This site contains the currently available on-line resources of the Shala Valley Project (SVP).


View south down Shala Valley
Woman of Shala
Ethnographic museum, Theth, Shala

Projekti i Lugines se Shales
The Shala Valley Project
Internet Edition

© 2005-2008 The Shala Valley Project

Directors

Michael L. Galaty, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, USA (curriculum vitae)
Ols Lafe, Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, Tirana, Albania
Zamir Tafilica, Shkodër Historical Museum, Shkodër, Albania

Co-directors

Wayne E. Lee, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Leader of the Ethnohistoric Survey Team

Robert Schon, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Leader of the Extensive Archaeological Survey Team

Charles Watkinson, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Leader of the Intensive Archaeological Survey Team

Antonia Young, Bradford University, Bradford, UK and Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA
Leader of the Ethnographic Survey Team

Table of Contents

Duplication, Publication, and Redistribution

The texts and illustrations contained in this site may not be published, reproduced, or otherwise redistributed without permission of the authors or artists and are for personal and educational use only. Commercial use is strictly prohibited. Scholarly publications should make reference to this site as "The Shala Valley Project: Internet Edition," <http/www.millsaps.edu/svp>.

Introduction

The Shala Valley Project (SVP) is an interdisciplinary, regional studies project focused on the Shala River valley of the Dukagjin region of the northern Albanian high mountains.  The project supports integrated programs of archaeological, ethnographic, ethno-historical, and geo-scientific research.  We aim 1) to produce a diachronic record of the regional cultural resources, material and human, of Shala; and 2) to contribute to theoretical discussions regarding cultural isolation – why do some societies choose isolation over incorporation?

The SVP has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Millsaps College, the United States Embassy in Tirana, the Global Partners Project, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), International Peace Research Association, the University Research Council of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Louisville, and two private donors, Bud Robinson and John Stevens.

SVP fieldwork is conducted by permission of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, and the Albanian Academy of Sciences. 

SVP in the News

LA Times by Elena Becatoros

USA Today by Dan Vergano

WindingRoad by William Jeanes

Project Reports and Publications

The 2005 Field Season Report

The 2006 Field Season Report

The 2007 Field Season Report

The 2008 Field Season Report

SVP Bibliography: Endnote RTF (Contains 552 references to northern Albanian anthropology, archaeology, and history.)

Published and Forthcoming Articles on the SVP

Galaty, M. 2007. “There Are Prehistoric Cities Up There”: The Bronze and Iron Ages in Northern Albania. Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas: Prehistory Across Borders. Proceedings of the International Conference held at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, 11-14 April 2005, edited by I. Galanaki, H. Tomas, Y. Galanakis, and R. Laffineur, 133-140. Aegaeum 27. Université de Liège and University of Texas at Austin.

Galaty, M. 2006. From Points A to B: The Shala Valley Project and the Albanian Middle Paleolithic. New Directions in Albanian Archaeology: Studies Presented to Muzafer Korkuti, edited by L. Bejko and R. Hodges, 18-30. International Centre for Albanian Archaeology Monograph Series No. 1. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

Galaty, M., O. Lafe, Z. Tafilica, W. Lee, M. Mustafa, C. Watkinson, and A. Young. 2006. Projekti i Luginës së Shalës: Fashata 2005 Hyrje [The Shala Valley Project: Results of the 2005 Season]. Shkodra në Shekuj, 232-240. Historical Museum of Shkodër. In Albanian with English abstract.

Mustafa, M., and A. Young. 2008. Feud Narratives: Contemporary Deployments of Kanun in Shala Valley, Northern Albania. Anthropological Notebooks XIV/II: 87-107.

Schon, R. and M. Galaty. 2006. Diachronic Frontiers: Landscape Archaeology in Highland Albania. Journal of World Systems Research. Volume 12(2): 231-262.

Presentations

Galaty, M., O. Lafe, and Z. Tafilica. 2008. "Grunas, Shala: A New Fortified Prehistoric Site in the Northern Albanian Mountains." Presentation at the Cinquième Colloque International sur l’Illyrie Mériodionale at l’Épire dans l’Antiquité, Grenoble, France, October 8-12, 2008.

Galaty, M. 2008. "The Shala Valley Project: Using Interdisciplinary Anthropology to Study Isolation in a Remote Albanian Village." Presentation to the students and faculty of the Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois – Chicago, September 12, 2008.

Galaty, M. 2008. "Ancient and Modern Subsistence and Economy in Theth, Shala, Northern Albania." Presentation at the American Embassy in Tirana, Albania. June 9, 2008.

Galaty, M., Z. Tafilica, C. Fisher, H. Rypkema, and A. Gyucha. 2008. "The Shala Valley Project, Northern Albania, 2007: Results from the Prehistoric Site of Grunas." Paper delivered at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 26-30, 2008, Vancouver, BC.

Galaty, M., O. Lafe, and Z. Tafilica. 2008. "'Work Moves the Path': The Origin and Evolution of Northern Albanian Mountain Landscapes." Paper delivered at the 109th Annual Meeting of Archaeological Institute of America, January 3-6, 2008, Chicago, IL.

Galaty, M., and O. Lafe. 2007. "Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Europe: The Example of Albania." Paper delivered at the 13th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, September 19-23, 2007, Zadar, Croatia.

Galaty, M., and O. Lafe. 2007. "Prehistoric Occupation of the Albanian Adriatic Coast." Paper delivered at the 13th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, September 19-23, 2007, Zadar, Croatia.

Galaty, M., O. Lafe, R. Schon, Z. Tafilica, and C. Watkinson. 2007. "The Shala Valley Project, Northern Albania: Results of the 2006 Field Season." Paper delivered at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 25-29, 2007, Austin, TX.

Galaty, M. 2007. "Of Men and Mountains: Interdisciplinary Anthropological Research in Northern Albania." Presentation to the students and faculty of the Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, February 22, 2007.

Lee, W., and M. Galaty. 2007. "Warfare, Politics, and Rural Population Movements: Analyzing Houses, Neighborhoods, and Abandonment in the Shala Valley of Northern Albania, 1450-2006." Paper delivered at the 108th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, San Diego, CA, January 4-7, 2007.

Galaty, M., O. Lafe, and Z. Tafilica. 2006. "Projekti Lugina e Shales" [The Shala Valley Project]. Paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania, December 15-16, 2006.

Galaty, M., Z. Tafilica, O. Lafe, W. Lee, and C. Watkinson. 2006. "Highland Northern Albania, 'Ecotourism,' and the Shala Valley Project: Prospects and Challenges." Paper delivered at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 26-30, 2006.

Galaty, M. 2006. "Archaeology and Conflict Resolution in Northern Albania: The Shala Valley Project and the Cross-Border Balkan Peace Park." Paper delivered at the 107th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January 5-8, 2006.

Schon, R., and M. Galaty. 2005. "Frontiers and Fronts: Prioritizing Conflict in the Balkans." Paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory, Santa Fe, NM, November 19, 2005.

Lafe, O., Z. Tafilica, and M. Galaty. 2005. "Projekti i Lugines se Shales-SVP (sezoni 2005)" [Shala Valley Project-SVP
(2005 season)]. Paper delivered at the Sixth International Seminar Shkodra në Shekuj [Shkodra through the Centuries], Shkodër, Albania, November 26, 2005.

Galaty, M. 2005. "'There are Prehistoric Cities Up There': The Bronze and Iron Ages of Northern Albania." Paper delivered at the international conference "Between the Aegean and the Baltic Seas: Prehistory Across Borders," Zagreb, Croatia, April 11-14, 2005.

Galaty, M. 2005 "The Shala Valley Project (SVP): Isolation and Interaction in the High Mountains of Northern Albania." La Maison René Ginouvès d’Archéologie et d’Ethnologie. University of Paris X, November 15, 2005.

Galaty, M. 2005. "The Shala Valley Project: Investigating Isolation and Incorporation in Highland Northern Albania." University of Sheffield. School of Archaeology and Archaeological Sciences, November 1, 2005.

Galaty, M. 2004. "'There are prehistoric cities up there…': The History and Archaeology of the Northern Albanian High Mountain Country." Mississippi Archaeology Month public lecture, sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Mississippi Archaeological Association. Millsaps College, Jackson, MS, October 28, 2004.

Theses

West, C. 2008. ‘Mic Check, One Two, One Two’: Globalization, Cultural Transfer and the Production of Hip-Hop Identities in Tanzania and Albania. Unpublished undergraduate honors thesis, Millsaps College.

Beilmann, E. 2006. Albania: Religion, Identity, and Solidarity. Unpublished undergraduate honors thesis, Millsaps College.

Personnel

Permanent Field Personnel
Adnan Bushati, illustrator, Shkodër, Albania
Sasha   Caufield, field ethnohistorian, University of Louisville, Louisville,  Kentucky, USA
Mario Delia, logistical support, Shkodër, Albania
Ann Christine Eek, photographer, Museum   of Cultural History, Oslo, Norway
Petrit Imeraj, logistical support,   Shkodër, Albania
Mentor Mustafa, field ethnographer, Boston   University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Affiliated Scholars and Consultants
Susan Allen, University of Cincinnati, paleobotany
Jeffrey Alvey, Mississippi State University, GIS consultant
Chris Fisher, Colorado State University, terrace geoarchaeology
Hannakeh Hoekman-Sites, Florida State University, ceramic residue analysis
Gëzim Hoxha, Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Late Antique archaeology
Bashkim Lahi, Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Roman archaeology
Matthew Lubin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Venetian and Ottoman history
Etleva Nallbani, Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Medieval archaeology
Eduard Ndreca, University 'Luigi Gurakuqi' Shkodër, Early Modern and Modern history
William Parkinson, The Field Museum of Natural History, lithics analyst
Heather Rypkema, University of Louisville, soil chemistry
Marcus Tellkamp, Millsaps College, faunal analyst
Joanita Vroom, Institute of World Archaeology, University of East Anglia, Byzantine-Modern ceramics analyst 

Advisory Board

Maria-Grazia Amore, International Centre for Albanian Archaeology, Tirana, Albania
Fredrik Barth, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Lorenc Bejko, International Centre for Albanian Archaeology, Tirana, Albania
Van Christo, Executive Director, FROSINA, an Albanian immigrant and cultural organization, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Jack L. Davis, Director, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece
Thomas D. Hall, Department of Sociology, DePauw University, DePauw, Indiana, USA
Richard Hodges, Director, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology; Scientific Director, Butrint Foundation
Muzafer Korkuti, Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania
Skënder Muçaj, Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania
E. "Bud" Robinson, Jackson, Mississippi businessman and philanthropist, traveled to Shala in 2003
Curtis Runnels, Department of Archaeology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
John Stevens, Massachusetts businessman and educator who is of Albanian descent, traveled to Shala in 2005
Sharon R. Stocker, Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Robert Whallon, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan, USA
Peter Wood, Professor of Anthropology, The King's College, New York, New York, USA

Contact Information


Mailing Addresses:

Professor Michael L. Galaty
The Shala Valley Project
Millsaps College
1701 North State Street
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
601-974-1387, 601-974-1397 (fax)

    or

Ols Lafe
Directorate of National Heritage
Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports
Rruga e Kavajës No.4, Tirana 1000-ALBANIA

    or

Zamir Tafilica
Muzeu Historik- Shkodër
Rr. Oso Kuka, Nr.5
Shkodër ALBANIA

Inquiries by e-mail about the project may be addressed to galatml@millsaps.edu or olslafe@hotmail.com.