Hey guys (Robert and Tanya... and whoever else is interested),

I just stumbled my way into the Yahoo Groups page... I've been reading
off the Google board since I signed up for PAP. I am so happy to hear
that other people on the project are also interested in pre-Columbian
art!!

This Fall, I will be a second year grad student at Vanderbilt and am
currently in search of the perfect dissertation topic (by perfect... I
mean a topic that will hold my attention and engage me for the next
5-7 years... aah!). I have a very wide variety of interests and
experience... but, I think analysis of material culture is ultimately
where my heart lies. I am really interested in how art, technology,
and culture inform one another... and how social aspects of society
can be reconstructed through analysis of culturally manufactured
materials (i.e., ceramics, textiles, beads, metal-working... you name
it!) (think... Heather Lechtman and Dorothy Hosler). I have a lot of
experience with ceramics and ceramic materials analysis through my
undergraduate adviser (Maria Masucci) and textile analysis via my
undergraduate honors thesis.

I love Ecuador and have worked primarily on the coast near the Santa
Elena Peninsula... so this summer will be a taste of the highlands for
me. I know that PAP is not focused on these artistic or technological
aspects of culture... but, I have other interests as well that are
suited for this project, such as the cultural cultural constructions
of landscape and the socialization of people through their environment
(ala Jerry Moore). This summer will definitely serve as an opportunity
to do some soul searching in the high Andes!

But, back to my initial point about art (colonial or prehispanic), I
started to make a list of museums in Quito that I wanted to try to get
to while in Ecuador this summer (definitely a trip to the Banco
Central!)... in hopes to identify a class of artifacts that interest
me and beg for systematic analysis. I would love to have some travel
buddies!! Can't wait to meet you both and learn more about your
experiences and expertise. Talk to you more soon.

Take care,
Katie