Author Archives: jamesdoyle1

Fond Farewell to DC; Dispatch from New York

Farewell to James Doyle — Dumbarton Oaks. I was kindly invited by Dumbarton Oaks to contribute to the newsletter to describe my bittersweet move away from DC and beginning a new life in New York at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now I’ve embarked on new adventures in presenting Mesoamerican and Central American art toContinue reading “Fond Farewell to DC; Dispatch from New York”

Central American and Colombian Art at Dumbarton Oaks

…or, the catalog formerly known as the Intermediate Area Catalog. From January 12th to 19th, the Pre-Columbian Studies department held an objects-based workshop to initiate the production of the catalogue of Ancient Central American and Colombian Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Roundtable discussions, presentations, group object viewings, and individual analysis time shaped the descriptions of the collection andContinue reading “Central American and Colombian Art at Dumbarton Oaks”

Why Archaeology Matters Podcast

Why Archaeology Matters, November 13, 2013 The episode of Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality and 21st Century Archaeology, titled “Why Archaeology Matters: A Crisis in Federal Funding of Archaeological Research,” is now available to stream or as a podcast. Many thanks to Joe Schuldenrein for the invitation to participate, and to my esteemed colleagues Rosemary JoyceContinue reading “Why Archaeology Matters Podcast”

Why Archaeology Matters: A Crisis in Federal Funding of Archaeological Research

Originally posted on Trowel Points:
Tune in at 6PM ET tonight to hear us discuss the recent attacks on National Science Foundation Funding from Capitol Hill. (UPDATE:  one of our listeners pointed out that the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology is holding a hearing today on the National Science Foundation http://science.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-research-and-technology-hearing-keeping-america-first-federal-investments.) Why does NSF…

Notes from the Cenote

While at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, we saw some very special materials made of metal related to our catalog efforts: the offerings in the Cenote of Sacrifice from Chichen Itza, recovered in the early 20th century (Lothrop 1952; see Coggins 1992). We spent quality time with gold disks, especially the meticulousContinue reading “Notes from the Cenote”

Peabody Museum Connections – Costa Rica and Panama

This past week, some members of the Dumbarton Oaks catalog team (Colin, Juan Antonio, and myself) joined leading scholars in the field of Costa Rican archaeology for an objects-based workshop at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Special thanks go to everyone at Harvard for the gracious invitation, especially Jeffrey Quilter,Continue reading “Peabody Museum Connections – Costa Rica and Panama”

Why Research on Mayan Architecture Saves Lives

“With limited funding, we must prioritize. Congress is right to ask why NSF chooses to fund research on Mayan architecture over projects that could help our wounded warriors or save lives.” -Rep. Eric Cantor and Rep. Lamar Smith, USA Today, 9/30/13 In response to their editorial “Rethinking science funding,” I won’t even begin to addressContinue reading “Why Research on Mayan Architecture Saves Lives”

Profiling the “Axe-Gods”

In class, while discussing Olmec art, we took a look at the “Kunz” jadeite axe in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. This class of items, although few are known from stratigraphic excavation, were likely funerary offerings, such as the one recovered in Tomb E at the site of La Venta. The principalContinue reading “Profiling the “Axe-Gods””

Intermediate Area Catalog, Beginnings

Since beginning at Dumbarton Oaks in July, I’ve begun traveling intellectually south from the Maya area and into the Intermediate Area. With the goal of producing a definitive catalog of the Dumbarton Oaks collection from the Intermediate Area in the coming years, I’ve begun working with my colleagues in Pre-Columbian studies to lay the foundationContinue reading “Intermediate Area Catalog, Beginnings”