Payson听Sheets

  • Professor
  • (PH.D.
  • UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
  • 1974)
Address

HALE 129M

Office Hours

by appointment

My research focuses on the ancient societies of Mesoamerica and lower Central America.听 I am particularly interested in how societies, from egalitarian to complex, react to the sudden massive stresses of explosive volcanic eruptions. And I am exploring commoner agency, as Maya at Ceren led their rich lives largely beyond elite control. And the Arenal area residents, members of egalitarian societies, inadvertently entrenched the paths that connected villages with cemeteries, which became a valued cultural standard. As both Ceren in El Salvador and Arenal in Costa Rica are deeply buried by volcanic ash layers, we have been developing remote sensing techniques from aircraft and satellites, and geophysical techniques for exploring many meters below the present ground surface. Recently we have discovered that the Maya were cultivating a root crop, manioc, which outproduces maize by about 15 times, in carbohydrates per unit area.

May 2018 article from BBC Mundo,

Selected Publications:
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  • 2021: Sheets, P., & Mahoney, R. The Soundscape in the Replica of the Ceren Temazcal.听Ancient Mesoamerica,听pp. 1-15. Cambridge University Press. PDF
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  • 2021: Edited by Nancy Gonlin and David听 Reed. "The Sounds in the Dark of the Temazcal at Ceren, El Salvador." In听Night and Darkness in Ancient Mesoamerica, pp. 203-228. University Press of Colorado, Louisville. PDF
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  • 2020:听Edited by Felix Riede, and Payson Sheets. "Going Forward by Looking Back : Archaeological Perspectives on Socio-Ecological Crisis, Response, and Collapse," Berghahn Books, Incorporated. PDF
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  • 2020: "Prospects and Pitfalls in Integrating Volcanology and Archaeology: A Review."听Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 401 (2020). PDF
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  • 2020: "Landscape Management and Polyculture in the Ancient Gardens and Fields at Joya de Cere虂n, El Salvador."听Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 59 (2020).听听PDF
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  • 2019: Radiocarbon and geologic evidence reveal Ilopango volcano as source of the colossal 鈥榤ystery鈥 eruption of 539/40 CE PDF
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  • 2017: Identifying Plantscapes at Joya de Ceren. PDF
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  • 2017: Exploring Culinary Practices through GIS Modeling at Joya de Ceren.听
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  • 2013: 鈥淛oya de Ceren libro 2013鈥.听PDF
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  • 2013: El Sacbe Y Los Campos Agr铆colas En Joya De Cer茅n, El Salvador Reporte De La Temporada De Investigaci贸n 2013.听PDF
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  • 2013: Report of the 2013 Research: The Sacbe and Agricultural Fields at Joya De Ceren, El Salvador.听PDF
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  • 2012: 鈥淎ncient Manioc Agriculture South of the Ceren Village, El Salvador.鈥 Latin American Antiquity 23(3):259-281.听PDF
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  • 2012: Surviving Sudden Environmental Change, Answers from Archaeology. University Press of Colorado. Co-edited with Jago Cooper. PDF
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  • 2011: 鈥淧ilgrimages and Persistent Social Memory in Spite of Volcanic Disasters in the Arenal Area, Costa Rica.鈥 Ancient Mesoamerica 22:425-435.听PDF
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  • 2011: 鈥淢anioc Cultivation at Cer茅n, El Salvador: Occasional Kitchen Garden Plant or Staple Crop?鈥 Ancient Mesoamerica 22:1-11.听PDF
  • 2011: Report of the Summer 2011 Maya Agriculture Project: South of the Cer茅n Site, El Salvador.听PDF
  • 2009: Report of the 2009 Maya Agriculture Project, South of Joya de Cer茅n, El Salvador.听PDF
  • 2009: Proyecto Agricultura Maya Al Sur De Joya De Ceren, El Salvador, Temporada 2009.听PDF
  • 2009: 鈥淐ontributions of Geoarchaeology to Mesoamerican Studies.鈥 Ancient Mesoamerica 20:205-209.听PDF
  • 2009: 鈥淲hen the Construction of Meaning Preceded the Meaning of Construction: From Footpaths to Monumental Entrances in Ancient Costa Rica鈥. In Clark Erickson, James Snead and Andrew Darling Ed. Landscapes of Movement. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.听PDF
  • 2009: 鈥淲ho Were Those Classic Period Immigrants into the Zapotit谩n Valley, El Salvador?鈥 In Brent E. Metz, Cameron L. McNeil and Kerry M. Hull Eds. The Ch鈥檕rti鈥 Maya Area Past and Present. University Press of Florida.听PDF
  • 2008: 鈥淎rmageddon to the Garden of Eden: Explosive Volcanic Eruptions and Societal Resilience in Ancient Middle America: in听Central America and Mesoamerica,听Ed. Daniel Sandweiss, pp. 177-196. Washington DC: Dunbarton Oaks.听PDF
  • 2007: 鈥淐reating and Perpetuating Social Memory Across the Ancient Costa Rican Landscape鈥. In James Wiseman and Farouk El-Baz Eds. Remote Sensing in Archaeology. Springer Publications. With Thomas L. Sever.听PDF
  • 2006:听The Ceren Site: An Ancient Village in Central America Buried by Volcanic Ash.听Thomson Learning.听Second Edition.听
  • 2002: 鈥淗ousehold Production of Extra-Household Ritual at the Cer茅n Site, El Salvador鈥. In Patricia Plunket Ed. Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica. The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.听With Linda A. Brown and Scott E. Simmons.听PDF
  • 2002: Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren village in Central听America.听University of Texas Press, Austin.听Edited, 22 chapters.
  • 2002: CD-ROM: An Intractive Guide to Ancient Ceren, Before the Volcano Erupted.听With Jen Lewin, Mark Ehrhardt, and Mark Gross.
  • 2002: 鈥淲arfare in Ancient Mesoamerica鈥澨齀n K. Brown Ed. Ancient听Mesoamerican Warfare.听Altamira, CA.
  • 2001: 鈥淭he Material Correlates of Village Ceremony: Two Ritual Structures at the Cer茅n Site, El Salvador鈥. In Penelope Ballard Drooker Ed. Fleeting Identities, Perishable Material Culture in Archaeological Research. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. With Linda A. Brown.听PDF
  • 2001: 鈥淰olcanism, ecology, and culture: A reassessment of the Volcan Ilopango TBJ eruption in the Southern Maya Realm.鈥澨齃atin American Antiquity 12:1: 25-44.听With Robert Dull and John Southon.听PDF
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  • 1996: Report of 1996 Research at Ceren, El Salvador, edited by Payson Sheets.
  • 1994:听Archaeology, Volcanism and Remote Sensing in the Arenal Region, Costa Rica.听University of Texas Press, Austin.听With Brian McKee (2nd Co-Editor).
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  • 1993: Report of 1993 Research at Ceren, El Salvador, edited by Payson Sheets.
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  • 1992: Report of 1992 Research at Ceren, El Salvador, edited by Payson Sheets.
  • 1991:听Archaeology of Pacific Nicaragua, 2nd author, with Fred Lange.听University of New Mexico Press.
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  • 1990: 鈥淗ousehold Archaeology at Ceren, El Salvador.鈥 Ancient Mesoamerica 1:81-90.听PDF
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  • 1990: Report of 1990 Research at Ceren, El Salvador, edited by Payson Sheets.
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  • 1989: Report of 1989 Research at Ceren, El Salvador, edited by Payson Sheets.
  • 1983:听Archeology and Volcanism in Central America:听The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, Edited by Payson Sheets.听 Thirteen chapters, 6 appendices, 307 pp.听Austin:听University of Texas Press.
  • 1979:听Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology.听Co-edited with Donald Grayson.听Academic Press, New York.听Twenty chapters, 700 pages.
  • 1975听: Report of the 1975 Research of the Ilopango Volcano and the Maya Protoclassic Project in El Salvador. edited by Payson Sheets,
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  • 1975听:Behavioral Analysis of the Structure of a Prehistoric Mesoamerican Industry.听Current Anthropology 16:369-391.