Now Open: THE PYRAMIDS OF GUIMAR, CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN This site and museum is open to the public. These step-pyramids are constructed according to similar principles as those in Mexico, Peru, and ancient Mesopotamia, and may be remains from pre-European voyagers who sailed the Atlantic. This is FERCO's main project to date, and the Foundation Headquarters are located there.

OCTOBER, 1998: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE AND CULTURE AT 3000 BC University of Maine, Orono, Maine Top scholars from the fields of archaeology and paleoclimatology came together at the University of Maine to address these questions and compare notes. Often, scientists in these two areas of study do not have the personal contact necessary to recognize links and draw connections; this conference was a unique and timely opportunity to change that situation and assess current knowledge of culture and climate at 3000 BC. The outcome of the conference will be a book aimed at a general educated public, as well as a scientific audience. Click here for more info

Excavating in Sector I at Quebrada Jaguay, summer 1996

1996-97: EARLIEST USE OF MARINE RESOURCES IN ANCIENT PERU The traditional concept of the first inhabitants of the Americas, the Paleoindians, is that they were all big-game hunters who made a living from large, now-extinct mammals such as mastodons and mammoths. Only after about 9,000 years ago, as the large mammals disappeared, were these people supposed to have turned to other, more diverse sources of food. Recent work in South America is changing that picture. At the site of Quebrada Jaguay 280 in south coastal Peru, Daniel H. Sandweiss is studying the remains of food and tools left by hunter-gatherers as much as 10,700 years ago. All their animal protein seems to have come from fish and shellfish, at least while they camped at this site near the shore. On-going studies are delving into the detailed information on lifeways and environment offered by the remains, as well as searching for other sites in the vicinity of similar antiquity and nature. A grant from Timex® provides the core of funding for this work, which is also supported by several other foundations.

FEBRUARY 1997: BOOK ON PRE-COLUMBIAN CUBA
'Art and Archaeology of Pre-Columbian Cuba' by Ramon Dacal Moure and Manuel Rivero De La Calle was published in February 1997 by the University of Pittsburgh Press. The first English-language publication to synthesize Cuban prehistory in over fifty years, the book covers five millennia of human life in Cuba. It features the two kinds of prehistoric art found on the island: that of original settlers, the Ciboneys, and that of the Tainos, who had largely replaced the Ciboneys by the time of Columbus. The authors are both professors at Havana University. Thor Heyerdahl instigated the book project and wrote the foreword. The text was translated and edited by Daniel H. Sandweiss and David R. Watters. FERCO provided support for this publication.

OPENING 2000: THE TIMEXPO MUSEUM, WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, USA The Timexpo Museum will feature an exhibition illustrating the possibility that long before Columbus, ancient peoples were able to sail vast distances. Ocean currents are like escalators, bearing even the most primitive craft effortlessly along. There are intriguing cultural parallels between early cultures on both sides of the Atlantic and also between South America and far-away islands in the Pacific. Are these just coincidences, or is it possible that people crossed the seas on reed boats (found in many parts of the world, from ancient Mesopotamia to Peru) or other simple vessels, such as rafts?

FORTHCOMING: BOOK ON THE MUMMIES OF XINJIANG, NORTH-WEST CHINA
Scores of naturally desiccated mummies have been found in the desert of China's Tarim Basin. The dry atmosphere has preserved their bodies and gaily colored clothes remarkably well, although many died as long as 4,000-2,400 years ago. Interestingly, most are Caucasian, not Asian, suggesting long-distance migration from somewhere to the west. The forthcoming book is written by the archaeologists of the Xinjiang Archaeological Research Institute and will be in Chinese and English, with photographs. Seed-money from FERCO provided the impetus for this publication. For more photos, check out www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/chinamum