New face at the IA - Josue Ramos

It is time for us to introduce the second of the new staff members who joined our IA family most recently, a resident of the West, Mr Josue Ramos:

Life can be perceived as having 2 categories of people, those who are known to be “born with a spoon” and those who “did without”. I’ll tell you how I got involved in archaeology and will let you decide my category. I grew up on a farm where living was totally dependent on farming. Hence, plowing was vital in preparing the soil, but something interesting was also part of our community. These were the “cultural remains” found spread all over the fields and the folklore around it. It was not until I was 8 years old when I was knocking door to door in San Ignacio Town that I knocked at the doors of the Busman Arnold building where I met a group of “white guys” with tiny brushes and a huge clump of dirt with “bones”. I was not the police, but a child selling “craboo” (a small, usually yellow, sweet, fruit) and the guys became my best customers. Additionally, they saw my interest and actually gave me the privilege of brushing out the dirt of a jaw bone, after a good explanation on the instruction and reason to clean the remains.

It was not until 2006 that I officially started doing field school with Dr. Awe’s project (BVAR) at the site of Cahal Pech. Since then I have always been actively involved with field projects such as UMAP, LCAR and the majority of my time with BVAR. The dream of becoming an archaeologist was with me since childhood, but I didn’t know how or when this would occur.  The story of actually getting my education is a whole book on

its own.  I can tell you that it was not an easy road as those who knew me can attest to, but it was not impossible.  I thank all those who gave me advice, hosted me, educated me, and gave me courage to never quit, all these being better than any financial support. THANK YOU ALL! I graduated in 2010 with a dual degree from Galen University (Belize) and the University of Indianapolis (USA).

Certainly the opportunity given to me to work at the Institute of Archaeology is very fundamental to starting my career. It’s not the end but the beginning as I will contribute my utmost best to the IA. I am confident that I will make a landmark in our country Belize, and will continue to gain lots more experience which will certainly help me in my future education in Archaeology.

Sincerely,

Josue E. Ramos