THESIS COMPLETE, MASTERS ATTAINED

So, I finally completed my thesis entitled, Distributional Archaeology and Subsurface Structure Function at El Baul, Cotzumalguapa, Guatemala. As I mentioned before, I presented a paper of some of the results from my thesis at the recent SAA conference in Atlanta, GA. I'm glad to have the thesis complete, but there is still a great deal of work that can be done using the data I collected. Perhaps if I should decide to continue in academia I may be able to continue working in Guatemala. The full potential of studies similar to the one I conducted at the site of El Baul has yet to be realized. Using geophysical prospecting, the distribution of surface artifacts, and soil chemistry it is possible to map site structures and determine structure function without costly excavations. From data such as this, predictive models could be generated to determine the locations of particular types of structures associated with particular kinds of prehistoric cultural activities.

I may get an opportunity very shortly to conduct a similar study on a known site at Camp Pendleton. We will be conducting GPR, magnetometry, coring, surface survey, and subsurface testing. The results should be interesting. These types of studies that incorporate what Kvamme (2005) has referred to as "data fusion" should be the next great wave in archaeological investigation.

Recent Endevours

It's been a while since I've last updated the website. A lot has been going on since my last post. I have started working for a CRM firm in Carlsbad, CA, ASM Affiliates Inc. I really enjoy working for this company. I have the opportunity of putting some of the geophysical skills I obtained at CSULB to use. ASM has the same ground penetrating radar equipment that CSULB uses. I got a chance to do a geophysical survey in the Sierras on a cabin dating back to the 1860s had been inundated after the damming of Caples Lake. I've also been involved in various other projects at ASM. My info page on the company's website is located at this address: http://www.asmaffiliates.com/jdaniels.htm

I also had the opportunity in January to return to Guatemala to work at the site of El Baul. This year we worked in an area just west of the acropolis and an area several hundred meters north of the acropolis. The GPR data we recovered in the area several hundred meters north of the acropolis revealed the causeway that was revealed in the area south of the acropolis continues further north and is larger than was originally thought. The area west of the acropolis revealed multiple structures and a portion of the collapsed wall of the acropolis.

In April, I will be attending the Society for American Archaeology Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with several of my fellow students and colleagues I will be presenting a paper for a symposium I organized entitled, "Innovative Analytical Techniques in Pacific Coastal Guatemalan Archaeology". My paper will be a summation of my graduate thesis.