About.com: What was the genesis of your archaeological survey experience?
Gary Feinman: My first survey experience was as a graduate student in 1977 in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with my professors, Richard Blanton and Stephen Kowalewski, who had significant prior survey experience in the region. The 1977 field season was eight months long, so I was able to apply what I learned, for much of the season leading a field crew. That entailed daily efforts to plan the work and take notes when we found sites. In retrospect, I also was lucky to study in highland Oaxaca, which was then near-ideal for archaeological survey--lots of sites, mostly friendly people, little urban or paved development, relatively little ground cover in most parts. Our aim was to understand changes in the region's settlement patterns, particularly in relation to political shifts at the early prehispanic city of Monte Albán, located at the valley's center.
I returned in 1980 to complete the valley's full-coverage survey under Steve's direction. At the time, I had the chance to survey on a crew with my wife, Linda Nicholas, who is talented at reading and locating herself on air photos and maps. We made a good team because my dissertation was on Oaxaca ceramics, which I came to know pretty well. So, when we found sites, I could focus on the distributions of surface pottery as well as making systematic observations, while she could concentrate on mapping what we observed.
Linda and I teamed up to direct two regional surveys in Oaxaca. In 1984 and 1985, we surveyed in the Ejutla Valley, which is adjacent and to the south of the Valley of Oaxaca. Later, in 1995, we surveyed the mountainous Guirún region, which is a small area just to the east of the Valley of Oaxaca. Both of these studies extended our regional coverage and today, thanks to the efforts of many researchers, these areas are part of the largest contiguous archaeological survey region in the world, an area of more than 8,000 square kilometers that has been walked over. I think it is fair to say that this research has laid a key empirical foundation for understanding the rise and fall of one of Mexico's first cities, and for documenting the complexity of population changes over a long period. At the same time, while most of this research was conducted with relatively basic technological support in terms of collecting and analyzing the recorded data, it also is essential to note that the Valley of Oaxaca is much more crowded and paved now than it was decades ago. So, it is fortunate for recovery that we started when we did.
