Capital City Art Initiative’s Nevada Neighbors features archaeology on Peru's North Coast
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Tue, 03/23/2021 - 1:08pm
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June 30, 2021 (All day) The Capital City Art Initiative’s Nevada Neighbors series of public talks presents archaeologist Hal Starratt with "Archaeology on the North Coast of Peru." Viewers are invited to watch the talk online here.
In Archaeology on the North Coast of Peru, Starratt presents several centuries worth of Peru’s archaeology. Hal Starratt earned his doctorate in anthropology from Tulane University in New Orleans. He did his dissertation research during three field seasons at the Classic Mayan city at Copán, Honduras.
This research concentrated on excavations and analysis of retainers’ work areas surrounding the ruling elite houses in order to understand the relationship of the rich vis-à-vis the commoners at the time of the Classic “collapse” of Mayan civilization. He did this analysis mostly on garbage heaps known as middens, and in the process sorted hundreds of thousands of stone, ceramic, and organic fragments.
While other archaeologists were opening splendid tombs of the rich and famous Maya royalty, Hal sifted through ancient rubbish—not at all the “Indiana Jones” idea of archaeology. But that is what the science of archaeology is all about: the sometimes tedious and unromantic drudgery necessary to tease out the clues left behind by the members of a long-gone society. He also has worked at other Classic Mayan sites in Yucatan, did linguistic work in Guatemala, and has worked on archaeological projects in Louisiana, California, and Utah.
Hal later worked at the El Brujo site in South America, a Moché culture city on the north coast of Peru, that was roughly contemporaneous with the Classic Maya. The pre-colonial excavation project at El Brujo eventually led to an investigative shift to the ruins of a tiny colonial church, Magdalena de Cao, established in the sixteenth century atop the remains of the Moché city.
This proved to be one of the earliest churches in South America. The goal of this project was to understand the relationship between the Spanish colonists and the indigenous people they controlled soon after the downfall of the Inca empire. Most of Hal’s research was conducted during the summer months, which is the winter dry season in Peru. During the school year Hal taught anthropology and photography at Western Nevada College.
Hal has been a photographer since he was a kid with his hands in the fixer making prints in his father’s darkroom. He has amassed a large photographic collection of Mesoamerican and Andean archaeological subjects that he has used in his courses.
The current presentation represents only a fragment of thousands of digital and print images of pre-Columbian archaeology that were useful in his classroom presentations. He has produced film and video projects, has worked with large-format black and white film, and has exhibited his work in galleries in Carson City, Sacramento, and Paris, France. He currently uses medium format, panoramic and digital media.
The Capital City Arts Initiative is an artist-centered not-for-profit organization committed to community engagement in contemporary visual arts through exhibitions, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online activities.
The Initiative is funded by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, John and Grace Nauman Foundation, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Carson City Cultural Commission, Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Kaplan Family Charitable Fund, U.S. Bank Foundation, RISE, Nancy Raven, Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation, Steele & Associates LLC, and CCAI sponsors and members.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development provided additional support through its Nevada Pandemic Emergency Technical Support Grant for 2021.
Visit CCAI’s website here for more information.
