Cobble Circles and Standing Stones

Jeffrey Quilter. 2004. "Cobble Circles and Standing Stones: Archaeology at the Rivas Site, Costa Rica." University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.

On my very first field excavation, I thought the principal investigator was nuts (Sorry, John). I distinctly remember peering into a 2x2 meter pit, with my nose practically pressed to the ground, trying to see the stains that he was convinced was a storage pit. Never mind that it turned out he was right; the entire process of recognizing barely visible stains to be the remnants of past activities was a shock to me. Don’t mistake me, I had read all about it; I knew the science of archaeology pretty well by then, but the reality of being in the field and actually seeing what passes for archaeological data was astounding. I did, eventually, learn how to do that myself, and no doubt shocked some people on my own. But while I’ve often tried to explain the difficulties and joys involved in archaeological science, it has always seemed like an impossible task.

Fortunately for you, dear reader, the new book by Jeffrey Quilter called Cobble Circles and Standing Stones is a wonderfully detailed map of the process. I’ve never read anything quite like this before. In his large format book, Quilter details the practical realities of field work, all the day to day stuff that goes into decision making and interpretation, including weather, politics, and crew morale, and the necessity of making interpretations one day and changing them the next. In amusing, reachable prose, Quilter defines how archaeological science works, my friends, painful and fascinating and boring and messy and, as Kent Flannery said, the most fun you can have with your pants on.

The Rivas site reported on in this text is a late prehistoric (AD 900-1300) Chiriqui cemetery located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica at the foot of the Talamanca Mountains. Quilter presents plenty of background information concerning the site and its relationship to the Chiriqui communities and the other cultures near this crucial causeway between North and South Americas. There are plenty of artifact drawings and maps for even the most particular enthusiast; as well as information on the kinship systems of modern day Central American peoples and how they might be reflected in the archaeology.

I highly recommend Cobble Circles and Standing Stones for anybody interested in the Chiriqui or Costa Rican archaeology, but also for anybody contemplating a career in archaeology, or just curious to understand how the science of archaeology works.