New Mexico State University anthropology students traveled from the desert Southwest to the jungles of Central America this year to participate in NMSU’s first summer field school to Belize.
The project is a collaborative effort by the government of Belize, which runs the Institute of Archeology, the University of Texas at Austin, NMSU’s Department of Anthropology and about half a dozen other universities.
“We all participated in joint excavations of an area in northwestern Belize,” said Thomas Hart, NMSU anthropology assistant professor. “This summer's focus was on a site called La Milpa, a Maya archeological site near the borders of Mexico and Guatemala, which dates to around 900 AD. La Milpa is considered the third largest Maya site in Belize.”
At its peak, La Milpa was a powerful urban center with an estimated population of up to 50,000 people. Its central feature is the Great Plaza, one of the largest public spaces ever built by the Maya. It is bordered by four temple-pyramids and contains two ballcourts.
About 70 students, including 10 from NMSU, braved the rain, humidity and the spider monkeys to uncover ancient artifacts of the early Maya civilization. The team also included about 30 faculty. Joining Hart, the NMSU student group included two teaching assistants, two graduate students and six undergraduates.
“If you want to excavate in Mesoamerica, you have to get training in Mesoamerican archaeology, and it’s very difficult because Mexico and Guatemala don't have a lot of field schools that are open to foreigners, whereas Belize does,” Hart said. “If you talk to archeologists in Mesoamerica, they’ve almost always excavated in Belize, so this was a good opportunity for our students.”
Hart explained the field school camp was set up in the jungle because the La Milpa excavation is in a protected conservation area. Students and professors were allowed to set up camp and live within the conservation area during the field school.
“They were fully immersed in it 24 hours a day,” Hart said. “There were animals that came through camp, you’d see howler monkeys and spider monkeys and all that sort of stuff. Since we were all together, the students also had the chance to meet other students from other field schools, meet other professors from other field schools and get a chance to learn other specialties.”
Aaron Culver, an NMSU junior anthropology student, and Diva Zepeda, an NMSU senior anthropology student graduating in December, were among dozens of students excavating cultural layers at La Milpa. Zepeda and Culver did similar excavation work.
“We were excavating according to what features we were looking for,” Culver said. “For example, we dug a unit with the intention of hitting some stairs. When we reached the top of these stairs, that was our unit one, and then the stairs themselves were unit two. We would take field notes and during the process, you’re also looking out for particular artifacts. Any dirt that you remove gets put into buckets and you take those buckets over to a sieve and sift through them looking for any small artifacts that you might have missed.”
The torrential rains, humidity and occasionally obnoxious animal life didn’t stop the students from enjoying the adventure.
“I'm used to dry heat, and so it took me a while to get used to the humidity,” said Zepeda, an El Paso native who plans to pursue a medical degree after graduation. “You have to excavate in the rain, so it was very interesting, especially when the dirt gets muddy and it becomes clay. It’s very hard to screen it for artifacts.”
Hart explains the relationship of the Maya and Southwest culture. “You can see the ancient cultural connections in terms of items of Mesoamerican origin like chocolate and scarlet macaws and their feathers found at archaeological sites in the Southwest,” Hart said. “And given that many students here have connections to Mexico and Belize and Guatemala, it serves students on a personal level as well as an intellectual level.”
NMSU will not join another field school in Belize for a few years. However, the data the students gathered during this summer’s excavations will be part of a report at the end of the year written by David M. Hyde, anthropology professor at Western Colorado University. The information gathered in Belize will eventually be published in larger journals.
“For Aaron and Diva and the other students at the field school, this wasn't just a hands-on learning experience, it was also a research experience,” Hart said. “The students got to learn how you conduct field work, and what they did contributes to the production of new knowledge from the site and eventually makes its way up to peer-reviewed journals.”
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CUTLINE: New Mexico State University anthropology students at the entrance to La Milpa, a Maya archeological site near the borders of Mexico and Guatemala during summer field school in Belize. Thomas Hart, assistant professor of anthropology led the field school. Of the 10 NMSU students, Bethany Miller and Delaney Romo are graduate students and teaching assistants, Slone Rexin and Angelo Schibetta are graduate students, and Aaron Culver, Caitlin Foster, Cat Parra, Evangeline Simpson and Diva Zepeda are undergraduates. (Courtesy photo)
CUTLINE: New Mexico State University anthropology students set up a line level at the summer field school in Belize. Thomas Hart, assistant professor of anthropology led the field school. Of the 10 NMSU students, Bethany Miller and Delaney Romo are graduate students and teaching assistants, Slone Rexin and Angelo Schibetta are graduate students, and Aaron Culver, Caitlin Foster, Cat Parra, Evangeline Simpson and Diva Zepeda are undergraduates. (Courtesy photo)
CUTLINE: New Mexico State University anthropology students atop the pyramid at Lamanai in Belize in the Maya archeological during summer field school in Belize. Thomas Hart, assistant professor of anthropology led the field school. Of the 10 NMSU students, Bethany Miller and Delaney Romo are graduate students and teaching assistants, Slone Rexin and Angelo Schibetta are graduate students, and Aaron Culver, Caitlin Foster, Cat Parra, Evangeline Simpson and Diva Zepeda are undergraduates. (Courtesy photo)
CUTLINE: New Mexico State University anthropology students take a last photo before leaving the jungles of the Maya archeological site after the summer field school in Belize. Thomas Hart, assistant professor of anthropology led the field school. Of the 10 NMSU students, Bethany Miller and Delaney Romo are graduate students and teaching assistants, Slone Rexin and Angelo Schibetta are graduate students, and Aaron Culver, Caitlin Foster, Cat Parra, Evangeline Simpson and Diva Zepeda are undergraduates. (Courtesy photo)