An undergraduate student I mentored while in grad school, Aurora, with her poster at SICB in 2017. She applied to grad school this cycle and I hope it went well for her. There's so much to think about!
You've done some hard work and soul searching to get into the graduate program you're currently in. Or perhaps you're making decisions about which program you'll attend in the fall. In either case, you're doing research in a field you enjoy and you feel like there are endless opportunities ahead of you in grad school.
If you're already there, you know that grad school is quite different from your undergraduate education. You probably work long hours on your research and/or teaching and/or your classes. Don't get so bogged down that you forget about the most important thing, the reason why you're going to grad school in the first place: to get a fantastic job that you'll love. Yes you want to learn and do some new things, but you need a job at the end of it.
Here are some tips for tasks you should put on your priority list (I know, on top of a million other tasks) because these will help you get that job and justify the years and tears you're putting into your education.
Update a CV AND resume as you progress through school.
Start this right away. Get your PI, postdocs and senior grad students to go through it with you to point out what you should include on it. There are a number of categories you should include and update: Education, Fellowships & Awards, Funding, Current Projects, Publications, Conference Presentations, Teaching, and Professional Service. As you move through grad school, you'll probably break these headings into finer subcategories as you rack up accomplishments. You will rack up accomplishments as a good student. Keeping track of them on your CV with regular updates will make you feel good, and there will be times when you need that. It will also make your task of applying to jobs easier in the end if you're already organized and have gotten some feedback.
Since your PI and those around you tend to be academics, they may not be much help with resumes. Luckily, there are good resources. Cheeky Scientist and The Professor Is In both have valuable content and services. You may also get some help from your university's career services.
Do some self analysis on a regular basis.
Do I enjoy doing the types of tasks I'm doing? If not, what would I enjoy doing more? You'll do lots of different tasks from writing and communicating to administrative organization, to mentoring students. You'll learn a ton of skills. Reflect on which tasks you enjoyed learning and whether or not you'd like to continue developing certain skill sets. Sometimes, you'll thoroughly enjoy doing things that don't necessarily directly contribute to your "success" as a grad student and that's fine. I'm defining success as: carrying out your research, writing your thesis and publications, presenting at conferences, the basics to graduate. If you really enjoy outreach, find ways to develop that. If you find that you're really technically savvy at troubleshooting methods or equipment, wade further into that realm. Down the road, these things will only strengthen you professionally.
If you need help determining your interests and values or can't decide which skills and tasks to pursue further, this AAAS service, MyIDB (individual development plan) can help you figure that out. It also helps you come up with a plan to meet your goals. Just create a free account.
This is a screenshot of my Career Fit panel on MyIDB. You answer a series of questions on your skills, interests, and values, and the software generates a series of matches for you. You might like some of them. You might think most of them are awful, but you'll get ideas, and you can use the tool to explore all the different paths further.
What are my top three job tracks right now? Really think about this. You should not choose academia just because that seems like the default choice that everyone is talking about. There's a wide world of enjoyable job tracks for people with graduate degrees. You may find that your top career interests change with time and experience. That's fine and good. When you come across opportunities to participate in, go for it. If you end up not liking it or it's not what you expected, stop. You don't have to commit to continuous service. You shouldn't put too much food on your plate.
Am I spending my time smartly? Not working long hours, not burning yourself out by keeping "busy". A grad student can work smartly and still conserve their sanity and extra time for other pursuits. Your schedule will probably not always be regular, but you should not neglect yourself mentally or physically. Additionally, make sure you're prioritizing your tasks well and spending your working hours productively. Have daily, weekly, monthly, semesterly, and yearly goals. Write them down. Keep them somewhere prominent. Share them with your advisor or another mentor who will help you meet your goals.
If you find that you don't like what you're doing and don't see it working for you, change tracks. Do it. Don't be pressured out of changing your mind. The resources linked above should help with this.
Remember there are lots of goal setting and time management methods online. Find something that works for you. Really, invest a little time up front into figuring out the way you tick and use what works for you. Some people swear by the pomodoro method. Some people need a written planner/organizer while others rely on Google calendar. I use a mix of both- goal setting written down, time allocation in google calendar, pomodoro on my watch to keep my focused for solid chunks of time. All of this is up to you.
You should also stay social, in a professional sense.
If you're doing it right (and staying mentally and physically healthy), you'll have a network of peer friends in grad school. You're going through the same challenges and you need to talk about, and let off steam, in the process of grad school (proposals, comprehensive and/or qualifying exams, dealing with advisers or difficult lab relationships, writing, and developing skills, etc.). Your peer friends will likely become your peers professionally after graduate school as well, but you also need to branch out and link in (yes, LinkedIn is an excellent tool for this if used properly) to others in your field, academic experts, and professionals outside the academic arena that have jobs you're interested in. This is vital. Don't just contact these people, but try to build relationships with them. When you send a contact request add a note with it to introduce yourself and ask a quick question to elicit a response. Later, look into this person and their work a bit more. When they've responded to you, follow up with a little more about yourself, acknowledge them in some way, contribute something they might find interesting or valuable, and follow up with another question or solicit quick advice.
House dinner among all of the grad students from different institutions living together and doing research in Gamboa, was a regular event during my first year of Panamanian field work. We're all don different tracks now, but still connected. Some of us are postdocs, some run the successful This podcast will kill you, and some are in industry positions.
Relationship building is really the key because it shows that you're interested, motivated, and an interesting/fun/competent/inspired professional in your field. Remember that you need to network in your academic community, but also outside it. I promise, this does not have to take very much time. Start by allocating an hour. Investigate three people who have the types of jobs you're interested in on LinkedIn. Contact them properly and engage. If you choose three new people every week, your network will grow fast, and you'll get even more introductions through secondary connections. Remember, to stay in meaningful contact. Again, use sources like the Cheeky Scientist to get ideas about the right way to do this, or just ask below in the comments. I was doing this all wrong for a long while, face palmed hard recently, and am correcting my mistakes.
And stay social in the personal sense. Find things and people you love outside of graduate school.
Hiking and outdoor exploration were major outlets for me during grad school. My husband, family (sister-in law Annie, also a Ph.D. student at the time), and friends made good memories, like this trip to Michigan's Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. You need to keep good times flowing in grad school as well.
You'll most likely surround yourself with lots of other grad students and Ph.D.s. You're around them all the time and you're bound to make some good friends. But, you should branch out and befriend people outside this academic comfort zone. People on the outside are interesting, and fun, and refreshing, and they will find you to be the same. Take time to be social and get some hobbies. Invest time in your physical fitness. These activities will make you happier and more focused at work.
Graduate school is a big commitment and success is a bit more complicated than this, but my take is that you should be goal oriented and deliberate in getting through to the other side when you can. Don't get yourself in the scary position of being unprepared when you're close to graduating. If you liked this content, have questions, or would like to chat further about the advice and resources I've presented, please get in touch through the comments, email, or twitter. I'd love to hear from you.
If you've read the last few posts, you already know this. I got a postdoc studying overwintering biology in Canada. But why did I switch from hot tropical bees to cold and freeze tolerant crickets and beetles?
Tetragonisca angustula at the entrance to their nest. This is one of the tiny species I studied during my dissertation in Panama.
First, thermal conditions exist on a continuum around the globe. Temperate regions cycle through a great range of temperatures seasonally. Organisms that live there must cope with all of them, hot and cold. Tropical organisms generally experience a smaller range of temperatures. But, even in the tropics, some species exist over geographic ranges that include hot and cold. Why and how organisms tolerate and thrive in this variety of thermal conditions are important questions. There are some common behavioral and physiological responses to both hot and cold, and I believe that further understanding of the commonalities and stark differences can help us understand why organisms are distributed the way they are around the globe and how that distribution may change with the climate.
Hiking in the Andes outside of Santiago, Chile. This region is temperate. From near sea level to the tops of these mountains temperatures can differ from 30s to below zero Celsius on a summer day. Mountains allow us to observe how transitions in thermal conditions impact animal physiology and behavior within and among species over a smaller geographic range.
Second, another of my interests, body size, varies with temperature around the globe. Animals tend to be bigger where it's colder and smaller where it's hotter. Ectotherms, dependent on the temperature around them to maintain their own bodily functions, develop faster in hotter conditions, achieving smaller body sizes because of faster developmental rates. Of course, there are tiny organisms in the polar regions (springtails, spiders, and pseudoscorpions abound!) and large animals in the tropics (have you seen the massive size of some tropical cockroaches, ants, beetles, tarantulas, etc.?) There are a number of correlative trends and "rules" relating temperature and body size observed throughout the animal kingdom that are important for understanding how life evolves (over many generations) and develops (within a single generation). Like temperature, body size is a primary factor in determining traits like metabolic rate, number of offspring, range size, locomotory pace and many other characteristics. The combination explain a huge amount of variation in animal performance. Naturally, I want to know why.
Third, temperate and tropics insects are important agricultural helpers (bees and other pollinators come to mind), pests (emerald ash borers and colleagues), and impact human health (disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks). Many tropical insects are moving northward. Many temperate insects are becoming new vectors or pests or disappearing. Conservation and human health are well worth the move to Canadian polar vortex after beautiful, sunny Arizona winters.
Wildflowers in the Arizona desert. Around this time of year, they begin to bloom. Meanwhile, it's pretty cold here in Canada.
Finally on a professional development note, I will likely work in the temperate region for most of my career. Most research institutes and universities are in the temperate latitudes. Most people, period, live in temperate areas. Yes, I do plan to go back to the tropics and continue working on the physiology and behavior of tropical insects, but I feel I need to develop some temperate systems for comparison and because we need to know more about what lives in our own backyards.
If you'd like food for thought on the relationships observed between body size, temperature, and physiology, check out the publications below. If you can't access them, please send me a message. Keep in mind, this is only a sampling.
Emerald Ash Borers in the news. No, the cold weather will not wipe them out.
Emerald ash borers have been getting a lot of attention in the news recently owing to our extreme cold weather and some headlines a few years back claiming that harsh winter conditions would wipe them all out. Brent Sinclair and I were recently interviewed for Western News and Brent also commented to Bloomberg on the topic.
Please visit the Western News page for Deborah Van Brenk's story.
Will harsh winter weather wipe them out? The answer is a firm no. This, of course, is nuanced, and I'll outline why below.
First, what are emerald ash borers? As adults they are small shiny green beetles found on or near ash trees. These beetles lay eggs in bark crevices which then develop beneath the bark of the tree. They begin this egg laying towards the tops of ash trees in branches and work their way downward to the trunk. As the invasion continues, they essentially girdle the tree, starving it of water and nutrients. The tree dies. EABs have wreaked havoc on ash tree populations in the US and Canada and continue to invade northward and westward.
As they develop, EABs need to overwinter before completing their life cycle. Further south, they overwinter as prepupae, the stage prior to pupation and metamorphosis into adulthood. Further north, some overwinter as larvae, younger than prepupae. During these stages emerald ash borers are inside the tree beneath the bark and sometimes dug in a little further than that. This means they are not directly exposed to the brunt of cold weather because bark acts as insulation against cold and wind. Bark also absorbs solar radiation and can warm the tree. As part of my postdoc, I'm working to understand how well bark insulates EABs from conditions above and below snow line and on different sides of trees and at different depths beneath the bark. This will allow us to finally say what conditions, exactly, EABs are actually exposed to during the winter.
We also know that EABs are very cold tolerant but not freeze intolerant. They build up some of the highest glycerol levels ever measured in any animal and this makes their freezing point plunge. EAB prepupae freeze around -27 degrees Celcius. Most will not die until they've dipped below -30. That is VERY cold and in their current range, they don't experience those kind of deadly extreme temperatures within the tree. If they do, yes some of them will die, maybe even a lot of them, but not all of them. This is because there is variation in cold tolerance within the population. That means that extreme cold events currently have the potential to knock back the EAB population but not wipe it out entirely.
The freezing point and lethal temperatures mentioned thus far only reflect prepupae. They don't reflect larvae and we are currently investigating whether larvae are more or less cold tolerant, and whether they use the same mechanisms for gaining that tolerance when compared to prepupae. This is important because overwintering larvae have a two year life cycle whereas overwintering prepupae are on a single year life cycle. If larvae are distinct from prepupae in cold tolerance, there are potentially big repurcussions when extreme cold events come about. If larvae are more tolerant, the population in northern areas (where they are a larger component of overwintering EABs) will not be knocked back as hard. If they are less tolerant than prepupae, extreme cold will be more damaging to the EAB populations further north.
Where might EABs currently experience deadly extremes? As emerald ash borers move west and north in Canada, we have the opportunity to track this. EABs recently arrived in Winnipeg where the average winter temperatures are around -10 to -20 degrees Celsius. We can track tree temperatures there and further south (here in London, ON for example) and we can compare the cold tolerance of EAB larvae and prepupae in both areas. This can tell us a few things like 1) whether EABs new to Winnipeg can tolerate cold temperatures that they and previous generations have not been exposed to, 2) if the Winnipeg EABs use all the same physiological cold tolerance mechanisms as southern populations, and 3)whether southern populations have further evolved their cold tolerance abilities as they too, migrated from further east and south.
Stay tuned, as this is exciting work in progress! I'm working with Canadian Forest Service on this as you read. In the mean time, Chris MacQuarrie (@CMacQuar) of Canadian Forest Service did a great job on twitter debunking the "Cold will kill all the emerald ash borers" talk that's been going around.
Documenting the extreme cold weather during twilight in our backyard in London with Rick and our dog Paprika, all sporting -40 rated boots and warm coats.
We tend to think of winter in temperate regions as cold, maybe snowy, maybe gray. Days are shorter. Maybe you hate winter because you dislike feeling cold and chapped, icy roads, and insert weather problems here (snow, ice, sleet, school cancellations, etc.) Maybe you love winter for all the possibilities for outdoor sports, hot chocolate, and winter holidays.
The recent polar vortex event got us thinking… how can we represent just how hard winter is for us and for animals? In other words, why should people care about the overwintering biology research that we do?
Cold vs. Society. This should make most of us pause. Extreme cold weather events, and bad winter weather in general, have societal and economic impacts. It's estimated that the few days of our most recent polar vortex caused roughly $5 Billion dollars of economic damage to the US alone. Why? Because society stops functioning and hits the pause button when people can't get to school and work. This NPR summary is quite nice for briefly describing these effects.
It's so cold, it hurts. People can't handle extreme cold. Even in normal temperate winter weather, we are wimpy (compared to many animals) and easily get hypothermia and/or frostbite. Extreme cold is a very real health risk, especially to children, the elderly, and people with health problems. If conditions approach -40 degrees, GO INSIDE. You're risking nearly instant frostbite and bodily damage.
Cold vs. wildlife. Many animals have to hunker down through the winter and avoid hypothermia and frostbite just like we do. Ectothermic animals may overwinter actively (still eating and moving around in the cold) or inactively, arrested in development at a certain life stage awaiting spring when they can begin to grow again. In the context of humans, the fact that they can do either of these should be fascinating. There are real medical applications to understanding the physiology of overwintering in animals such as cryopreservation and improving outcomes for people who suffer heart attacks and strokes. Another application of this is the extermination of insect pests. There are a number of headliners that come to mind (several of which the Sinclair lab is or has worked on) including the emerald ash borer, brown marmorated stink bug, asian longhorn beetle, mosquitoes, ticks, and others. Winter conditions may help control populations of these pests.
It is REALLY %&*@ing cold. And, Cold & Climate Change go hand in hand. Extreme cold events truly are indicators that climate change is progressing. This is because of the unique climate circumstances that must be in place in order for a polar vortex to reach far enough south to impact major populated regions. Research has shown that extreme events, cold and hot, wet and dry, are direct results of climate change. By researching overwintering biology, we can understand how these extreme events, and the gradual change in winter conditions over many years, will impact everything from the length of insect life cycles, to the distribution of forest habitats, to the evolution of climate-related traits, and human health impacts. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT and will affect us for generations to come.
Acclimation. Have you ever noticed how that first really cold day of the winter is really difficult, but after a few of them it becomes normal? Or how warm -10 degrees felt after a few days at -30? Yes, you acclimated a little to the cold. But how did your body do this? Why is it important that your body did this? Overwintering biologists at your service to solve these and more puzzles regarding acclimation. Learn about acclimation in freeze-tolerant crickets here.
Cold Humor, because this is a way to get through the cold and dark days of winter when hot chocolate doesn't cut it. A rehashing of Elsa's (from Disney's Frozen) 2015 arrest for weather tantrums was done for this year's polar vortex. Let that one warn you that you can't reuse someone else's old photos without permission. The Onion alerted us that the Chicago bean just can't handle it anymore and that your local shorts-in-wintertime guys might be a bit more scarce.
There are certainly additional reasons to care about overwintering biology, but these are some important ones that fit many questions and study systems in the field.
Note: The links I've supplied here are just a sampling and don't reflect the full array of research available out there. There's tons of supporting literature. If you can't access some of the articles due to paywalls, let me know.
In August 2018, I arrived in London, Ontario to work as a postdoc in Brent Sinclair's Low Temperature Biology Lab at the University of Western Ontario Department of Biology. I have two primary study systems and one of these is the spring field cricket, Gryllus veletis. This species is really cool (see what I did there?) because it can tolerate freezing under some conditions. Most animals cannot do this and die well before any part of them freezes. First, it must go through an acclimation process. In nature, this is the autumn, when daylight shortens and temperatures begin to fall. In the lab, we can simulate this process in an incubator with light timers and temperature controllers. After acclimation, the crickets have undergone some physiological changes that prime them for withstanding cold and freezing temperatures. We think that only crickets in their 5th instar of development are capable of going through acclimation, freezing, and coming out alive and well at the end of it.
A 5th instar male G. veletis cricket. Notable features of this instar include small wing buds and a small ovipositor in females. Photo credit: Brent Sinclair.
Acclimation and freezing are interesting topics all on their own. Acclimation is a process during which the crickets must respond to the environmental variables of light and temperature by changing certain aspects of their behavior and physiology. As ectotherms, they're roughly the same temperature as their surroundings so, as they get colder, they become less active. They eat less (or not at all) and drink less (or not at all). Their blood becomes more concentrated and they manufacture cryoprotectants. Cryoprotectants are substances that are protective in stressful cold or freezing conditions. They may prevent freezing or simply lessen the damage caused by cold exposure. In nature, crickets acclimating to autumn conditions tend to hide in leaf litter or protected areas beneath logs or other cover. In our lab bins, they hunker down underneath their egg cartons.
Freezing is also a process in which cold temperatures interact with the makeup of a substance (like a cricket's blood), to form ice crystals. Yes, these crickets withstand ice formation within their bodies. They begin to freeze at about -6 degrees Celsius. The formation of ice in muscle, gut, malphighian tubules, nervous tissue, and other areas of the body is potentially damaging to these crickets even though they can recover successfully from some degree of ice formation.
Freezing causes damage: What kind of damage, how much, and where in the cricket body?
How much ice forms in the crickets body? What is the maximum it can handle and recover successfully?
How do acclimation and freezing affect behavioral performance?
What is the role of the brain in regulating physiological and behavioral responses to acclimation and freezing?
How are freeze tolerance and recovery genetically regulated?
Stay tuned for more on how I'm attacking these questions.
For information on acclimation and freezing in the meantime, check out Jantina Toxopeus & Brent Sinclair's recent review. If you can't access this and would like to read it, send me a message.
Moving from hot to cold: I got a postdoc!
Please contact me to inquire about these or any other updates!
ASU students taking a break during a hike on Barro Colorado Island.
I did my dissertation research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, based in Gamboa, Panama and traveling around the country collecting bees and observing. While this time doesn't make me an absolute expert in everything that is Panama, I have considerable experience living and working at STRI, exploring, and interacting with the culture. My first adventure in the country was part of a field course for graduate students. This also happened to be my first trip to the Neotropics and I wasn't sure what to expect. Here, I'll describe my experiences and opinions/recommendations on what to expect when you arrive in Panama for a field course.
For additional information on the ASU undergraduate field course, search through my posts from June-July 2014. For pictures, explore the course Flickr page.
When your plane touches down in Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, you'll notice that everyone else is making a bee-line exit to the immigration lines. Everyone must go through this before leaving the airport but THERE IS NOTHING but one restaurant outside of security. Before security, throughout the terminal, however, there are a number of options. With this in mind, if you want to eat or have some time to kill before being picked up, don't go through immigration immediately. When you finally do go through security, it doesn't take very long. You'll stand in line, someone will stamp your passport and ask you how long you'll be in Panama. They'll send you on your way to pick up your luggage. Then you'll put all your bags through an x-ray and exit security. It's that simple. MAKE SURE YOUR PASSPORT IS VALID AND INTACT. Occasionally they'll deport you on the spot if your passport is not in good condition or if you can't give evidence of an end date for your stay. Sometimes, security will also ask questions about how much cash you have on you or how you plan to pay for your stay in Panama. Take care to be respectful and honest. Sometimes travelers are deported for not showing any proof that they can pay for their stay or a departing flight. This is rare, but you should be aware. It's a good idea to print out your return flight information and have it on hand just in case.
Having taught the ASU undergraduate field course several times, I've made travel arrangements for students, picked them up, and dealt with their immigration problems. Please get all your paperwork in ASAP to the course instructors. You may or may not be asked to stay in the airport for several hours so everyone can depart together. This will likely be boring but it's a good opportunity to get to know the other students and instructors a little better. When scheduling your flights, keep in mind when the instructors are arriving. If you can, schedule yourself to arrive around the same time of day to avoid extra waiting.
If you've ever been told that your education is what you make of it, field courses are perhaps the best example. The course will be experiential learning through and through with some lectures and writing rolled in. All the field trips will be required and will enrich your experience. There will be times when you're really tired, maybe sore, and too hot/sweaty to want to hike through the jungle. Do it anyway. You'll see wildlife and gain knowledge that you will never otherwise gain. Participate fully all in group activities. You'll also be asked to develop your own project and complete data collection and analysis to write a peer-reviewed style scientific paper. Again, the more you put into this, the better off you will be. It's possible for you to get a truly publishable paper if you strive for it, something invaluable if you plan to continue on in science even if you decide field work in the jungle is ultimately not your happy thing/place.
Here's an example of a student paper that came directly from Erika Cevallos Dupuis's course project on leaf cutter ant trails.
Importantly, you'll be staying on the top floor of the school house. The bottom floor is a set of locked laboratory spaces. Try to keep noise to a minimum because scientists and students work there 24 hours a day during the summer. Vibrations from dance parties or running through the hallway will not be appreciated.
The building is air-conditioned, a stark contrast to the high heat and humidity outside. You might be cold indoors so bring a sweatshirt. For anyone who routinely wears makeup, you'll find after a couple days that's it's a nuisance. You will be sweaty. It will smudge and affect your skin and it's not practical for hiking through the forest. Insects can even be attracted to some brands and scents, especially if they're floral or mimic any kind of food.
The town of Gamboa is very small and divided into a couple sections. Nearest the canal is a primarily Panamanian section known as Santa Cruz. There is one small tienda there for snacks and minor groceries and a couple of food carts that serve local Panamanian foods around lunch time (rice, beans, plantains, and meat platters). These are within easy walking distance from the school house. The other section of Gamboa, where most of its population resides, is mostly American or otherwise foreign. Nearly everyone there is associated with STRI. Some STRI interns and grad students are starting to live in Santa Cruz in rental accommodations too. Most inhabitants of Gamboa are graduate students or interns but some staff scientists and their families also live there. Finally, the Gamboa Rainforest Resort is located in town. This is a nice place to go if you want to watch a game on TV (in Spanish) and you are ok with paying higher prices for food and beverages. It's pretty and comfortable, but there isn't much entertainment to be had there for students.
Transportation is very limited. There are morning and evening busitos to STRI headquarters in Panama City daily. There are also SACA Co-op buses for roughly $0.80/ride into the city everyday but you are unlikely to have time to utilize these. There are taxis but I don't recommend them. Foreigners tend to be overcharged and there's no guarantee that drivers actually know where you want to go. Many won't speak English. If you're good with Spanish, then it's probably fine. The course instructors will be driving you everywhere you need to go, and you'll find that you really don't have free time to wander to Panama City anyway.
I've never felt unsafe anywhere I've been in Panama. There are, of course, spots to avoid but the likelihood that you'll end up in any of these is minimal given that you'll be primarily travelling with the group. A good rule of thumb is to never act in any way that you would not deem appropriate in the US, and then throw in a little more caution since you're not in the US.
One potentially annoying thing if you're female is the kind of cat-calling attention you may receive from Panamanian men. The best thing to do is ignore it and move away from that area. #MeToo is strong right now, but there are different standards outside the US and being confrontational can get you into additional trouble, especially if you're alone. I'm all about empowerment and getting men to be better, but be safe. It's common throughout Panama, however rude or unwanted it may be.
You should bring necessary medications with you as well as general items like moleskin for blisters, bug spray, and toiletry items. Over the counter medications for pain, allergies, anti-itch, and antibiotic cream may be a good idea. If you have any potentially serious issues, definitely let and instructor or TA know so we can have a plan. The nearest hospitals and clinics are in Panama City. In my experience (a staff infection after mysterious puss-filled insect bites, and Dengue fever), emergency medical costs are low and doctors speak English if you go to the better hospitals. They generally ask you to pay out of pocket up-front and get reimbursement from your insurance company. For major serious injury expenses, of course, you would not be charged up front. STRI and the course have procedures for handling these situations. You'll be covered under ASU travel insurance but let the instructors know ASAP if you think you might want to see a doctor.
Since you will be outside a great deal of time, there is the possibility for you to injure yourself or encounter dangerous animals. Fer-de-lance snakes are common and venomous. You'll require immediate care if you're bitten. There are caiman in the canal, bullet ants (aptly named for how much it hurts if you're stung), and the chance for Africanized honeybee encounters. If you're reasonably careful, you shouldn't have any problems with these. Don't wander into the jungle alone or decide to take a swim in the canal. Both are regrettable ideas.
A fer-de-lance we crossed paths with during one course hike, nicely camouflaged, and a great reason to wear your boots.
You're probably wondering about vaccinations for tropical diseases. As I am not a medical professional, I cannot and will not tell you what you should/should not get. This is my experience thus far. Tropical diseases like yellow fever, malaria, Chagas, and dengue do turn up in Panama. There has been no malaria in the Canal Zone in quite a long time and, as such, I have not taken preventative medications for malaria. I've gotten all other recommended vaccines that are available, however. I have known several people to develop dengue fever, including myself. It's not pleasant to watch or experience but there are preventative measures. If you wear appropriate clothing and insect repellant and avoid outside activity at certain times of day where mosquitoes are rampant (any standing water sources), you should have no problems. Again, I'm NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR. Go to the Health Center and make a travel appointment for medical advice that's appropriate for you individually.
The first several days of the course will be intense with lots of hiking and orientation in the forest. You'll be pretty tired and overwhelmed at everything you're seeing but this sets you up for a more fun and productive experience. The point is for you to gain exposure to as much as possible early so that you can develop your project ideas. After this, there will be routine group field trips around Gamboa and other locations throughout Panama. You'll also be set loose on your own schedule to complete your data collection and observations. Use your time wisely because it's impossible to do a sufficient job waiting until late in the course to collect data. If something can go wrong, something will when figuring out experimental design and how to collect data. This is true for any research.
A hike up Rio Mendoza form Pipeline Road in Gamboa to the waterfall is always fun and a greta swimming opportunity.
Field trips to civilization will be minimal. We aim to learn about tropical biology so there won't be much time for shopping, going to bars, restaurants, or exploring city sites. If you're used to city living, you'll either find jungle life peaceful or nerve-wracking. Field trips will be scattered throughout the course according to project schedules and deadlines.
Spanish is the official language of Panama but you don't need to be able to speak it. Many people speak English and much of the signage is in English. However, it's always nice to try. Importantly, the couple who make meals and tend to the maintenance of the school house and the couple who own the tienda in Santa Cruz only speak Spanish.
Culturally, Panama has a lot of flavor and color. People are friendly and mean well. In most cases, anyone would help you out in the event you need it, provided you can communicate with them. There are a lot of wealthy people in Panama but also a great deal of poverty. You'll see a mix of both. In Casco Viejo (Old Panama City), you'll see a mix of Latin and Americanized businesses. It has been this way since Americans built the Canal and you'll find good salsa dancing opportunities, a micro-brew called La Rana Dorada, and a couple of rooftop bars looking out on the Pacific Ocean here.
Most people are very modern but there are also a lot of indigenous peoples that you will notice by their distinct clothing and jewelry. Most commonly, you will see Embera, Kuna, Wounaan, or Ngobe-Bugle tribal people. Each has their own native language but most speak Spanish. They rarely speak English and try to maintain their culture as much as possible. Regardless of the origins of the locals you run into, be respectful and interact with them to gain a greater appreciation for Panamanian culture. Don't take pictures of people without permission.
Students and some Embera tribe members in Embera Drua next to the Charges River.
You already know you'll be responsible for plane tickets and passport fees. You should also bring money for souvenirs. All meals will be provided except extra snacks and alcohol. You'll be well-fed at the school house at meal times. The currency is the US dollar and the Panamanian Balboa.
Let your bank and credit card companies known in advance that you'll be out of the country. The tienda and food trucks only take cash so have some handy. However, you'll be able to use either of 2 ATMs in Gamboa (one at the resort and one near the Canal dredging division in Santa Cruz). Most businesses will take debit cards or credit cards but occasionally you'll need cash available. Don't bring large bills- twenties and under are acceptable. Larger bills might be seen as counterfeit and not accepted. As you would do anywhere, be smart and keep your money out site and keep an eye on your wallet.
DON'T OVER PACK. Restrict yourself to one checked bag, one backpack carry-on, and maybe on smaller carry-on item. This should be easy to accomplish because you can do laundry in the school house. The important thing is that you're comfortable wearing your clothing outside in high humidity for hiking and they all fit well. You don't need to spend money on fancy new clothes from REI. If in doubt that you have the right gear, ask. My own field clothes are mostly older cotton shirts and cargo pants.
1-3 sets of medium smart clothing like shorts and casual shirts you would wear on vacation or a sundress. Be reasonably modest. You are there to take a course.
Copies of all travel documents (passport, plane tickets/itinerary, etc.) and medical documents (vaccinations card and anything else you may need). Ideally you won't carry your copies with your originals in the event that you lose both.
Laptop/ other computer (There's wireless internet but if you're worried about your electronics, you can use a STRI computer room).
If you have questions about the ASU field course, feel free to reach out. I'm happy to hear from you. If you aren't participating in a field course but are interested in doing research or traveling around Panama to see natural sites, I'm also happy to chat.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Western Ontario in Brent Sinclair's Low Temperature Biology lab. Here I'm studying the processes of acclimation and freezing in spring field crickets and the notorious emerald ash borer to determine how they tolerate cold and/or freezing temperatures, how cold and ice cause damage to cells and tissues, how cold exposure affects behavior and growth, and what regulates physiological responses to cold, freezing, and recovery. Some of this work is in collaboration with the Canadian Forest Service. Prior to this adventure, I completed my PhD in Animal Behavior at Arizona State University School of Life Sciences advised by Drs. Brian Smith and Jon Harrison. My dissertation was all about how body size affects behavioral performance (learning and flight behaviors in bees) and the physiological mechanisms governing that performance. For this work I used stingless bees in Panama at STRI (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) to compare performance among many species that vary in body mass from roughly 0.1-100mg in size. I became especially interested in how thermal tolerance affects behavioral and physiological performance after gathering some data in stingless bees suggesting that bigger bees may tolerate higher temperatures just because they're exposed to higher temperatures while flying and producing their own metabolic heat. This research was USAID funded and useful for determining how insects of various sizes might respond to climate change. While at ASU, I've also work on some collaborative projects that include breathing mechanisms in grasshoppers using synchrotron X-ray techniques at Argonne National Lab and respiratory physiology of giant scarab beetles in collaboration with researchers at Virginia Tech. While in Panama, I also worked with researchers at the University of Florida to determine how expensive it is for insects of various sizes to maintain sexually selected weapons. Broadly, my interests include insect behavior, physiology, and ecology, and the interactions among them. Feel free to contact me for more information about myself, my research, collaborations or anything that strikes you on this blog.


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Adam Carolla to speak at VPAC
Spencer Kilgore
Courtesy of MCT
Hearing the same opinions from the same liberal-minded professors isn't truly learning according to Adam Carolla. He says that is why you should come check out "An Evening with Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager" at the Valley Performing Arts Center this Saturday.
This isn't the typical VPAC event. There's no orchestra, no ballet, no theater performance at all. It's a conversation. Wait, a conversation??
Adam Carolla is most popular for his time on Comedy Central's sexually charged-yet-lighthearted sketch, "The Man Show," his own radio-show-turned-podcast. "The Adam Carolla Show" (which holds the Guinness World Record for most downloaded podcast ever), consists of his questionably drunken rants and hilariously blunt, in-your-face opinions.
Dennis Prager is a columnist, author, public speaker and one of the most respected radio personalities of the conservative crowd.
Together, they will share 90 minutes on the VPAC stage in a unique discussion of life, exchanging ideas of philosophy and values surrounding marriage, relationships, kids, politics and whatever else may come up. It's also followed by an audience Q&A; session – no question is off limits.
"You can actually come out and hear and see Dennis Prager and I and you might hear opinions that you've not heard formerly on campus and ultimately that's the way you learn," Carolla said. Being told repeatedly what you've already heard is not really learning, and I feel at least politically, there's a lot of that going on on campuses."
Having been slapped with the conservative sticker himself, partially due to his "Rollin with Carolla" segment on "The O'Reilly Factor" and his "if you can't afford to have kids, you shouldn't have kids/if you're going to vote you should have to produce an ID" ideology, he promises the night won't be one long right-wing sermon.
"It's not some sort of conservative forum we do. We just talk life, we talk relationships, a little religion, some politics," he said. "It really doesn't break down to a conservative or liberal political talkathon. It's more about life, values, philosophies, humor."
In all seriousness, Carolla said it could quite possibly be a life-altering event. At the least, it should be an interesting experience.
Tickets start at $25 and can be bought online at www.adamcarolla.com. The $65 tickets, which include a meet and greet with Carolla and Prager, are sold out (cheer up, there's still the Q&A;). The show will be March 16 at 8:00 p.m.
Spencer Kilgore, Author

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Brookdale Westlake Village is a luxury senior living community in Westlake Village, Ohio. Our landscaped grounds include lakeside walking paths with gardens and outdoor patios and courtyards.
Residents of our continuing care retirement community (CCRC) enjoy an active lifestyle with a selection of care options to meet changing needs. From independent living and assisted living to Alzheimer's and dementia care and rehabilitation and skilled nursing, transitioning between levels of care is simple.


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BOOK REVIEW: Better With Books
Thanks to Laken Brooks, a 2019 Harrison Middleton University Fellow in Ideas recipient, for today's post.
Melissa Hart's Better With Books is a crash-course in diverse young adult literature. The book suggests preteen and teen reading lists in the following categories: adoption and foster care, body image, immigration, learning challenges, LGBTQ+ youth, mental health, environmentalism, physical disability, poverty and homelessness, race and ethnicity, and spirituality. Hart debuts Better With Books in a time of increasing sociopolitical tension and growing diversity; however, she effectively references contemporary issues like immigration policies to argue that reading - now more than ever - is a vital tool to grow a new generation of empathetic and civic-minded people.
Hart relies on breadth rather than depth to introduce her audience to as many books about as many marginalized identities and experiences as possible. This scope succeeds because Hart writes to a friendly audience of fellow educators and caregivers. From the foreword written by Sharon M. Draper, a National Teacher of the Year recipient, to her own introductory comments on social issues in the classroom, Hart establishes this book as a necessary reference for any teacher. Therefore, she spends little time making the case that books do actually promote empathy in young readers. After all, her intended audience of educators supposedly agree that diverse representation in literature is a foundation for civic values. Hart does argue, though, that diverse literature has transformational, measurable change on individual students.
While Hart's book operates as a guide of suggested reading lists and book summaries, the most fulfilling sections are the chapter introductions. She frames every chapter with stories about how one book has changed a child's life. Hart deftly expands the lens in each chapter from an individual -- an immigrant, the mother of a transgender daughter, and Hart's own child -- to a larger population. For example, in Chapter 1, Hart describes Lyda, a preteen who lived in foster care. After reading Steve Pemberton's memoir A Chance in the World, something shifts in Lyda's life. Now a college honors student, Lyda says, "literature can help … It pushes you to feel for characters and makes you want to do something about the issues they're facing" (3). Hart then zooms from Lyda to the following: "At any given time, 438,000 US kids live in foster care" (3). Upon closer investigation, a reader may recognize rhetorical flaws in these large jumps from individual students to entire populations. While no one student's experience can represent a marginalized group, Hart does effectively hook readers by demonstrating how books have changed one person's life. The not-too-subtle suggestion, then, is that a book can also change numerous more lives. As per the back cover, "Through the power of reading, kids can find comfort and perspective," but adults should curate these books to "find a way into meaningful conversations with their tweens and teens."
Hart does not necessarily imply that all students will engage with books in the same way, but she does use literacy as the thread through which she invites readers to imagine a better future. After citing the 438,000 children in foster care, Hart ends her introduction by returning to Lyda being adopted. She describes a photo in which Lyda poses with her parents at a baseball game: "In the photo, they look joyful … intimate. They look like a family" (9). On the next page, the reader sees a stock list of book summaries and suggestions. While the transition to the reading list may seem abrupt, this tension highlights Hart's intention. She pushes the reader to make the connection back to their own classroom, encouraging educators to fill in the gap between Lyda's story and their students. While teachers cannot possibly ensure that every child is adopted or has a happy ending, Hart emphasizes the readers' responsibility to help other children feel acknowledged and validated by reading books about people like themselves.
While Hart thoughtfully and soulfully connects individual people to life-changing texts, her text could benefit from precision. For example, Hart lists preteen and teenage options without describing how she is labeling the texts as such: reading level, maturity of content, states curriculum guides, or other metrics? Additionally, Hart could preface her introduction with a note on how she avoided books that tokenize diverse groups. For example, in the section on physical disability, Hart could have clearly noted which books were actually designed for readers with disabilities: books with multimodal components and Braille translations. Furthermore, a brief conclusion would provide more cohesion to the text and a final call to action for the reader.
Better With Books is much needed as a down-to-earth reading guide that connects educators and parents with books about diversity. Hart writes with an easy-to-navigate format, an accessible tone, and a clear conscious.
Hart, Melissa. Better With Books. Sasquatch Books, 2019, Print.
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In Book Reviews, Community, Education, Imaginative Literature, Reading Lists, Fellow Post Tags Book Review, literature, Education
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today's post.
Letters often hold interest for me as a researcher and reader. They demonstrate humanity in ways that other writing cannot. People allow themselves a level of intimacy on paper that is not allowed in other areas of life. I love to write letters and I do lament that they are not as popular now as they once were. This is one of the reasons that I became interested in a collection of letters titled Velocity of Being, Letters to a Young Reader, edited by Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick. In it, the editors have compiled letters from many famous and successful individuals, scientists, artists, musicians, and authors. One interesting aspect of this book is that the letters are all written to an unknown reader, but yet some of the letters are still startling intimate. These letters, written by successful and interesting individuals, explain how or why books have helped them in life. They all encourage us to read, but the reasons for doing so vary from person to person, and experience to experience. There are so many letters worth reading, but I have space share only a handful on today's blog. I invite you to peek into the book yourself to better understand what your favorite public figure thinks of reading.
From Ann Patchett (page 242)
"[N]othing that matters in life should be taken for granted, so if you love to read, here's how you can ensure that the generation after you and the generation after them will keep at it: all you have to do is read books. Sometimes you should read them in public places. At least some of the time read books that are printed on paper and hold them up so people can see what you're doing. When they say, 'Is that book any good?' stop reading for a minute and answer them. The wonder of books is that they are worlds we enter into alone, and yet at the same time they can connect us to other people."
From James Gleick (page 248)
"[S]omehow you do learn to read. Then, when you open a book, you scarcely see the letters or even the words. They vanish, an invisible blur across the printed page, while the information they encode pours into your mind as if through a fire hose. Look. Listen. Moonlight shining in the window; a mysterious smile glimpsed in a mirror; a muffled cry from a distant room; the squelch of wet shoes on the tile. Sights and sounds rise from the page and mingle with your experience and stir your memories. You fill in the empty spaces. There is no reading without imagination."
From Anne Lamont (page 254)
"Books are paper ships, to all worlds, to ancient Egypt, outer space, eternity, into the childhood of your favorite musician, and – the most precious stunning journey of all – into your own heart, your own family, your own history and future and body."
From Elizabeth Alexander (page 256)
"In the 1920s she [Alexander's grandmother] wrote to a university in Denmark: I am what is known as an American Negro, and I imagine you have never known one. Will you invite me to come and study at your school? This was one of my favorite of her stories. Why Denmark, I would ask her, entranced by her tales of smorgasbord, the puzzle ring she brought back from a suitor that one day became mine, and the sari she began to wear after being mistaken for Indian. Because when I was a teenager I read about the statue of the little mermaid being built, in Copenhagen harbor, and I wanted to see it for myself."
Helen Fagin (page 58)
"At twenty-one, I was forced into Poland's WWII ghetto, where being caught reading anything forbidden by the Nazis meant, at best, hard labor; at worst, death./ There I conducted a clandestine school offering Jewish children a chance at the essential education denied them by their captors. But I soon came to feel that teaching these sensitive young souls Latin and mathematics was cheating them of something far more essential – what they needed wasn't dry information but hope, the kind that comes from being transported into a dream-world of possibility…./ A knock at the door shattered our dream-world. As the class silently exited, a pale green-eyed girl turned to me with a tearful smile: 'Thank you so very much for this journey into another world.'… / Of the twenty-two pupils in my secret school, only four survived the Holocaust./ The pale green-eyed girl was one of them. … / There are times when dreams sustain us more than facts. To read a book and surrender to a story is to keep our very humanity alive."
Alan Lightman (page 66)
"Keep in mind that information is not the same thing as knowledge. You still need to think about what you are learning and what it means. To do that, you will need to turn off your neurochip from time to time. It is valuable to connect to the world, and it is also valuable to disconnect and listen to your own mind think."
There are many other inspirational letters in this interesting volume. If you get the chance, take a peek in this book (as well as many others).
In Authors, Book Reviews, Communication, Community, Education, Imagination, Imaginative Literature, Tutor Post Tags imaginative literature, books, Community, Book Review, Imagination, Education
Book Review: The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner by Ezra Taft Benson
Thanks to Ned Boulberhane, a 2019 Harrison Middleton University Fellow in Ideas, for today's post.
Someone once asked me why I read books from writers whom I don't seem to like very much. The response was simple. If one only finds ideas that they agree with on a whole-hearted level, they will end up only seeing what they want to see. Sometimes it is good to be challenged, even if it is not always in our comfort zone. That is what brings us to the discussion of The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner.
Ezra Taft Benson served as the Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, but perhaps his legacy is more rooted in his work as President of the Mormon Church (Dew 1987). In this work, which was an oral presentation transcribed into book-form, Benson attempts to make the case that the United States Constitution is a document that is the epitome of human freedom, as well as also having divine origins. Perhaps there is something poetic about how Benson introduces the subject, saying that sharing ideas through freedom is the work of God, and using coercion to force ideas onto people is the work of Satan (Benson 1986), yet that stands as only a poetic statement. Perhaps, what is more fascinating is when Benson discusses the relationship among freedom, governments, and the citizens of a nation. There is a bold statement that the people are superior to the government (of the United States).
To retort, in the United States, the government is not comprised of monarchs or theocrats, it consists of representatives of the people. Every member of the United States government is also a citizen or resident of the country. In short, the people are not superior to the government of the U.S.A. They are the government. As the monologue-style presentation continues, Benson states that the Constitution is a Heavenly Banner, for the Lord has approved the Constitution, and it is a document that emboldens freedom, which is the way of God. However, this fails to identify Article VI of the United States Constitution, which states that no one must pass a religious test to hold public office (Story 1874), not to mention a Bill of Rights, which also includes freedom of religion.
There is an important distinction that needs to be made regarding the meaning of these words. Freedom of religion applies not only to those who follow the pathways that Ezra Taft Benson is describing. It also applies to any other spiritual practice that is law-abiding and even to those who choose to refrain from spiritual or religious practices altogether (Cooley 1871). Therefore, to say that the Lord approved the Constitution is a statement that can stand as only a metaphor or figurative piece. It is the same Article VI and First Amendment that allow someone such as Ezra Taft Benson to hold the position of Secretary of Agriculture, for there are those who question whether or not members of the Mormon Church should be members of the government at all. Moreover, these are not relics of the Eisenhower administration. The same challenges were put forth during the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman in 2011 (Tarpley 2012), and once again the First Amendment and Article VI triumphed over all.
Not to provide a complete sense of disagreement, Benson makes a compelling case for small government, arguing that the United States limits government functions to avoid tyranny. This is an interpretation that holds a lot of supporters, for whether it is checks and balances or even allowing people to believe and practice the spirituality of their choosing (or lack thereof) they are protected. The government cannot force a spiritual belief system on the citizens. Benson's argument expands into a rather unique stance at this point, where he makes the claim that we cannot expect a higher level of morality from our elected officials.
While Benson makes some strong claims about the origins of the Constitution and who approved of it, there is some agreement here, for if our politicians are not monarchs or theocrats, we must recognize them as ordinary human beings and citizens. A person is a person. Therefore, we must approach our elected leaders as representatives of the people, but also use the laws of the land to monitor the actions of our elected few, so our nation does not turn into a domain dominated by tyrants. Sometimes we turn to writers and thinkers that we expect to disagree with, and we find that there are times when we have found the unexpected point of agreement. The world is wide.
Benson, Ezra Taft. The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner. Deseret Book, 1986.
Cooley, Thomas. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. Lawbook Exchange. Ltd., 1874.
Dew, Sheri L. Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography. Deseret Book, 1987
Story, Joseph. A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States of America. Gateway Editions, 1874.
Tarpley, Webster. Just Too Weird: Bishop Romney and the Mormon Takeover of America. Progressive Press, 2012.
In Book Reviews, Culture, Fellow Post, History, Government Tags Fellow, Constitution, Government, Book Review
Pop Culture Preview
This book review was originally published in the November 2017 issue of HMU: Dialogues.
Tube Talk, Double Features, and Sound Bites, three new publications from the Great Books Foundation.
In February, Harrison Middleton University will cohost the inaugural Southwest Great Books Weekend which will focus on a new popular culture series from the Great Books Foundation. We will discuss essays about television (Tube Talk), film (Double Features) and music (Sound Bites). Their focus on popular culture offers some timely and important readings worthy of discussion. I was fortunate to grab a sneak preview, and so I wanted to express my enthusiasm for February's event. These essays offer any number of interesting discussions. More than that, however, I think it is vital to take a better look at the culture that we are currently making, promoting and consuming.
First of all, these three genres unite in the fact that each medium is meant to be shared. We follow television shows and films on social media, we pick favorite characters, dress in character and create intricate fandoms. We talk about our favorite media at work, in school, on the phone or at coffee shops. Clearly, we want to share our opinions or questions with others. What better opportunity, then, to share our ideas with a group of open-minded individuals interested in the same topics!? The three volumes look at what these personas might tell us about ourselves as individuals, or as cultures. In addition, they include articles of events of such originality that there is literally no word or phrase yet adequate to describe the intricate relationship between show writers, on-screen character and impersonations.
An article from Tube Talk discusses one unnamed phenomenon that has been generated by fans of Mad Men. As technology continues to evolve, it increases our avenues to connect, but also blurs the lines surrounding reality. For example, Twitter accounts impersonating Mad Men characters quickly arose, and though the show stopped after seven seasons, the Twitter accounts continue – in character. I wonder, what enjoyment do we get from assuming the voice of characters in something like Mad Men? One blogger says "I try and think like [Roger Sterling], tweet what he might say. It's creative, and a lot of fun." This requires a serious engagement with the time period, an understanding of cultural constraints in that society and, of course, a thorough study of the character. The Twitter-author-voice must thoroughly know the character to presuppose what they would do. And of course, in creating an alter-ego, there is the question of losing the alter-ego.
The rise of Twitter in tandem with shows like Newsroom and Mad Men, which relate to a relatively recent time of American history, has created a different kind of fandom than that of, say, Star Trek. Yet the urge to become or live in a fictional skin continues. The introduction to Tube Talk claims that "[Television] is the greatest mirror that our global society has ever held up to itself, and even though sometimes we may not like what we see, it is impossible to look away." I would further say that, not only is it impossible to look away, we should not look away. Rather, we should attempt to understand the underlying culture as a way to change what we do not like, or to better understand that which we do not know. For example, in the introduction to Double Features, Nick Clement writes, "The collective practice of gathering with a group of strangers in a darkened theater to watch images moving on a screen represents one of the more unusual agreements that human beings can reach." Funny, but his comment also opens up a number of different questions regarding film culture, human connection and historic trends.
These books offer some excellent insight into current culture. They are an essential reminder that, for better or worse, we actively participate in a dynamic era filled with mixed media and art forms. It is essential that we realize our involvement in these forms if we have any intention to understand ourselves and our society. If we intend to create the best future for ourselves, our children and our communities, then it is worth our time to understand contemporary art forms. I look forward to discussing these books in February!
In Book Reviews, Conference, Great Books, Tutor Post, Virtue Tags music, film, television, Popular Culture, Book Review, virtue, Great Books Foundation


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Los Bañales és un jaciment arqueològic romà situat en el terme municipal d'Uncastillo, al nord-oest de la província de Saragossa (Espanya), tot just a 15 quilòmetres de la pròpia Uncastillo i a tan sols 95 quilòmetres de Saragossa. Avui dia és el jaciment romà més important de la comarca de Las Cinco Villas d'Aragó -d'altra banda, d'intensa presència romana- i un dels més notables d'Aragó. Com a jaciment arqueològic, Los Bañales amaga les restes d'una ciutat romana el nom de la qual no pot certificar-se encara amb seguretat. Va haver d'ocupar una extensió d'una mica més de vint hectàrees de terreny, delimitades al nord per un monumental espai residencial, al sud pel turó de l'Ús i la Filosa (El Huso y la Rueca), a l'est per Puy Foradado i el traçat elevat d'un aqüeducte romà, i a l'oest per la suposada necròpoli al peu del turó de El Pueyo.

De la citada ciutat, durant molts anys, l'única cosa estudiada amb detall va ser el seu sistema hidràulic, dotat d'unes monumentals termes -construïdes a la fi del segle I d. C.- i d'un aqüeducte que transportava l'aigua a la ciutat des d'un possible embassament proper. Van ser precisament les termes les que van haver de donar nom al lloc i a l'antiga advocación de Nuestra Señora de Los Bañales, l'Ermita de la qual presideix l'àrea arqueològica. En els últims anys, des de 2008, gràcies a l'embranzida de la Fundación Uncastillo i de la Direcció general de Patrimoni del Govern d'Aragó, s'ha reprès la recerca en el lloc i s'han posat al descobert interessants espais de l'urbanisme de la ciutat i, també, objectes que van formar part de la seva cultura material quotidiana.

En l'actualitat els treballs arqueològics, de recerca i de formació d'ells derivats, i de posada en valor, compten amb el suport de la Direcció general de Patrimoni Cultural del Govern d'Aragó, de la Comarca de les Cinc Viles i dels Ajuntaments de Uncastillo, Sádaba, Layana i Biota. A més, amb un model totalment innovador en gestió del patrimoni arqueològic, la Fundación Uncastillo canalitza també una sèrie d'ajudes de diverses empreses privades (E.on, General Eòlica Aragonesa o la Fundació ACS) que col·laboren amb el projecte.

Història
Segons les dades de les fonts antigues -Plinio el Vell, Ptolemeu, Tito Livio, Estrabón-, Los Bañales va haver de formar part del territori que els textos clàssics atribueixen als Vascons, un poble que va ocupar els territoris de l'actual Navarra i les Cinc Viles d'Aragó fins al Riu Gállego. Com a tal, pertanyeria a la jurisdicció de Caesaraugusta, l'actual Saragossa estant, possiblement, comunicat amb ella a través de la via que, a través de Caesaraugusta i Pompelo (l'actual Pamplona) enllaçava els ports de Tàrraco (Tarragona) i Oiasso (Irun). A través de Los Bañales i de les Altes Cinc Viles, part d'aquesta via es dirigia probablement cap a Aquitània travessant les antigues ciutats romanes situades en el Cabezo Ladrero (Sofuentes) i Campo Real/Fillera (Sos del Rey Católico-Sangüesa), la qual cosa explicaria la monumentalitat dels tres centres i, especialment, de Los Bañales. Abans d'arribar a Los Bañales, aquesta mateixa via, que accedia al lloc travessant el terme municipal de Biota, passava per la ciutat romana que va haver-hi en Ejea de los Caballeros, tal vegada la Segia de les fonts antigues.

S'ignora el nom que la ciutat va tenir pels qui la van habitar i, també, aquell amb el qual poguessin conèixer-la els romans a la seva arribada a la zona cap al 195 a.C. En tots els anys que s'han dedicat a l'estudi d'aquest jaciment, molts han estat els noms possibles que se li han atribuït, Clarina, Muscaria, Atiliana, però el que actualment es considera més plausible és el de Tarraca, la Terracha llistada en el Ravenate (IV 43 - 311,11) que és una ciuitas foederata segons els llistats de Plinio (Nat. 3, 24) relatius al convent jurídic de Caesaraugusta, la Tarraga vascona citada per Ptolemeu (O 6, 66), en la via de Caesaraugusta a Pompelo, encara que aquesta via no se citi en l'Itinerari de Antonino. En qualsevol cas, només l'aparició d'alguna inscripció pública en les excavacions futures, en la qual figuri el nom de la ciutat, podrà resoldre aquesta incògnita.

Segons proposen les últimes dades conegudes, la ciutat va tenir –almenys en la seva part baixa, la més monumental– un primer i gairebé general abandonament entorn del segle III d.C., un trasllat de les seves elits locals a finques rurals -explotades ja des del segle I a.C.- i una retracció del seu poblament cap a El Pueyo -monticle predominant de la ciutat-, on sembla sobreviure fins al segle IX d.C.

Activitat arqueològica
Al juny de 1931, la Gaceta de Madrid antecessora del Butlletí Oficial de l'Estat va incloure Los Bañales de Uncastillo i altres monuments de la zona com el Mausoleo de los Atilios i la Sinagoga de Sádaba en el Tresor Artístic Nacional. Setanta anys més tard, al març de 2003, aquests conjunts són declarats Bé d'Interès Cultural per la Direcció general de Patrimoni del Govern d'Aragó.
Durant aquest extens període comprès entre els anys 1931 i 2003, el jaciment va ser escenari d'actuacions arqueològiques en tres ocasions:

 Entre 1942 i 1947 dirigides per José Galiay. Va excavar les termes, El Pueyo, la zona de les dues columnes i l'angle nord-oest del fòrum, que va interpretar com un temple.
 Entre 1972 i 1979 dirigides per Antonio Beltrán. Va excavar les termes íntegrament -incloent la seva reconstrucció-, una illa en El Pueyo, ja excavada per Galiay, va fer estudis complets sobre l'aqüeducte i el sistema hidràulic, i en les últimes campanyes, va excavar de nou la zona de les dues columnes, erròniament tractada com un macellum -mercat-.
 Entre 1998 i 2001 dirigides per José María Viladés i Miguel Ángel Zapater. Van excavar una zona a l'Est de les termes.

En l'actualitat i sense interrupció des de l'any 2008, el jaciment és objecte d'un Pla de Recerca encarregat per la Direcció general de Patrimoni del Govern d'Aragó a la Fundación Uncastillo i dirigit per l'arqueòleg Juan José Béns i l'historiador Javier Andreu.

Des de 2015, i gràcies a la col·laboració de la Fundació Caixa Navarra, l'Obra Social "La Caixa" i la UNED de Tudela, Los Bañales compta amb un Museu Virtual en constant increment allotjat en la plataforma Sketchfab que és una de les més empleades per projectes patrimonials i institucions. El Museu recull els treballs de digitalització en 3D de tota mena de material arqueològic -des d'estructures fins a objectes de la cultura material- no només procedent de Los Bañales sinó també d'altres enclavaments arqueològics de la Comarca de les Cinc Viles. L'autor dels models tridimensionals -que inclouen anotacions de caràcter pedagògic i informatiu- és Pablo Serrano Basterra sota la coordinació de Javier Andreu Pintado.

El 30 de setembre de 2016 es va atorgar al projecte arqueològic de Los Bañales el premi en la modalitat Local/Regional en la Primera Edició dels Premis Sísifo a la recerca, defensa i divulgació del Patrimoni Arqueològic, impulsats pel Grupo de Investigación Sísifo de la Universitat de Còrdova a través del seu projecte de Cultura Científica Arqueología Somos Todos, destacant el compromís amb la difusió i la socialització del patrimoni que, des de 2008, es ve desenvolupant en Los Bañales. El lliurament del premi va tenir lloc a la pròpia Universitat de Còrdova el dia 27 d'octubre de 2016.

Conjunt monumental
L'àmplia partida del sud del terme municipal de Uncastillo que es coneix com Los Bañales amaga les restes d'una ciutat romana de nom encara desconegut, la visita del qual permet comprendre quals van ser els principals reptes als quals Roma va haver d'enfrontar-se per instal·lar en aquest lloc un centre urbà que es va significar entre els més pròspers i monumentals de la Vall de l'Ebre. Encara en procés d'estudi, avui dia les seves restes ofereixen sensacionals exemples de l'arquitectura pública i privada romanes i, especialment, de l'enginyeria hidràulica.

El Pueyo
Tenint en compte els resultats de les diferents campanyes de prospeccions realitzades a l'entorn de Los Bañales fins avui, es calcula que la ciutat va ocupar una superfície aproximada de 24 hectàrees, entre el vessant sud del turó de El Pueyo i el monticle del l'Ús i la Filosa (El Huso y la Rueca) (503 m.), al fons de la vall, dos grans i tosques pedres en posició vertical, aixecades en època romana i carregades de velles llegendes de gegants i de Samsóns, possiblement una fita terminal de la ciutat, al peu del pas de la via.

El turó de El Pueyo, un petit promontori de 567 metres de cota i una mica menys d'un centenar sobre les terres circumdants, és possiblement el punt d'origen del poblament de la zona en època prerromana, romanitzat en diferent mesura en cadascuna de les tres terrasses en les quals està estructurat i segons les últimes evidències conegudes, molt probablement ocupat fins al segle IX de nostra era, quan la ciutat ja feia segles que estava en procés de desmantellament i els seus habitants dispersos pel territori.

Des del punt de vista domèstic, el sistema urbanístic va variar en cadascuna de les terrasses. Així, en la més immediata al fòrum, un carrer central -parcialment excavada per José Galiay i encara avui visible- servia d'eix perquè els habitatges es disposessin entorn d'ella de manera radial. Protegint la segona terrassa es conserven restes d'una muralla realitzada amb grans carreus i en el punt més alt del turó vestigis d'un edifici monumental, potser un temple de factura romana, mantenint l'ús que va poder tenir aquesta mateixa zona en època prerromana, ja que des d'aquest punt es domina visualment tota la vall.

Les excavacions dels últims últims anys en el lloc han aportat un notable lot de material ceràmic dels segles VIII i IX d. C. així com la troballa d'una singular escàpula d'os amb text en àrab.

El fòrum
La primera terrassa de El Pueyo, va poder estar reservada a finalitats de caràcter públic. Així permeten evidenciar-ho les restes de l'edificació que José Galiay va denominar temple en les seves excavacions dels anys 40 del segle passat, consistents en una important concentració de pedestals i elements motllurats de notable envergadura al costat d'un mur de tancament en angle cap al turó i que no havien tornat a ser motiu d'estudi fins a l'inici de l'actual Pla de Recerca, revelant ja sense cap dubte, que es tracta en realitat d'un fòrum monumental del que fins al moment sol es coneixen part dels seus laterals nord i oest.

Les actuacions realitzades en les últimes campanyes d'excavació -des de 2008- han revelat que el fòrum se sustentava sobre grans caixes de fonamentació assentades sobre la pròpia roca i realitzades amb grans carreus encoixinats, la qual cosa fa intuir que els espais superiors van ser d'una majestuosidad imponent. Això unit a la seva situació elevada i aterrazada en una àmplia àrea compresa entre l'Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Los Bañales i el camí de pujada a El Pueyo fan suposar que el fòrum seria ostensiblement visible des de la via, al seu pas a certa distància al sud de la ciutat creuant la vall.

Les últimes campanyes d'excavacions d'estiu en aquest espai de la ciutat romana no han deixat de desvetllar elements que venen a confirmar aquesta gran magnificencia que va haver de tenir la plaça pública de la ciutat:

  Campaña III (2011) - Exedra en el pòrtic Oest amb quatre monumentals inscripcions conservades in situ de caràcter votiu i salutífer dedicades per una tal Pompeia Paulla a quatre deïtats.
  Campaña IV (2012) - Edícula en el Pòrtic Oest -contigua a l'anterior- amb un podi monumental amb restes d'ancoratges d'estàtues i amb cinc textos en els quals els protagonistes són M. Fabius Nouus iPorcia Fauentina les estàtues del qual –si s'ha de jutjar per les cartelas amb els seus noms– ocuparien el costat esquerre de l'edificació, deixant el central reservat per a una estàtua a la Victòria Augusta ofrendada per tots dos i els laterals per a sengles homenatges per part de cadascun d'ells a L. Fabius Placidus, oncle de M. Fabius Nouus, i a Porcia Germulla, potser germana de Porcia. Els dos conjunts epigràfics, per decisió de Govern d'Aragó, van ser protegits per rèpliques en arenisca realitzades per l'Escola Taller de cantería, amb que aquesta institució comptava en Sádaba fins a 2012.
  Campaña V (2013) - Un notable lot, de més de 40 peces, de material escultòric romà amortitzat, segurament, per a la conversió en calç. Peces en marbre blanc importat, restes de programes decoratius diferents compostos per estàtues de togats i de cuirassats. Mereixen especial atenció les restes d'una cuirassa d'una estàtua cuirassada -Thoracatus- decorats amb relleus al·lusius a una victòria imperial així com les restes de dues cames que permeten reconstruir parcialment l'escultura original. L'empresa Paleorama treballa en el projecte Princeps Resurgens, que pretén la reconstrucció virtual per mitjans fotogramètrics d'aquest thoracatus.
  Campaña VI (2014) - Es defineix el perímetre complet del fòrum, descobrint el costat occidental que faltava. Es descobreix també un nou lot de més d'una trentena de peces de marbre blanc de estatuària del fòrum, destacant entre ells un nou fragment de la cuirassa del Thoracatus, complementari del descobert en la campanya de 2013 i diversos fragments de retrats imperials de la dinastia Julio-Claudia.
  Campaña VII (2015) - A la fi de maig en l'excavació del criptopórtico oriental del fòrum, va aparèixer un pedestal dedicat per l'oficial de cavalleria Quinto Sempronio Vítulo a l'emperador Tiberi, en el seu cinquè consolat (31/32 d.C.), la primera setmana de juny un segon pedestal, a la mateixa zona que el primer, aquest dedicat a Lucio Cessar, fill adoptiu de l'Emperador August i que pot ser datat entre el 5 a.C. i el 2 d.C., en l'última setmana de juny, un tercer pedestal a la mateixa zona, dedicat per un lliberto a Quinto Sempronio Vítulo -promotor del primer pedestal dedicat a Tiberi- en el qual es detalla la seva carrera militar, com a oficial en l'ala Tauriana i subprefecto de cohort en la cohors Germanorum i en la primera setmana de juliol, un quart pedestal pràcticament idèntic a l'anterior, encara que en aquesta ocasió apareix complet el nom del dedicant del monument, el llibert Aesopus i, a diferència de l'anterior, que es va fer per disposició testamentaria del propi Vitulo, aquest ho va erigir Aesopusper pròpia iniciativa.
  Campaña VIII (2016) - Es defineix de forma completa el perímetre de la plaça pública, amb les tabernae pel seu costat occidental i el carrer de pujada a El Pueyo per l'oriental.

Durant l'any 2014, Pablo Serrano Basterra, becari del Pla de Recerca de la Fundació Uncastillo a Los Bañales, ha estat treballant, amb l'assessorament de l'Equip Científic del projecte, i gràcies a l'ús de l'eina informàtica per a recreació virtual del patrimoni arqueològic Blender , en el projecte Forum Renascens que pretén, a través de la tecnologia 3D, tornar la vida al fòrum que tindria un aspecte semblant al que s'ha proposat en el resultat d'aquest treball.

El dissabte 10 de febrer de 2018 es va presentar en la localitat de Layana (Saragossa) una aplicació per a mòbils i tabletas Android que permet conèixer el jaciment de Los Bañales a través d'una sèrie de materials multimèdia com audioguías, recreacions virtuals o videos en 3D. Aquest jaciment és el primer d'Aragó que posa a la disposició del públic una aplicació d'aquest tipus. En la seva primera edició se centra en el fòrum de la ciutat romana, deixant la resta de parts del jaciment per a posteriors ampliacions. El projecte ha estat possible gràcies a la Fundació Espanyola per a la Ciència i la Tecnologia (FECYT) i a la col·laboració de ADEFO Cinco Villas, els Ajuntaments de l'entorn i la Universitat de Navarra (UNAV). El seu programador ha estat César Aísa.

Les termes
Les termes són sens dubte, el monument més representatiu del jaciment de Los Bañales i possiblement un element inspirador de l'actual nom de la zona, relatiu als banys. En gran manera el seu excel·lent estat de conservació actual es deu al seu aprofitament durant anys com a habitatge, ja que així ho va descriure en 1610 Juan Bautista Labaña, geògraf portuguès, autor d'un mapa i un itinerari del Regne d'Aragó.

Van ser excavades tant per José Galiay com posteriorment per Antonio Beltrán, que va procedir a la seva restauració i cubrimiento i en aquest estat han arribat fins als nostres dies. La seva extensió d'uns 530 m2 i una capacitat per 60 persones aproximadament, fan suposar que no serien les úniques termes de la ciutat, atès que el potencial que la mateixa està desvetllant necessitaria d'unes termes de major capacitat. En qualsevol cas aquestes disposen de totes les sales necessàries per realitzar un recorregut termal o de condícia completa.

S'accedia per dos petits vestíbuls amb bancs, que permetien controlar els torns d'entrada i sortida, d'aquests es passa a un vestuari -apodyterium- en el qual es conserven en les seves parets les fornícules a manera de guarda-roba -loculi- i des d'est i a través de dues portes es pot accedir a la sala freda -frigidarium- en la qual hi ha una petita piscina -natatio-, o a la sala temperada -tepidarium- i des d'aquesta a la sala calenta -caldarium- on també hi havia una banyera d'aigua calenta, en una sala que funcionava com a sauna -sudatio-). En el lateral Aquest de les termes hi havia unes latrines accessibles des del frigidarium i des del vestíbul.

Zones residencials, artesanals i comercials
Existeixen diverses zones a la ciutat dels Bañales, amb estructures que s'identifiquen com a zones residencials i/o comercials, tant en època romana com en altres moments de la seva història. Cadascuna d'aquestes zones té les seves particularitats.

Àrea domèstic artesanal

 Al costat de les termes, s'ha excavat entre 2009 i 2012 una parcel·la del jaciment que no havia estat objecte d'excavacions prèvies, descobrint un espai de caràcter artesanal i industrial, construït aprofitant altres espais d'aspecte monumental d'ús possiblement públic, i reutilitzant materials arquitectònics d'altres construccions.

 S'observen en aquest espai, tant estades de tipus residencial, com altres que semblen ser industrials, com forns o zones d'emmagatzematge, el que fa pensar que pugui tractar-se d'habitatges amb tallers artesanals i tenint en compte que s'han trobat gran quantitat d'objectes realitzats en os, és possible que es tractés d'una botiga -tabernae- dedicada a la fabricació i venda d'aquests productes.

El carrer porticat

 El primer que es troba el visitant que arriba a Los Bañales per la població de Layana, són dues colossals columnes toscanes. Durant dècades es van considerar erròniament un possible accés al fòrum de la ciutat o part d'un mercat -macellum-, però en realitat, aquestes dues columnes -i unes altres de les quals només es conserva la seva base- formarien part d'un pòrtic situat en l'encreuament de dos carrers -de les quals es conserven part de les voreres- en un dels angles de les quals es va situar un habitatge monumental, previsiblement pertanyent a l'elit local. Es tracta d'un habitatge, amb peristil central, al que s'obrien les estades principals, de les quals es conserven parts del sòcol de pedra, en el qual es recolzarien els diferents murs.

 Al costat d'aquesta zona es conserven, també, les restes d'una escala que conduiria a una altra zona situada en una terrassa inferior, actualment zona de cultiu. Tot aquest conjunt es va excavar per última vegada i de forma molt parcial, en els anys 70 del segle XX.

Els habitatges de El Pueyo

 Ocupat per habitatges d'època prerromana, El Pueyo va ser extraordinàriament aprofitat en tota la seva extensió i en el cas dels habitatges, especialment la seva segona terrassa, on avui dia es poden intuir, observant-la des d'un punt elevat, les diferents illes de cases -insulae-. En les façanes d'aquestes cases, que en alguns casos van haver de tenir baixos comercials -tabernae-, es poden observar blocs ben escairats i de grans dimensions situats en zones clau de l'edificació, mentre que els sòcols mitgers de l'interior van ser elaborats amb sillarejo i ortòstats perpendiculars per donar major consistència al mur. La seva estructura atípica per al model romà fa suposar que són habitatges adaptats a les diferents èpoques de pervivència de la població en aquesta zona de la ciutat, des de segles abans a la romanització i fins a segles després del desmantellament de les estructures públiques de la ciutat romana.

 Excavada per José Galiay i documentada de nou per Antonio Beltrán, una part de la segona terrassa citada, es troba en l'actualitat de nou en estudi, havent descobert en les últimes excavacions un tram de la muralla que envoltava aquesta terrassa, amb el basament d'una de les seves torres i fins i tot la polleguera d'una porta de la muralla.

El proveïment d'aigua
Situada en una immensa planicie al centre de les conques fluvials dels rius Riguel i Arba de Luesia, la ciutat de Los Bañales va haver de solucionar, per mitjà de cisternes i de deus avui extints, el proveïment d'aigua en els seus orígens, però el seu creixement o la pèrdua dels aqüífers originals li van portar a construir un sistema hidràulic, sense parangó al món romà, que li proporcionés el volum d'aigua necessari per cobrir totes les seves necessitats.

Si s'ha de jutjar per les marques testificades en alguns dels carreus dels pilars de l'aqüeducte al·ludint a la Legio IIII Macedonica que va participar en la construcció entre el 9 i 5 a. C de la via entre Caesaraugusta i Pompelo -al costat de la Legio VI Victrix i la Legio X Gemina-, es podria datar la construcció de l'aqüeducte en aquestes mateixes dates, coincidint amb el qual seria el primer enlairament monumental de la ciutat.

El 17 d'abril de 2015, dins del programa de l'I Cap de setmana Romà en Los Bañales es van presentar en Biota dos nous audiovisuals dedicats al sistema hidràulic de la ciutat. El primer d'ells un reportatge dirigit pel jove realitzador aragonès Álvaro Bonet i el segon, una recreació infogràfica realitzada en Blender per Pablo Serrano de la qual també apareixen fragments en el primer dels audiovisuals.

El tram elevat de l'aqüeducte: Els Pilarons
 L'aqüeducte constitueix un dels elements més destacats del jaciment arqueològic de Los Bañales. Es tracta d'una obra, que malgrat la seva aparent tosquedat és una referència entre els aqüeductes romans a Espanya a causa del seu sistema constructiu.

 S'estén des de Puy Foradado -turó de suggeridor nom que segons la tradició es deu al fet que va estar perforat per al pas de l'aigua- salvant una petita depressió d'uns 350 m., recolzant-se en una cresta rocosa, en part elevat sobre pilars i en altres punts per un canal tallat en la pròpia roca –specus-, per accedir a la ciutat de Los Bañales en algun punt encara per determinar.

 D'aquesta part elevada de l'aqüeducte es conserven 32 dels més de 70 pilars que se suposa que va haver de tenir, construïts amb carreus d'arenisca de la zona, en nombre i grossor variable en cada pilar, depenent de l'altura necessària, col·locats en sec un sobre un altre i enginyosament recolzats sobre l'estrat d'areniscas que aflora a la zona i en el qual es van llaurar les caixes de fonamentació necessàries per a l'equilibrat de cada pilar sobre el terreny.

 El carreu superior de cada pilar, té un rebaixi en forma de "U" que serviria per al suport de la llinda que sostindria el canal -o canonada- que transportaria l'aigua i a uns 90 cm de la coronació de cada pilar, apareix una perforació horitzontal de costat a costat, que permetria crear un sistema d'apuntalament per al suport de la llinda al centre de l'obertura entre cada dos pilars, reforçant d'aquesta manera l'estructura.

 El tram elevat d'aquest singular aqüeducte, es complementava amb trams de specus tallat en la pròpia roca -s'han recuperat alguns metres d'aquest sistema-, aprofitant el vessant d'algunes llomes, mantenint el nivell necessari i amb el pendent adequat per a la continuïtat del trànsit de l'aigua. Tenint en compte les cotes a les quals es troben els diferents elements del recorregut s'ha calculat que tot l'aqüeducte mantenia un pendent constant inferior al 0,1 % -un metre de diferència per cada quilòmetre de recorregut-, la qual cosa fa una diferència d'altura entre pilars d'uns pocs mil·límetres.

 Existeix una llegenda local que atribueix la construcció de l'aqüeducte al Diable:

La presa

 La tradició oral atribueix l'origen de l'aigua que arribava a Los Bañales, basant-se exclusivament en la memòria col·lectiva, a la Font del Diable de Malpica de Arba, però fins al moment no ha pogut confirmar-se aquesta dada i els mesuraments de cota realitzats en els més de 9 km. –en línia recta- de recorregut entre aquest lloc i la ciutat romana ho fan difícilment viable, la qual cosa fa pensar que l'origen del subministrament –caput aquae- és un altre.

 Per aquest motiu, i tenint en compte algunes anotacions de campanyes arqueològiques anteriors que citaven una possible presa en el paratge anomenat Cubalmena -nom de per si ja definitori-, en l'actual Pla de Recerca s'ha confirmat l'existència d'aquesta presa, que distaria poc més de 2 km. del centre de l'actual jaciment, encara que es troba ja en el terme municipal de Biota.

 L'estructura descoberta, sens dubte es tracta d'una presa romana, encara que en l'actualitat serveix de mur de separació entre dues parcel·les de cultiu a diferent altura, però excavat íntegrament el que seria la seva frontal aigües avall, s'observa un mur de 53m. de llarg en forma d'arc, realitzat amb carreus col·locats en filades escalonades i recolzat en els seus dos extrems sobre dos afloraments rocosos en els quals es apuntalaría per resistir l'embranzida de la massa d'aigua. S'han realitzat tastos en la part superior del dic, constatant que es va construir sobre un jaç d'argiles que a més de suport li servia per impermeabilitzar-ho.

 Tenint en compte la grandària del dic, una altura aproximada de 3m. i l'extensió del llenç d'aigua segons l'orografia de la finca superior, s'ha calculat que en el seu moment va poder contenir uns 30.000 m³ d'aigua. Seria l'aigua provinent d'una deu actualment desapareguda –però que encara perdura en el record de les gents i que fa que el terreny actual sigui especialment fèrtil- així com l'aigua de la pluja que recolliria dels turons propers pels petits barrancs que conflueixen en aquesta mateixa parcel·la.

 Des d'aquesta presa i envoltant – o perforant- el turó de Puy Foradado, la sortida d'aigua buscaria la vall en direcció a la ciutat i enllaçaria amb el tram elevat de l'aqüeducte, encara que de moment no es coneix el punt d'arrencada ni la manera en què enllaçarien aquestes dues estructures.

La necròpoli

Com qualsevol ciutat romana, Los Bañales va comptar amb la seva pròpia necròpoli. S'han identificat les seves restes al sud-oest del que hauria estat el nucli urbà, és a dir, a esquena de la ciutat, accessible punt des d'aquesta com des de la via que passaria a poca distància d'aquest lloc.

Fruit de les prospeccions arqueològiques -encara no s'ha excavat en aquesta zona- s'ha pogut constatar que en la necròpoli hi havia deixants quadrangulars i de cap triangular, altars funeraris, pedestals i especialment cupae.

Les cupae -en llatí, singular cupa, plural cupae- és un tipus peculiar de monument funerari de planta allargada amb coberta cilíndrica, imitant un tonel tombat -de fet, cupa vol dir tonel en llatí-, que es van utilitzar en algunes regions de l'Imperi Romà entre els Segles I i III i que va ser excepcionalment freqüent en aquesta zona. Sota la seva forma de tonel disposava d'un buit en el qual s'introduïa una urna amb les cendres del difunt i disposava d'un orifici lateral perquè els familiars poguessin fer ofrenes i libacions i en un dels laterals s'esculpia una inscripció commemorativa.

Les cupae no només van ser freqüents en la necròpoli de Los Bañales sinó, especialment, en les de les seves finques rurals, ocupades per villae de la elit. Les troballes s'han anat incrementant en els últims anys, des de l'inici de la revisió del territori rural en 2009, l'últim es va produir a l'estiu de 2015.

Monuments funeraris

A l'empara de la ciutat de Los Bañales i no lluny de la via que per allí passava, algunes de les finques de l'elit local, disposaven a l'entorn de les seves luxoses edificacions de acotats funeraris propis, dels quals ens han arribat algunes evidències.

 Mausoleu dels Atilis - Anomenat popularment L'altar dels moros, és un mausoleu romà del que es conserva la seva portada i en les inscripcions de la qual s'indica que Atilia Festa ho va construir, en vida, per al seu avi Cayo Atilio Genial, per al seu pare Lucio Atilio Festo i per a ella mateixa. Aquesta façana és una de les joies ornamentals de l'art funerari romà en la península Ibèrica.

El gener de 2016, a partir d'una detallada documentació fotogramétrica i després del seguiment de monuments semblants i del ritme del fet funerari a la zona en època romana, Pablo Serrano, infografista del projecte de Los Bañales ha dut a terme una restitució estructural del fitat, en 3D, que s'allotja al canal de vídeos de Los Bañales.

 Mausoleu de la Sinagoga de Sádaba - Es tracta d'un mausoleu romà realitzat en opus mixtum, un aparell romà fet a força de sillarejo i maó, de planta cruciforme amb dues exedras absidiades als costats, amb braços desiguals. El monument segueix paral·lels arquitectònics d'època constantiniana, segle IV d. C., com Sant Miquel de Egara (Terrassa) o Centcelles (Constantí, Tarragona). Estaria associat igualment a una suntuosa vila, de la qual es conserven algunes restes a escassos metres del mausoleu.

El 17 d'abril de 2015 el Laboratori de Documentació Geomètrica del Patrimoni (LDGP) de la Universitat del País Basc, va presentar en Biota un exhaustiu treball sobre les restes d'aquest mausoleu, documentant el seu estat de conservació en aquest moment i quedant els seus resultats a disposició pública per a futurs estudis o treballs de restauració.

El poblament rural
La Comarca de les Cinc Viles és avui dia un territori eminentment rural. Pesi a la intensa urbanització que la zona va registrar en època romana, les seves antigues ciutats vivien, sobretot, de l'activitat agrària. Cereal, oli, vi, espart, fusta, productes ramaders i, també, arenisca van haver de ser els productes "estavella" d'aquest territori tan intensament romanitzat, molt bé irrigat per les aigües dels rius Riguel i Arba de Luesia i travessat, a més, per una calçada fonamental, la que connectava la Vall de l'Ebre amb el Cantàbric i amb el Pirineu i una extensa xarxa de camins secundaris.

L'elit local, que disposava de grans explotacions agrícoles, mantenia una activa relació amb la ciutat, utilitzant-la com a mercat dels seus productes i com a font de treballadors. Existien grans districtes rurals annexos a la ciutat -uici- on se situaven els diferents grups d'artesans i una mica més allunyades i situades estratègicament les uillae, suntuosas finques que aprofitaven els recursos de la seva àrea circumdant i que disposaven en alguns casos d'importants instal·lacions particulars com a termes o necròpolis pròpies -a alguna d'aquestes uillae pertanyen els mausoleus dels Atilis o de la Sinagoga de Sádaba-.

En l'estiu de 2013 l'Ajuntament de Layana amb l'assessorament de la Fundació Uncastillo, va inaugurar un innovador Centre d'Interpretació sobre el paisatge rural romà anomenat De Agri Cultura. Aquest espai interpretatiu està situat en la torrassa medieval del  que presideix el caseriu del municipi. Es tracta d'un espai domotitzat que permet a qui ho visita fer-se una idea dels sistemes productius, de la vida econòmica i de la societat camperola de l'època romana a l'entorn de Los Bañales.

Referències

Enllaços externs

 Pàgina de Los Bañales en Facebook
 Canal Youtube de Los Bañales
 Los Bañales a flikr
 Blog "El rincón del bañalense"
 Museu virtual de Los Bañales a Sketchfab
 Patrimoni Virtual - Pablo Serrano Basterra. Infografista del projecte de Los Bañales.
 Aplicació Android de Los Bañales a Google Play.

Ciutats d'Hispània
Uncastillo
Jaciments arqueològics d'Aragó
Béns d'Interès Cultural d'Aragó

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia