Alan K. Craig

Batan grande: a prehistoric metallurgical center in peru.

Recent archeological fieldwork on the north coast of Peru permits a preliminary reconstruction of a prill-extraction copper and copper alloy smelting process heretofore undocumented in the New World. The process was applied on a large scale during the late pre-Hispanic period. This study provides strong support for the claim that central Andean metallurgy constituted one of the major independent metallurgical traditions of the world.

THE STYLE, TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF SICÁN MINING AND METALLURGY, NORTHERN PERU: INSIGHTS FROM HOLISTIC STUDY

This paper explains what Shimada has termed a holistic approach to craft production and illustrates its value by discussing insights gained into the style, technology, and organization of Middle and Late Sican (ca. AD 900-1,375) mining and copper-arsenic metallurgy. After a brief characterization of the geographical and cultural settings of pertinent research by the Sican Archaeological Project (1978-present) and the holistic approach, we discuss specific methods and strategies for locating and dating pre-Hispanic mines. Based on our examination of eight mines in the study area that supplied copper oxides and/or arsenic-bearing ores, we offer a general characterization of Sican mining, emphasizing the integral character of local mining and autochthonous copper-arsenic alloy (also called arsenical bronze) production at nearby smelting sites (six excavated to date). Our analyses of primary context samples of ore and smelting products and by-products recovered at smelting sites show that copper-arsenic was deliberately and locally smelted and that arsenic was derived from scorodite (oxide form of arsenopyrite) and/or weathered sulfide ores available near the surface of local mines. Additionally, we discuss insights gained into careful and sustainable charcoal fuel management and the �modular organization� of metallurgical and other productive activities

Lithophagic Snail from Southern British Honduras

A freshwater gastropod, Pachycheilus glaphyrus, responsible for unusual erosion in limestone has been located in southern British Honduras where it is abundant in streams flowing through areas of karst topography. These snails ingest algae that proliferate in solution grooves formed at the fluctuating air-water interface. Rasping action of the radula results in deepening of these grooves and appears to improve the algal habitat.

Speciation and age revision of the Atacaman snail Bostryx variabilis Herm

Abstract Field evidence from the Atacama Desert of northern Chile indicates that the stratigraphic position of the land snail Bostryx variabilis Herm has been incorrectly assigned to a marine series of the lower Pleistocene. Isotopic dating proves that the snail is a recently extinct Holocene taxon requiring no special paleoenvironmental explanations for its presence. However, the snail appears to offer an example of stress-induced speciation in confirmation of the “punctuated equilibrium” theory of evolution. It was probably transported from a fog oasis mountain habitat to a lower, hyperarid hostile environment by a sudden mudflow.

Teaching Geography by Television.

Abstract Results of long-term application of instructional television in advanced university courses indicate this medium can be extremely effective when properly utilized. Student complaints stem from poor viewing facilities and inept technical presentation. Instructional TV requires a large initial investment in equipment and personnel. High program quality may be difficult to achieve because it stems from a combination of unusual teaching abilities and special faculty training.