Students make way for Peru
by Steve Knapp
Special to the The Metropolitan
On a summer's day, you might find Metro professor Jonathan Kent sweating
under the burning rays of a ferocious sun, laboring from dawn to dark,
scratching his way into a hard, dry, stony patch of ground.
And anyone is welcome to join him.
On May 31, Kent will lead the 2004 Field Expedition to Northern Peru.
With him will be 13 students from Metro, most of whom will be getting
their first taste of archaeological field research.
Their destination is an ancient town-site that Kent has dubbed Santa
Rita B. Kent began investigation of the site in 1998 With his co-director,
Teresa Rosales-Tham of Peru's National University of Trujillo. The project
is overseen by the California Institute for Peruvian Studies and the Peruvian
National Institute of Culture. This will be the sixth year Kent has operated
his archaeological field school there.
Nestled against the foothills of the Andes mountains, Santa Rita B. lies
15 miles inland beneath barren, rocky ground just over 1,100 feet above
sea-level. Nearby is Santa Rita-the project's namesake-a village of about
300.
Kent's excavations have revealed occupations dating back much further
than he originally expected. So far, he has traced the occupation of Santa
Rita B. from a 3,500-year-old pre-Moche culture, right up to the 16th
century Spanish colonial era. The earliest layers have been found about
five feet beneath the surface. Asked if he expects to find even more ancient
levels farther down, Kent smiled.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "This started out as a five-year
project and turned into a 10-year project. We'll be digging until 2009
or 2010, at least."
Kent first tried his hand at field archaeology in 1970, as a student
volunteer investigating Mayan sites in Guatemala. He went on to receive
a doctorate in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis in
1982, and has been teaching at Metro since 1986.
His specialty is the study of the relationship between the domestication
of plants and animals and the growth of urbanization.
Kent believes that, because of its strategic location at the head of
the Chao River Valley, Santa Rita B. is well situated to shed light on
the development of ancient commerce between the pastoral Andes and the
agricultural coastal plains.
Kent customarily reserves more than a dozen volunteer positions for Metro
students. Most remaining openings are filled by Peruvian and Canadian
universities, and he frequently receives applications from Europe and
elsewhere. At Kent's archaeological field school, students get training
in methods of excavation and analysis, not to mention the chance to meet
history head-on.
This year, Metro students paid $2,980 for a three-week session, and $3,390
for a six-week session. The costs include round-trip air from the United
States, all ground-transportation associated with the project and all
meals six days each week. They can also earn up to six college credits
by participating in the project.
The Santa Rita B. Project's international team also includes experts
in such fields as geology and biology. Their findings help place the site
in broad regional and historical context. This year, the focus will be
on the excavation of Chimu and Moche-era occupation levels, and the recording
of rock-carved images.
The number of people involved in the Santa Rita B. Project each summer
is limited to about 25. More than that will not fit comfortably into the
project's rented two-bedroom house in Chao, 45 minutes away by bus.
"One bedroom for the boys and one for the girls," Kent observed.
Shina duVall, a Metro graduate now pursuing her master's degree in Archaeology
at CU- Denver, is a three-time veteran of Santa Rita B.
She conceded that, while not uncomfortable, the living situation is far
from luxurious.
"You need to have some personal flexibility," she explained.
There is also an in-house laboratory where students learn the fine points
of analysis. According to duVall, students generally work in the lab two
days per week and spend the rest of their time in the field.
"Jon is really good at tapping our strengths," she said. "He
gives us a lot of experience in the things we want to learn."
Students work five-and-a-half days each week at the project. Left to
themselves for a day-and-a-half, most head south to Trujillo, the Libertad
state capitol. There they can get a hot shower, check their e-mail and
relax on the beach.
The continued goodwill and cooperation of both the Peruvian government
and the local population is essential to the success of Santa Rita B.,
and Kent expects volunteers to be on their best behavior while in Peru.
"We have a really good reputation down there, and we've got to keep
it," he said.
While Kent insisted that poor behavior has never been a problem for the
project, minor difficulties have occasionally surfaced as cultures seek
common understanding.
"Early on, you'll try to impose your way of doing things on (the
Peruvians)," he said, "and of course that doesn't always work."
Everything dug from the soil in Peru is the property of the Peruvian
government. For this reason, the majority of close analysis on artifacts
and samples taken from Santa Rita B. is done by Rosales-Tham and her team
in Trujillo. Her work on the specimens produced during the summer continues
all year. She also provides indispensable support by handling the extensive
paperwork required by the Peruvian government.
DuVall considers her experiences at Santa Rita B. hugely rewarding. Beyond
the technical and historical knowledge gained, she found the culture of
Peru fascinating and the people delightful. She quickly came to feel at
home there in spite of the country's relatively undeveloped condition.
"The culture-shock was a lot worse coming back," she said.
"You see all the things we have that they don't."
To anyone weighing the possibility of joining Kent's dig in the future,
duVall was emphatic. "Go to Peru," she said.
To learn more, go to www.cipstudies.org, or contact Dr. Kent at kentj@mscd.edu.
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