another day, another interview

Such is the life of an archaeologist, I suppose. I have had more interviews in the last two years than the previous ten combined. And, not for lack of trying, I now find myself working in a sales job that I would have never expected. Having said that, it provides me the flexibility to do research and small amounts of weekend field work during the majority of the year, and enables me to take leave of absences during the "high field season" to do fieldwork abroad. In truth, I am exactly where I want to be, doing what I want to be doing. Lack of lack monetary funds is certainly an issue, but it is by no means the issue.

Today's interview was the most strenuous yet. It began a couple of days ago with a very in-depth phone interview on the site itself (Historic Fort Langley, managed by Parks Canada), national historic sites in general, and the economic history and origins of British Columbia. That initial screening resulted in a group of ten applicants undergoing a group interview today, six-and-a-half hours in length, at the site itself. There were various team-building exercises, including assembling a fur press, making a barrel, and pitching a canvas tent, and - the most daunting part of all - a five minute interpretive presentation, no topic provided, to be presented before a panel of fifteen people (including the three Parks Canada interviewers). Whew!

I haven't presented formally since my thesis defenses, so I was certainly a bit nervous. I presented on the topic of trade, focusing specifically on the requisite reciprocity of trade. A lot of the public programs at the site, while very interactive and educational, have focused on trade within Fort Langley, and have not looked at the impact of the trade moving out to surrounding First Nations groups. In my presentation, I looked at a couple of options for exploring this aspect through role playing and archaeological "digs" for students in areas representing traditional First Nations settlements. I think it was well received. All the presentations and presenters brought unique aspects to the day and, overall, the day was a success, and quite enjoyable.

I had forgotten the Fort itself, as I have not been there since an elementary school trip. It appears smaller than I remember (as happens the bigger and older we get), but there are just as many activities now as I remember as a visiting child, perhaps even more. Let's put it this way: I could certainly see myself spending the day there with a group of kids and neither the kids or me being bored.

Fort Langley, though it was only established in 1827 and enjoyed a brief "hey day" of only thirty or so years, has made a lasting impact on this province. The Hudson's Bay Company and the Fort brought a new type of economy and international trade to the region, and was instrumental in the establishment of (the future) BC as a British colony. Plus, we can now enjoy those beautiful HBC wool blankets. Gezellig!

mayans cleanse sacred site after bush's goodwill visit

It seems that US President George Bush’s attempts at gaining popularity in Latin America continue to be unsuccessful. In response to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s comments that Bush is “history’s greatest killer” and “the devil”, the US President thought he might bring some of his charming good lucks and irresistible rhetoric to the region. Alas, his seven-day tour of Latin America (during the week of March 11th – 17th) didn’t seem to impress the locals.

In fact, Bush’s visit to Ixmiche (about 48 km west of Guatemala City), the capital of the Late Post Classic kingdom of the Kaqchiqueles before the Spanish conquest of 1524, brought horror and revulsion. "That a person like [Bush], with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a nongovernmental Mayan organization with (alleged) close ties to traditional Mayan leaders, said March 8th.

No doubt that Bush’s visit to the site was accepted only under protest, as the site was already being prepared for the Third Summit of the Latin American Indian, held there March 26th – 30th. Extra spiritual cleansing was required to rid the area of “bad spirits” following Bush’s visit, a decision made by “spirit guides of the Mayan community”, so that the ancestors could rest in peace, according to Tiney.

I hope that the Mayan priests had an extra large store of incense and ritual chanting to placate the spirits of the sacred site, because I suspect the ancestors weren’t even remotely amused.

For the full story by Juan Carlos Llorca of the Associated Press, go to:

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/03/09/priests_to_purify_site_after_bush_visit/
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2936864
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/03/12/bush.guatemala/index.html

or, for another perspective:

http://markinmexico.blogspot.com/2007/03/guatemala-city-guat-mayans-to-purify.html

this afghan life

The Tyee online publication often has interesting and thought-provoking stories and essays. The Monday, April 9th edition was no exception.

This edition includes a wonderful, though sadly brief, photo essay on the lives of Afghan women. In particular, it features a group of women and their families who have persevered under the harsh rule of the Taliban, and who have been running a radio station, Radio Quyaash, in Northern Afghanistan.

At the bottom of The Tyee article, there is also some information on the persecution of men and children at the extremist hands of the Taliban, reminding the reader of the indiscriminate mass killings and brutalization of an entire population. This persecution continues still.

In another article published by The Tyee on March 29th, 2007 (link here), the changing role (yet continued persecution) of women in Iran is covered. This article exhibits how vast the definition of "feminism" really is, as compared around the world.

arabic, or, getting out of a culture what you bring to it

Next week I begin taking Arabic classes, downtown at the Roundhouse Community Centre. Arabic is a language that I have long been enamoured with and threatened by, perhaps because of the beautiful but indecipherable calligraphic characters. Whichever the reason, next week I start my once-weekly courses, 2 hours each, in order to "Learn about the most interesting language in the world: read and write the Arabic language. After 6 weeks you will be able to read and recognize simple Arabic signs and have a basic understanding of hundreds of words."

The course should run right up to the week before I leave for the field season in Jordan, giving me a great opportunity to practice what will surely be a slippery grasp of a difficult language.

Thankfully, I've studied a Semitic language (Biblical Hebrew) before, and so I have a basic understanding of the verb roots and some vocabulary, but I have never learned this type of language in a conversational and "everyday" capacity.

Being able to take the road from Madaba to Amman and read the signs along the way -- whether official directional signs (most of which also have an English translation), or rough signs made by locals selling fresh fruit and vegs, or pamphlets around town -- will be a rare treat and will help to make me feel less like a conventional tourist or visitor.

Reading commercial and vendor signs aside, I'm really excited by the prospect of being able to communicate a little better with the locals, the workmen, and our friends. They try extremely hard to learn bits of English with which to communicate with us, and the least we can do is try our hardest to learn some of their language.

Which brings up the topic of how much effort foreigners should be expected to put into learning the culture, language, and traditions of a place. I am currently reading Paul Rabinow's _Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco_ (1977) and he notes that Jacques Berque once said that "language, women, and religion [are] the three domains of freedom in which North Africans most fiercely resisted European transgression (27)." Now, I know that I personally am not speaking of Morocco (as Rabinow is) when I speak of culture, "language, women, and religion", but similar sentiments of protection of one's culture appears in almost all geographically- and ethnically-defined places in the world.

Speaking from my own brief experiences in North Africa, Europe, Central America, and even North America, I see these three aspects of society as key when trying to understand and ingratiate oneself within a culture. In short, the more that you can learn, adapt, and respect these particular facets of daily life within the country you are travelling in as a foreigner, the more successful you will be as a guest and be welcomed into the local homes and lives of the area. If you don't attempt to speak the language, you can't begin to understand the whys or hows of daily life; if you don't understand and accept that in most cultures women rule the household and that many rules of etiquette are made in respect to women's privacy (without getting into the ethics of feminist theory), you will always be kept at arm's length and never welcomed into the private sphere of the home and family life; and if you don't respect the religion, you will always be recognized as an outsider, as this is often the defining aspect of cultural ethics, rituals, and traditions.

move through ancient spaces...without leaving your desk

Some graduates of the same department from which I graduated at UBC (Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies), along with various faculty and professional support, have developed a fantastic and fun interactive website: Ancient Spaces. If digging in the dirt isn't your first choice for reconstructing the spaces of the past, but you're still interested in what the architecture and cultural setting would have looked like, this is the wesbite for you.

This group has put together 3-D, interactive virtual spaces that can be moved through by the viewer, by combining archaeological data with video game technology. So far, models have been made of Ancient Athens, the village of Deir el-Medina in Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru (image, above), and a Nisqa'a village (all of these virtual sites are still works in progress).

Though I suspect it is still not as good as moving through the real sites themselves, these virtual models allow a 3-D appreciation that cannot always be garnered from the archaeological data in situ alone.