ASOR Blog- 2014 Madaba Plains Project at Tell Hisban in Jordan

This summer, I was able to join the Madaba Plains Project at Tell Hisban in Jordan, thanks in no small part to the ASOR fellowship that helped fund my trip.

This season at Tell Hisban, I was invited to join the team as a Field Supervisor over Field O, part of the Mamluk village on the western slope of the Tell, where I was in charge of mentoring and advising the excavation and meticulous recording of three 5 x 5 meter squares.  This was a great opportunity for me to teach others about what I love to do, archaeology, and why it is so important.   My field consisted of eight volunteers, one of which is a coin specialist, and students from around the world.  I was fortunate enough to work with individuals from Bonn Germany, Chicago Illinois, Berrien Springs Michigan, London England, as well as five young men from the village of Hisban.  The project consisted of 65 students from four universities (Andrews University, Missouri State University, Queen’s College in London, and the University of Bonn), as well as staff, specialists, and workmen from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Our team also included a phytolith scientist, archaeobotanist, zooarchaeologist, coin specialist, and two engineers who worked on laser mapping and creating 3-D renderings of some of the cave systems and reservoir.  This was a great year to meet and work with so many individuals from all over the world.

Source: Madaba Plains Project at Tell Hisban in Jordan

Community archaeology challenges ‘colonial’ approaches to research — expert

AMMAN — Community archaeology, a form of archaeology directed by experts to local communities, originated at Tell Hisban during the seventies and eighties, with anthropologists wanting to learn more about traditional Jordanian practices for securing food, water and protection for their households and animals, a Norwegian anthropologist said.  

 “The initial reason for this interest was as a way to learn more about how large quantities of animal bones became part of the daily bundle of loose finds dug up by archaeologists at the site,” Oystein LaBianca, a professor of anthropology at Andrews University in Michigan, US, told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview. 

Source: Community archaeology challenges ‘colonial’ approaches to research — expert

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