Exploring the Hidden World of the Maritime Maya 2011: Mission Logs

Mission Logs

Follow along as participants in the cruise provide updates and reflections on their experiences, the science, the technology, and other elements of the expedition.

  • Mission Summary

    By Jeffrey B. Glover, PhD AND Dominique Rissolo, Ph.D., RPA

    While detailed discussion of the mission’s results must await the various lab analyses of the cores and the other datasets collected, overall, we thought the expedition was a great success and that the data collected will allow us to address the major objectives outlined in the mission plan.

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  • Christmas in Kantunilkin

    December 20, 2011  |  By Jeffrey B. Glover, PhD

    I love Christmas time in Mexico. Not that the holidays aren’t festive in Atlanta, there is just something about all of the lights and decorations in a tropical setting that I find pleasing.

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  • The Modern World of the Maritime Maya

    October 14, 2011  |  By Emily McDonald

    While the ancient Miradors, Sacbes and ball courts have been enveloped by the jungle or are the focus of tourist attractions, the descendants of the Maya still live in the land of their ancestors, and have adapted to live and work in the modern world.

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  • Archaeological Investigations at Vista Alegre

    October 7, 2011  |  By Jeffrey B. Glover, PhD

    The archaeological investigations to date at Vista Alegre, like many preliminary archaeological projects, have consisted of two main activities – survey and excavation.

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  • Unraveling Vista Alegre's Secerts – Opening and Sampling Cores

    October 5, 2011  |  By Beverly Goodman

    It is very important to open a core in a careful manner. Ideally, it is done in a laboratory where things can be easily controlled.

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  • Where Did the Snails Come From? Looking for Ancient DNA

    October 3, 2011  |  By Derek Smith

    As part of my Masters thesis research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I learned some of the newest techniques to extract DNA from the tissue of living corals and ‘fingerprint’ individuals using repeating sequences in their genome called microsatellites.

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  • MacGyvering

    September 26, 2011  |  By Jeffrey B. Glover, PhD

    When asked to discuss the MacGyvering that has gone on during the field season, I at first chuckled – I mean, the show and the term are both a little ridiculous. While the term is funny, the necessity for resourcefulness in the field is anything but.

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  • Collecting Cores and Sediment Samples in the Field

    September 25, 2011  |  By Beverly Goodman

    Sediment coring is a job that is one part experience, one part planning, and many parts luck.

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  • Mucking Around in the East Harbor

    September 22, 2011  |  By Dominique Rissolo

    It was a balmy late afternoon at Vista Alegre, and the team was hoping to squeeze in one last core in the East Harbor before calling it a day.

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  • Not a Drop to Drink

    September 19, 2011  |  By Patricia Beddows

    The Costa Escondida is a dirty and thirsty place these days. I am sitting here looking at my dry, blacked, and cracked feet. My ears crunch with salt, even though I had my mid-day swim.

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  • Mangroves to Miradors: Coastal Ecology at Vista Alegre

    September 16, 2011  |  By Derek Smith

    As the port town of Chiquilá fades into the distance, I finally see the Costa Escondida coastline from the water for the first time.

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  • “Setting up Camp”

    September 14, 2011  |  By Dominique Rissolo

    When I was kid, our family would spend every other summer at our little lake cabin in New Hampshire. When we’d arrive in June, we’d be greeted by boarded up windows, piles of leaves on the front porch, and the occasional squirrel’s nest in the cupboard. Before my siblings and I could jump into the sparkling cool water, there was much work to be done.

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