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Drought and pilgrimage at the Cara Blanca Pools, Belize
We confront the gusting winds and broiling heat of Belize archaeology while working in the plowed fields that expose some of the remains of this ancient Maya settlement (see previous blog post), but our field days begin much calmer – with a warm breakfast made for us by Miss Louisa, Valley of Peace Archaeology project […]
Mapping the state budget impasse and its consequences
On Twitter last week, someone called my website, the Illinois Atlas of Austerity, “beautiful and devastating.” Someone else said it was “depressing as heck.” I can’t think of higher praise. With maps and infographics, the website visually chronicles the impacts the state budget impasse has had on social services, higher education, youth programs and public […]
Salvaging the past in an ancient Maya settlement
We are working in the the cleared agricultural fields near Cara Blanca Pool 7, a pre-Columbian residential area in west central Belize. Hundreds of ancient Maya structures once housed a thriving community here. Now the area is being converted into farmland, and our job is to salvage what we can before the plows sheer off this history, layer by […]
A guide to the Japan House gardens
URBANA, Ill. — I knew professor Kimiko Gunji, the first director of the new Japan House, needed a tea garden because she would be teaching the tea ceremony and the garden is a necessary part. I had already constructed and maintained my own Japanese gardens at my home for many years, and I have […]
Coring and Exploring Ancient Maya Life
CARA BLANCA, BELIZE – It is early May in central Belize, nearing the end of the dry season. While farmers anxiously await the beginning of the rainy season vital for crops, archaeologists hope it starts as late as possible. Tropical storms transform the landscape, making it difficult to get around, even in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Also, […]
On the campaign trail: Breaking away from the pack
Embed from Getty Images A shot of the crowd at a Bernie Sanders campaign event March 12 on the U. of I. campus, taken by journalism professor Charles Ledford and later published in the Wall Street Journal. My 5-year-old daughter and I watched Star Wars IV the other night. That’s the original, where the good […]
Bringing home the bones of Tam Pa Ling
VIENTIANE, LAOS – The new Lao National Museum building is complete but the interior has not yet been finished, so the ceremony to dedicate the bones of Tam Pa Ling took place at the old museum, in the center of the old city and across from the National Stadium. It was formerly the French governor’s […]
BLOG: Discovering the bones of Tam Pa Ling
Tam Pa Ling cave sits at the top of Pa Hang Mountain, in Hua Phan Province, Laos. Every day, we climb the mountain and descend into the cave to dig. The view from outside the cave is spectacular, but its location means that the only equipment that we can use to dig through the wet […]
BLOG: Finding a Home for the Bones of Tam Pa Ling
VIENTIANE, LAOS – I normally would not make a trip to Laos lasting less than a week. Since travel time each way is about 20 hours, it is difficult to justify a total of 46 hours on the ground. But this is an exception. I am a paleoanthropologist, and with a team of researchers from […]
Image of Research: A Pinch of Salt and Imagination
I was holding the dried out agar plate in my hand, wondering what I was looking at. These beautiful self-organized fractals changed shape in front of my eyes. I could imagine the salt deposits as a starry night, a mysterious garden or white snowflakes. Agar plates are inseparable parts of microbiology labs. My project mainly focuses […]
Blog: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: The child decides
I’ve been waiting for weeks to share this with you, patient reader, but thought it best to report only the final outcome of this year’s adventure to Ojos del Salado, the highest active volcano in the world. In case you hadn’t guessed, team Illinois did not and will not make it to the lake near the top of […]
BLOG: Expedition to the highest lake in the world: Timing is everything
CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA – We had finished our acclimatization training. We had arranged for a truck to take us – again – across the vast Catamarca wilderness to base camp of Ojos del Salado. We had recruited two young men with mountaineering experience to join the expedition. With offerings of water, beer, mountain herbs and coca leaves, we […]