LISS.398A TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT and HUMAN ADAPTATION:
PART II PRE-EUROPEAN
MESOAMERICA
LITERATURE RESOURCES
I. OVERVIEW.
This document describes sources or
literature for your term project and ways to search these
sources.
II. LITERATURE SOURCES.
Literature related to your term
project is available from three sources:
- books on reserve in the CSM library;
- other local libraries -- especially CU Boulder;
- interlibrary loan;
II.1 RESERVE BOOKS.
Books from the CSM library collection
as well as the instructor's personal collection are on
overnight reserve. If you need a book for a longer period,
check with me.
II.2 LOCAL LIBRARIES.
The card catalogs of all local
libraries are available to you via
the CARL system
on any computer connected to the CSM ehter net.
If you don't already
know about this, you should learn about it NOW. The
CU-Boulder library has a pretty good collection in
Mesoamerican archaeology. Most of the journals relevant to
your project will be there. Book literature is less likely
to be there and may be checked out. If books you need are
checked out, see me. I can have them recalled for you.
Denver University is probably as good. The Denver Public
Library has some things, but not as much as the university
libraries.
II.3 INTERLIBRARY LOAN.
Via
interlibrary loan,
the CSM library can get you a
photocopy of just about any article you need. They can also
get most books for a loan period of some weeks. This
service is cost free, BUT it takes some
time -- one to three
weeks. They will get materials from other local libraries,
but its much quicker to go there yourself, if you can. You
may need to use interlibrary loan for other libraries
outside the local area. You should PLAN AHEAD so that you
have the material when you need it.
II. LITERATURE SEARCH.
Four kinds of
resources/techniques are available to you for literature
search:
- computer based bibliographies;
- hard copy bibliographies;
- journal browsing;
- backtracking
II.1 COMPUTER BASED BIBLIOGRAPHIES.
There are two
general, computer based bibliographies that I know to be
useful in this subject area:
- UNCOVER;
- Social Sciences Index.
There may be others useful for specific topics. You should
consult the reference librarian in the CSM library. In
addition, a:
is available to you on line.
II.1.1 UNCOVER.
UNCOVER is available on the PAC system
(the same place you find CARL). It is a general periodical
index that apparently covers only publications within the
last 2 or 3 years.
II.1.2 SOCIAL SCIENCES INDEX.
The Social Sciences Index is
available on CD ROM in the CU Boulder library. It covers
about the last 5 years. Check with the reference librarian
about how to access it from the CSM library.
II.1.3 PRE-COLUMBIAN TECHNOLOGY, ADAPTATION and ENVIRONMENT
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
This
SEARCHABLE BIBLIOGRAPHY
is available to you on line.
The instructor has copies of many of the
items listed in this bibliography. If you run into problems
obtaining this material, ask.
II.2 HARD COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIES.
Your text and materials on
reserve contain bibliographies. A hard-copy version of the
Pre-Columbian Technology, Adaptation and Environment
Bibliography described above is on reserve in the CSM
library.
II.3 JOURNAL BROWSING.
For material more than about 5
years old there is no substitute for just looking through
the table contents of major journals. Even for more recent
material, this is a good idea. The major journals in this
field are:
Other journals worth browsing are:
Currently, the first 5 are not available in the CSM library.
So you should plan AT LEAST ONE TRIP to CU Boulder or DU
library.
II.4 BACKTRACKING.
"Backtracking" involves finding the
most recent material on your topic by one or more of the
previously mentioned techniques. Then use the
bibliographies in the recent material to backtrack to
earlier literature. This is probably the only way to be
reasonably certain you have retrieved everything that's
relevant.
Colorado School of Mines
Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies
Dr. Joseph D. Sneed
jsneed@mines.edu
