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Andrea in Ecuador |
Today was a great day in the field. We found two Colonial coins, one at the convent and one in an old neighborhood which we have dubbed the Lourdas site because Lourdas is the woman who owns the land. This morning I also got to hike around the hills with Laurie who was looking for a pre-Columbian site to do some research in. We surveyed across a ridge overlooking the city of Sicalpa where our excavations are and many other surrounding towns. The landscape is really beautiful. I don't have pictures of this yet but will get them from Rossīcamera which I borrowed. We could see the Inka Road quite clearly near the area where everyone else was excavating. One thing that I find fascinating is the use of serpentine water chanels on the sides of hills for hand irrigation of crops (usually potatoes). I've attached a picture here but it shows up very well from above also, when there is water in the canals. The women pour the water in at the top and follow along the canal moving stones and dirtclods out of the way so the water will flow freely. The town of Sicalpa is pretty homey, with cobble stone streets and people walking their animals from place to place (burros and lambs, mostly). People are friendly and call out greetings to one another and even rubia gringas (blonde white women).
