Terrah Jones
Education
B.A. Anthropology and Chemistry, Ripon College
M.A. Archaeology, UCLA
Areas of Interest
Pre-Columbian Andean archaeology, trade and exchange in pre-Columbian societies, subsistence economies in pre-Columbian societies, development of craft specialization, paleoethnobotany, and archaeometry.
Profile
Terrah Jones is from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and she received B.A. degrees in both anthropology and chemistry from Ripon College and an M.A. in archaeology at UCLA. While in attendance at Ripon College her focus was on archaeological science using chemical techniques to compositionally analyze ceramic artifacts from 19th century Scotland. She has also done work in the highlands of Peru in Moquegua, and on the coast of Peru in Chincha Alta and El Carmen. In her graduate work here at University of California Los Angeles she works with Charles Stanish (Core Faculty Member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Professor in the Anthropology Department) and her primary interests are pre-Columbian Andean archaeology, trade and exchange, subsistence economies, the development of craft specialization in pre-Columbian societies, and expanding her knowledge in archaeological science.
Research
M.A. focus was the use of marine resources at the early horizon site of Cerro del Gentil, on the coast of Peru. Current research focus in on the analysis of organic based dyes from a collection of pre-Columbian textiles collected from the south coast of Peru. Research questions include the identification of plants and animals used to make these ancient dyes, determining possible political and economic relationships between coastal and highland groups depending on the origins of the dyes, and investigating the cultural significance of dye choices for specific types of textiles.
Field Experience
Moquegua, Peru