Formal and Homemade Monuments

Source: Photographs (by me unless otherwise noted) and hundreds of postcards.

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That’s percent increase over last year’s numbers. Full story here.

Image: Kainaz Amaria/NPR

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Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Itasca State Park after an early winter snowfall.

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Tikal

The following is a selection of photos from a recent trip to Tikal in the Peten region of Guatemala. Tikal is one of the most spectacular Mayan cities. It ranges in age from the Late Preclassic (Lost World complex) to the Late Classic periods. There are many internet resources available for more information about Tikal.

Map of Tikal showing temples, large habitation complexes, numerous small courtyard habitation complexes, and causeways.

This is the central area of Tikal with Temples 1, 2, and 4 labeled for the subsequent photos.

A smaller pyramid in Complex R seen on the way to Temples 1 and 2 in the east plaza.

Convenient signs are placed throughout the site to guide the visitor to their destination.

Temple 1 in the east plaza at Tikal.

Temple 2 in the east plaza at Tikal.

Maintenance workers removing vegetation from the side of Temple 2.

A small ball court on the south side of Temple 1.

Explorer, photographer, and researcher Teoberto Maler (1842-1917) signed his name in the stucco of the residential complex south of Temple 1. Maler was at Tikal in 1895 and 1904 and the 1895 date has been altered to the incorrect year. Unfortunately much of this building has been autographed by more recent visitors. Unlike the U.S., sites in Latin America are rarely covered with graffiti.

Looking across to Temple 1 from the top of Temple 2.

One reaches the top of Temple 2 via a modern wooden staircase with hand rails.

View to the east from the top of Temple 4. Temples 1 and 2 are on the left, Temple 3 is slightly left of center, and the Lost World complex is on the right. Temple 4 is the tallest building at Tikal and listed as being 212 feet in height.

Not surprisingly Tikal has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visiting Tikal is an awesome experience. However the onsite museum is so-so and not at all what I had expected for a world class archaeological site.

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La Quemada, Zacatecas

The archaeological site of La Quemada is a ceremonial center located in the southern portion of the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. It encompasses ca. 40 ha on an isolated mountain with three summits in the Malpaso Valley. La Quemada is positioned on the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and presently dated to the AD 500-900 interval spanning the Classic and Epiclassic periods. The site has pyramids, a ball court, sunken patio complexes, altars, middens, stone-walled buildings including one with stone support columns, surrounding wall, residential terraces, and raised roadways leading to other sites. I took these La Quemada photographs on January 7, 1984. For the excavations and a current site interpretation see the work of Ben Nelson, and that of Charles Trumbold for the roadways and outlying settlements. Also check out a 360-degree panoramic view available for La Quemada:

http://www.museo360.com/tours/IZC_ZAC/quemada/index.html

La Quemada plan map from Nelson (1997) to orient the reader for the following photographs of various site elements.

The steep-sided 10 m high Votive Pyramid is positioned at the north end of the I-shaped ball court. View to north.

Center of the photo has examples of the raised roadway system on the valley floor that cross-cut the modern field boundaries. View to south.

One of the raised roadways immediately south of La Quemada (probably the wider one shown on Nelson’s map). Note the left edge of the raised roadway is visible in this photograph. View to north.

A sunken patio complex that is located uphill from the Hall of Columns. View to southeast.

Another sunken patio and more pyramids in the ceremonial core area. View to north.

Looking back south across the sunken patio toward the place where I stood for the previous photograph.

Building wall in the ceremonial core area, note the holes for wooden beams at multiple floor levels.

This perspective shows the east side of the Hall of Columns. View to southwest.

View showing the interior of the Hall of Columns.

Back upslope in the ceremonial core area looking southwest and downhill to the Hall of Columns. Note the I-shaped ball court in the left foreground. The Votive pyramid is just out of view to the left side. View to southeast.

At the north end of La Quemada this perspective shows the wall surrounding the site. This stone wall is ca. 1.2 m in height and approximately the same measurement in width. Note the building ruin in the right foreground. A roadway extending from the ceremonial core area terminates at this building. View to north.

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Alaska Archaeology Month 2008 Poster

The Iditarod National Historic Trail extends approximately 1000 miles connecting Anchorage on the south with Nome on the west coast. The historic trail was a favorite route in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Iditarod of course is most famous today for the annual 1100+ mile winter race from Anchorage to Nome that began in 1973. Illustration credit: BLM.

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Fort Laramie, Wyoming

The famous western landmark of Fort Laramie (1849-1890) began as a fur trading post in 1834. Fur traders Campbell and Sublette of St. Louis named their post Fort William. A replacement structure made in 1841 for the fur trade was called Fort John. Illustration credit: Wyoming SHPO. This is the 2009 Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month poster.

http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/aamonth/PosterList.aspx

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Miami & Erie Canal at Lockington, Ohio

This is a 1952 view of the two Upper Locks as seen from the south slope. For this portion of its route the Miami & Erie Canal parallels the approximate course of the Great Miami River. The canal was abandoned in 1913. These canal locks are at the Loramie Portage vicinity, Lockington, Shelby County, Ohio. Illustration Credit: Library of Congress and Perry E. Borchers, photographer for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

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WPA era poster for another aspect of protecting the environment

This WPA era poster is an oldie but goodie reminding the viewer to protect wildlife when going outdoors. Illustration credit: National Park Service and Library of Congress.

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Historic Artifacts from Massachusetts

A small number of historic artifacts from the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown make a nice poster representing Historical Archaeology. Illustration credit: Massachusetts Historical Commission

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Aerial View of Serpent Mound, Ohio

Stylized aerial view of Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, which is one of the most recognizable earthworks in the Americas. Illustration credit: Ohio Archaeological Council

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When is a Monument or Icon Offensive?

This is a good question and there can be more than one answer for certain monuments and icons as societal attitudes change over time. There is an excellent argument for removing monuments or icons that invoke memories of racism, genocide, or both, from public view. The obvious inappropriate monuments and icons mostly fall under the old “I know it when I see it” rule. The writer recently visited Vienna, Austria, and enjoyed the city immensely. However when walking to the Museum Quarter one day we encountered a racist icon from the USA. In this case it was the use of a Confederate flag in a misguided attempt by the vehicle owner to identify as a rebel. In no way does it work. Continuing the question from the previous post, should the standards of today be applied to monuments commemorating events that happened in the 19th century? The use of the Confederate flag in the 21st century is a racist symbol to many people, yielding a conclusion of not appropriate. The car is a Chevrolet Caprice made between 1974 and 1976.

For more information: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/03/1398433/-Americans-believe-false-things-about-the-Civil-War-because-even-our-textbooks-bow-to-the-apologists?detail=email

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Monumento a Julio Argentino Roca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Julio Argentino Roca (1843-1914) was an army officer and president (1880-1886 and 1898-1904) of Argentina. He is credited with being a major factor in the transformation of loosely confederated, and often rebelling, provinces into the modern nation state of Argentina. In 1878-1879 Roca ruthlessly suppressed the native inhabitants of the Pampas region. His "Conquest of the Desert" campaign strategy for ending frontier raiding was the complete removal of the threat posed by the Native American groups. In so doing Roca acquired control of today's southern Argentina before neighboring Chile might advance into the region. One source indicated that the area gained was 150,000 square miles in extent (as a comparison just larger than the state of Montana). The monument in Buenos Aires (above) by sculptor José Zorrilla was erected in 1941. However at present the Roca monument is considered controversial because of his role in the destruction of the Native American communities in the Pampas. In this case the journalist Osvaldo Bayer argues the monument should be removed as it has an offensive association with a campaign of genocide and human rights violations. The monument has been defaced with graffiti. As a result a fence has been placed around the monument to prevent access. The Roca statue is another example of the question whether monuments ever outlast their original purpose as the perspectives of society change over time. Should the standards of today be applied to monuments commemorating events that happened in the 19th century? Illustration credit: posted on Wikipedia by Barcex.

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Indian Petroglyphs on the Rocks near The Dalles, Ore.

B.C. (Ben) Markham (1881-1942) worked at photographic supply houses in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Portland again from 1900 to 1925. He also took photographs. From 1925 to 1933 Markham was a photographer in The Dalles. He is best known for views of farm families, workers, and Native Americans. In 1933 Markham returned to Portland working as the photographer and camera department manager in a large department store. He had retained his negatives from The Dalles and continued to sell postcards. The 1925-1933 postcard view (above) shows petroglyphs in situ before the 1957 completion of The Dalles Dam. Many petroglyphs were removed before being flooded by the dam. Some have returned to public display in the past decade at the Temani Pesh-wa petroglyph display at Columbia Hills State Park on the Washington side of The Dalles.

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Recycle when possible applies to everything

A 1980 poster that still applies today. Illustration credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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When the sun sets on Stonehenge on the shortest day of the year, it’s rays align with several important stones.  Twice a year, the streets of Manhattan also line up with the setting sun, a phenomenon dubbed “Manhattanhenge”. Really, most cities with grid systems will see a similar effect (though it’s most dramatic in cities with tall buildings and a view of the true horizon).  You can use a great tool called The Photographer’s Ephemeris to find out the “henge” dates for your city grid - or even individual streets.

Yesterday, (Friday, January 24th) the sun lined up with New York Avenue, a street in DC that runs diagonally up to the White House. (The orange line indicates alignment with the setting sun).

I went out with our multimedia intern Meg Vogel, and captured some images of the sun setting in line with a rather Stonehenge-y sculpture that sits in the middle of that street.

Here are dates for sunset “henge” events in some cities this year:

Manhattan May 25th, July 17th

Philadelphia April 5th, September 6th

Washington DC March 18th, September 24th

Chicago March 16th, September 26th

Phoenix March 20th, September 22nd

Portland, OR March 18th, September 24th

Is your city/town a grid? When’s your henge?

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Too bad the St. Louis arch wasn't included in these photos. When doing fieldwork in the American Bottom one can use the position of the sun's early afternoon reflection off the shiny metallic surface of the Gateway Arch to tell the time.

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Utah Archaeology Week 2012 Poster

This is actually an elementary student's drawing of a prehistoric rock art scene. Illustration credit: Utah Division of State History.

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Stine and McClure Undertaking Company Building at 924-926 Oak Street, Kansas City, Jackson County, MO

The Stine and McClure Undertaking Company Building occurred in the visual APE for a cell tower project in downtown Kansas City. This building represents the Second Egyptian Revival style of architecture. It dates to 1912 and is surrounded by much larger commercial structures. The name over the door is for the Siegrist Engraving Company. The Stine and McClure Undertaking Company Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.