Archaeology, Volcanism, and Remote Sensing in the Arenal Region, Costa Rica

Commendation Quotes: This is an outstanding, very important and, in many ways, fascinating examination of a poorly understood era and region of the Americas. The authors, and the editors, have done an excellent job of reconstructing the lifestyle, behavior, and likely attitudes of these early Central American peoples. Commendation Quotes: This is an outstanding work that sets new standards for the study of archaeology and volcanism.... it presents valuable new data on a region that, until Sheets' work there, was very poorly known archaeologically. The book is significant in so many ways that it is difficult to summarize all of them.

Contributor Bio:  Sheets, Payson D Payson Sheets' research interests include the archaeology of Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area of lower Central America, focusing on the interrelationships between human societies and volcanic processes in tropical climates. He has incorporated remote sensing with geophysical data to detect and explore the remains of human activity in various countries of Central America. Recent research has focused on the Ceren site, catastrophically buried by the eruption of nearby Loma Caldera volcano in AD 590. At this remarkable site, structures are preserved, including their thatch roofs and their entire artifactual contents, and fields with their cultigens are intact. Contributor Bio:  McKee, Brian R Brian R. McKee received his Ph. D. in anthropology from the University of Arizona.