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Women in Ancient America
with Karen E. Stothert
University of Oklahoma Press, 1999

A popular synthesis of new work concerning the roles of women and men in ancient American cultures. We cover a series of topics prominent in contemporary archaeological gender studies, using short case histories. We show that gender is a key dynamic in all human societies and demonstrate that female activities are significant and germane to the understanding of the human past.
Order online. A second, revised, edition of this book is now underway and should be available by 2010.


Archaeological Investigations in Central Colombia
BAR International Series 606, Tempus Reparatum, 1995

 
In 1969 and 1970 I conducted archaeological investigations in the Department of Quindio and the northernmost part of the Department of Valle in central Colombia. This region is the source of the famous Quimbaya style of precolumbian gold. Scientific investigations here have been hampered by widespread looting, political violence, and drug trafficking. This monograph is a report on the archaeological survey that I undertook with students of the University of Calgary and colleagues from the Museo del Oro and the Universidad de los Andes. The monograph also contains extracts from the memoirs of a professional looter of early in this century, Luis Arango Cano.
How to order.


Ancient South America
Cambridge University Press, 1994

This is the first synthesis of the archaeology and prehistory of all of South America to appear since 1970. It is also the first book on the subject to be written for the non-specialist audience. It is profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps of sites and artifacts and encompasses all the latest research in topics such as studies of the most ancient Americans, the Paleoindians, research on intercontinental travel and trade, the origins of agriculture, metal working, and how studies of ancient art are revealing gender roles and religious practices around the continent.
Order online. This book is out of print and a second, revised and updated, edition is underway.


Cihuatán: An Early Postclassic Town of El Salvador. The 1977-1978 Seasons
University of Missouri Monography in Anthropology No. 5, 1980

This monograph deals with my investigations of the domestic life of the people who lived in El Salvador's first (and last) prehispanic city. Although the Western Ceremonial Center has been the focus of several projects (including my current one), little was known about how people of different social classes lived. We investigated, in two field seasons, 17 structures, including the better part of a single household cluster. This monograph is purely descriptive and includes information on the disposition of artifacts around houses that were unexpectedly burned and then never reoccupied.
Out of print.


Monumental Art of Chontales: A Description of the Sculpture Style of Chontales, Nicaragua
with James Dotta and R. G. Zelaya
Treganza Museum of Anthropology Paper 14, 1973

A description of the known statues in the Chontales style. Mr. Zelaya spent some years photographing statuary in private collections, in museums, and in situ. I wrote the text, describing each statue illustrated and relating the style, in general, to the great stone sculptural tradition of Central America and the northern Andes, a style which is associated with mortuary ritual and shamanistic beliefs. Although there has now been considerable archaeological investigation in Nicaragua, this monograph remains the only English language study to focus upon the important Chontales style.
How to order.


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