaxché, whose contribution to our project was once again eased by Dr. Juan Pedro Laporte. The Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP) and officials of the Parque Nacional Sierra del Lacandón permitted work within the park, making courtesy appointments for Escobedo and Houston as accredited CONAP archaeologists. Funds for the 1998 field season came above all from a "saint" in two senses, Mr. Kenneth Woolley of Salt Lake City, an active and knowledgeable enthusiast of archaeology, as well as funds provided by our unfailing benefactor, the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., founded by Mr. Lewis Ranieri and directed by Dr. Sandy Noble. This foundation also supported the partly independent work of Charles Golden of the University of Pennsylvania. The Ahau Foundation of New Mexico, President, Dr. Peter Harrison, gave the funds to extend our operations into monumental architecture, as did the Ashton Family Foundation, fervent supporters of Brigham Young University in all respects. The National Geographic Society Committee for Research, chaired by Dr. George Stuart, made possible the settlement pattern work within and outside the city. Prof. Noel Reynolds, now a Vice-President at Brigham Young, showed himself, now as in the past, to be a thoughtful councillor to our work. Dean Clayne Pope, ever helpful, facilitated our work in countless ways, assisted by Dr. John Hawkins, chair of the Department of Anthropology. Again, Evie Forsythe of this Department made sure that the project stayed solvent through diligent accounting. The 1998 field season consisted of five senior staff (Stephen Houston [BYU], Dr. inf. Héctor Escobedo [del Valle], Perry Hardin [BYU], Licda. Mónica Urquizú [San Carlos], and David Webster [Penn State]), and many junior (Isabel Aguirre [San Carlos], Ing. Carlos Alvarado [del Valle], Ernesto Arredondo [del Valle], Lic. Tomás Barrientos [Vanderbilt], Mark Child [Yale], Nate Currit [BYU], Lilian Garrido [San Carlos], Charles Golden [Pennsylvania], Zachary Hruby [UC-Riverside], Jennifer Kirker [Penn State], Amy Kovak [Penn State], Nancy Monterroso [San Carlos], René Muñoz [Arizona], Timothy Murtha [Penn State], Jacob Parnell [BYU], Nicholle Townsend [BYU], and Christian Wells [Arizona State University]). Supported in part by an Albers Grant from Yale, Mark Child did a splendid job as Field Director, with chief responsibility for logistics. Dr. Jay Hassell of San Antonio, Texas, served as Project Physician, and René Muñoz ran our field lab. James Fitzsimmons (Harvard) and Heather Hurst augmented our laboratory staff in Guatemala City. This article has been published with the express permission of DEMOPRE-IDAEH. Authorship reflects seniority on the project, relative weight of substantive contributions, and assistance with fund-raising. This essay is dedicated to the memory of Manuel de Jesús Jordán, a fine man and diligent excavator who lost his life in the treacherous waters of the Usumacinta.

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page