The Four Valleys Project


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The Four Valleys collection consists of all paper, photographic, and digital records resulting from archaeological investigations conducted across 180km2 within four distinct valleys in northwest Honduras. The archive contains detailed data pertaining to the forms and locations of 941 sites along with the results of excavations at 180 settlements and the analysis of over 1,000,000 artifacts. The research spans 1983-2013, was co-directed by Schortman and Urban (Kenyon College) and Bell (CSU, Stanislaus), and resulted in 47 publications, 128 papers, and 68 PhD, MA, and undergraduate honors theses. We propose to: complete digitizing these records; upload them to a sustainable, easily accessible platform; widely advertise their presence; and, evaluate the accessibility and functionality of the resulting archive. This collection is unprecedented in its extent and comprehensiveness for Mexico and Central America, offering a unique opportunity for researchers to address questions of political, economic, and cultural change over nearly three millennia (1200BC-AD1532).