News

In Memoriam: David Brokensha

It is with great regret that I must inform you of the passing of one of our former department colleagues, Professor Emeritus David Warwick Brokensha. Following a year of chronic cardiac issues, Professor Brokensha passed away peacefully in his home in Fishoek, South Africa on the morning of June 15th, 2017. Professor Brokensha was born on May 23, 1923 and received his PhD in Anthropology from Oxford University in 1963. He joined the UCSB Anthropology faculty in 1966 and was active in teaching, research, and service until he retired in 1989.

Graduate Student Khan Receives Teaching Award

Graduate Colloquium

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Congratulations Graduates

Graduate Colloquium

Recent Excavations and Botanical Investigations at La Blanca

MALLORY MELTON, Graduate Student, UC Santa Barbara

Ancient Mesoamerica is often known for its states and empires, such as the popularly recognized Aztec Empire. However, less is known about the everyday practices that characterized the earliest Mesoamerican urban centers during their development, height, and decline. My dissertation will use plant remains (carbonized macrobotanicals, starch grains, and phytoliths) to gain insights into elite and commoner foodways over the course of early urbanization and state formation on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. I plan to collect and analyze data from two sites: La Blanca (900–600 B.C.E.), an early urban center, and El Ujuxte (600 B.C.E.–100 C.E.), argued to represent one of the earliest state centers in Mesoamerica. From January to April 2017, I participated in excavations led by Michael Love (CSUN) that focused on the Esquivel, Joyas, and Vacas Districts of the La Blanca site. In this paper, I present an overview of these investigations with specific emphasis on botanical recovery efforts and preliminary results.

Graduate Student Accolades

Professor Gurven Receives Grant