Michael J. Snarskis
Encyclopedia
Michael Jay Snarskis was an archeologist from the United States who founded the scientific study of archaeology in Costa Rica
. At that time, almost all artifacts available to collectors were shorn of their provenance and historical significance by huaquero looters, whom Snarskis described as "the tomb-robbers...who have [made] such studies more difficult."
, Iowa
, on April 12, 1945, the son of Edward and Alice Cressey Snarskis. He attended Washington Senior High School in Cedar Rapids, then State University of Iowa (1963–1964) and Yale University
(1964–1967), majoring in Spanish. After one year of law school, Snarskis joined the Peace Corps, serving in Costa Rica. His interest in archeology awakened in Costa Rica, and on his return he studied archeology at Columbia University. After three years of field work in Costa Rica, he received his Ph. D. in 1978 with a dissertation on The Archaeology of the Central Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica.
Snarskis founded the Archeology Department at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
in San José, Costa Rica
, and directed it for 10 years, hiring the first Costa Rican archeology students to work there. He became a professor of archaeology at the Universidad de Costa Rica, remaining there for 14 years. As an archeologist and conservationist, Snarskis worked for the Tayutic Foundation, which seeks to preserve and explore the Guayabo National Monument
. The Jade Museum
and the Gold Museum, both in San José, Costa Rica, had Snarskis as their technical advisor.
Snarskis founded and edited VINCOULOS: Revisita de Antropologia del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, a professional journal that won awards for scientific excellence and which continues to be published today, one of the longest runs for a scientific journal in Latin America.
From 1986 to 1997 Snarskis took on an international mission job as chief editor and head of publications for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Michael Snarskis died quietly, apparently while reading a book, at his home in Costa Rica on January 24, 2011.
The overlapping of northern (Mesoamerican) and southern (northern South American) cultural spheres of influence revealed by Snarskis's work make Costa Rican archaeology remarkably rich and varied, and of great importance for understanding cultural diffusion in the region.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. At that time, almost all artifacts available to collectors were shorn of their provenance and historical significance by huaquero looters, whom Snarskis described as "the tomb-robbers...who have [made] such studies more difficult."
Name
The name Snarskis is Lithuanian. Others of this name include- Tomas Snarskis, an electronic musician living in London, UK.
- Vytis Snarskis, an international assistant soccer referee with UEFAUEFAThe Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
.
Early Life and Education
Michael Snarskis was born in DavenportDavenport
-Places:In Australia*Electoral district of Davenport, in South AustraliaIn Canada*Davenport, Toronto, a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto*Davenport , a federal electoral district*Davenport...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, on April 12, 1945, the son of Edward and Alice Cressey Snarskis. He attended Washington Senior High School in Cedar Rapids, then State University of Iowa (1963–1964) and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(1964–1967), majoring in Spanish. After one year of law school, Snarskis joined the Peace Corps, serving in Costa Rica. His interest in archeology awakened in Costa Rica, and on his return he studied archeology at Columbia University. After three years of field work in Costa Rica, he received his Ph. D. in 1978 with a dissertation on The Archaeology of the Central Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica.
Career
When Snarskis received his Ph. D. in 1978, there was almost no scientific archeology in Costa Rica.Snarskis founded the Archeology Department at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras, in the Bellavista Fortress, a crenallated, ochre colored building opposite the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica...
in San José, Costa Rica
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
, and directed it for 10 years, hiring the first Costa Rican archeology students to work there. He became a professor of archaeology at the Universidad de Costa Rica, remaining there for 14 years. As an archeologist and conservationist, Snarskis worked for the Tayutic Foundation, which seeks to preserve and explore the Guayabo National Monument
Guayabo National Monument
Guayabo National Monument is a national monument in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area in the Cartago Province of Costa Rica that covers the largest archaeological site in the country...
. The Jade Museum
Museo del Jade Marco Fidel Tristán Castro
The Museo del Jade "Marco Fidel Tristán Castro" is an archaeological museum in San José, Costa Rica. It is located on Calle 9 and Avenue 7 in the National Institute of Insurance building. It was founded in 1977 by Fidel Tristán Castro, the first president of the INS...
and the Gold Museum, both in San José, Costa Rica, had Snarskis as their technical advisor.
Snarskis founded and edited VINCOULOS: Revisita de Antropologia del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, a professional journal that won awards for scientific excellence and which continues to be published today, one of the longest runs for a scientific journal in Latin America.
From 1986 to 1997 Snarskis took on an international mission job as chief editor and head of publications for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Michael Snarskis died quietly, apparently while reading a book, at his home in Costa Rica on January 24, 2011.
Contributions to Pre-Columbian archaeology
Highlights of excavation projects directed by Snarskis include- Discovery of the first Paleoindian quarry and workshop site some 12,000 years old, first of its kind known, and with both ClovisClovis pointClovis points are the characteristically-fluted projectile points associated with the North American Clovis culture. They date to the Paleoindian period around 13,500 years ago. Clovis fluted points are named after the city of Clovis, New Mexico, where examples were first found in 1929.At the right...
and fishtailFishtailFishtail may refer to one of the following*Fishtail , a wood carving tool*Fishtail gauge*Fishtail, Montana, a town*Fishtail , a Quickstep dance figure*Fishtail palm *Fishtail parka, the US Army's M-65 parka...
fluted spear points, diagnostic of Paleoindian hunters in North and South America respectively. - The oldest known pottery in the country, two very different complexes from around 2000 BC
- The first clear house foundations found in the lowland Caribbean rain forestTropical rainforestA tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
, from about the first century AD. - An extraordinary 33 cm OlmecOlmecThe Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
jade clamshell pendant, found just 15 minutes away from the National Museum in a San José suburb, one of the best Olmec jades known, and evidence of ancient long-distance trade with MesoamericaMesoamericaMesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
. - Several effigy vessels of Usulatan pottery made in El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, along with many other local high status ceramics and 65 jade pendants in a burial ground on a high terrace overlooking the Pacific
The overlapping of northern (Mesoamerican) and southern (northern South American) cultural spheres of influence revealed by Snarskis's work make Costa Rican archaeology remarkably rich and varied, and of great importance for understanding cultural diffusion in the region.
Publications
- La Ceramica Precolombina en Costa Rica = [Pre-Columbian Ceramics in Costa Rica] by Michael J. Snarskis 1982
- "Central America: the Lower Caribbean", in The Archaeology of Lower Central America, Lange, F. W. and Stone, D. Z., Eds., University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1984.
- The Archaeology of Costa Rica". In Between Continents/Between Seas: Precolumbian Art of Costa Rica, pp. 15–84. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York, 1981
- The Archaeology of Costa Rica, ArqueoCostaRica, the online journal of Costa Rican Archaeology
- Costa Rica 10,000 Years Ago: Evidence of the Earliest Known Peoples, by Michael J. Snarskis, ArqueoCostaRica.net Website
- The First Farmers in Costa Rica: Tropical Archaic Period in Lower Central America, by Michael J. Snarskis
- Costa Rica's First Potters: The Earliest Known Archaeological Ceramics, by Michael J. Snarskis
- The Rise of Chiefdoms: A Surge in Population and Complexity in Pre-Columbian Costa Rica, by Michael J. Snarskis
- The Rise of Chiefdoms, Part II: Symbols of Power, Status and Wealth in Pre-Columbian Costa Rica, by Michael J. Snarskis
- Archaeologists and Huaqueros, by Michael J. Snarskis
- "Turrialba: A Paleo-Indian Quarry and Workshop Site in Eastern Costa Rica" in American Antiquity, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1979, by Michael J. Snarskis
- "From Jade to Gold in Costa Rica: How, Why, and When", by Michael J. Snarskis. In Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, Jeffrey Quilter and John W. Hoopes, Editors
See also
- Museums of Costa RicaMuseums of Costa RicaThere are a wide selection of museums of Costa Rica due partly to its high education standards and its long history of peace and prosperity. Most of these museums can be found in the Central Valley , especially in and around the capital city of San José.Some of these include:* Museo de los Niños...
- Costa Rica: Pre-Columbian Period
- Isthmo-ColombianIsthmo-ColombianThe Isthmo-Colombian area is defined as a cultural area encompassing those territories occupied by speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact...
- Guayabo de Turrialba
- Palmar Sur Archeological ExcavationsPalmar Sur Archeological ExcavationsThe Palmar Sur Archeological Excavations are a series of excavations of a site located in the southern portion of Costa Rica, known as the Diquís Delta...
- Stone spheres of Costa RicaStone spheres of Costa RicaThe stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over three hundred petrospheres in Costa Rica, located on the Diquis Delta and on Isla del Caño. Known locally as Las Bolas, they are also called The Diquis Spheres...
- Grave robbery
- MetateMetateA metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
External links
- ArchaeoCostaRica.com "A Costa Rica Archaeology Site" By Michael J. Snarskis, Ph.D.
- Fundacion Ayutic