By Alvaro Castillo
While many things may have changed over the first half century of the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, its key mission has not, according to attendees of the anniversary celebration in March.
Jason De León, institute director and professor of anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American studies, opened the program by quoting founding director and professor emeritus of history and Near Eastern languages and cultures Giorgio Buccellati’s initial 1974 report.
“‘We are creating here at UCLA something which is in line with the best archaeological truth and tradition, and yet is unique on the American scene…a comprehensive, interdisciplinary reconstruction of the human past,’” said De León. “‘We are truly an institute of archaeology writ large without parochial limitations of geography or methodology.’”
As attendees applauded the sentiment, De León added, “I think [these words] very, very much still ring true.”
Noting that appointing De León to the directorship last November was “one of the most important things that I’ve done in my role,” Abel Valenzuela, interim dean of the division of social sciences, shared his admiration for the institute.
“From a small group of passionate volunteers evolved an organized group of friends of archaeology who through their own sheer force of will and dedication began creating programs and events, one of the purest examples of the power of community, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary communities,” he said. “My thanks to everyone, past and present, who dedicated themselves to making the Cotsen Institute what it is today.”
Several of those luminaries spoke at the event, including Stephen Acabado, chair and professor of archaeology, as well as former institute directors and professors emeriti Buccellati, Merrick Posnansky (anthropology and history), Charles Stanish (anthropology) and Willeke Wendrich (Near Eastern languages and cultures). Another milestone was celebrated as well, when Thiago Puglieri, assistant professor of art history and conservation of cultural heritage, spoke on behalf of the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage reaching its 20th anniversary.
Thanking the speakers as well as everyone who had played a role in the ongoing story of the institute, De León closed the event by affirming how vitally important the institute had been to his own life, from a “lost kid with a green mohawk hiding under a baseball cap” applying for a work study position in the late Professor Jeanne Arnold’s lab to now being in charge of it all.
“When I say that I’m humbled, that’s an understatement of epic proportions. … I come to this position with a commitment to honoring the legacy of the place while building on the work of my wonderful predecessors,” De León said. “Every day that I’m able to walk into that building with the one window, I am reminded how special that place is for our staff, for our students, for our faculty and all of our many visitors who get excited and inspired by this thing that we call archaeology and all that it has to offer.”