CTPA

Collected by paleontologists and archaeologists over decades, the CTPA fossil includes finely preserved leaves and wood from tropical forests that stood millions of years ago to vestiges of the earliest known humans to live in Central America thousands of years ago. Flora and faunal collections help researchers compile a comprehensive history of tropical habits and their organisms, and how these underwent profound changes over time. The paleoecological records from archaeological sites help understand how early human settlers interacted with the tropical environment.

STRI’s collection of more than 25,000 pollen grains and spores, each mounted on a labeled microscope slide provides worldwide coverage with an emphasis on plants of the Americas. Alan Graham, a professor emeritus at Kent State University and curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden, began the collection in 1954, gathering pollen from plants in the field and from dried specimens in large herbarium collections. A card catalog accompanying the collection is cross-referenced to the slides and contains information on each plant species represented.

Tiny, often distinctly shaped bits of opaline silica form within plant cells and remain in archaeological sites thousands of years after the original plant material has decayed. STRI’s Dolores Piperno, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, built a reference collection of phytoliths from more than 600 species of New World tropical plants. The collection has led to significant discoveries about corn and squash domestication as well as contributing to studies of land-use history.

As well as housing STRI’s pollen, phytolith and fossil collections, the Ancón building has a laboratory for processing fossil samples. The facility provides four tanks for washing and an oven for drying samples. There is some general use equipment available for common use. Please contact the scientific coordination office for more information.

The Ancón Dormitories are conveniently located adjacent the CTPA. The dormitories have eight shared apartments for up to 20 visiting students or researchers. There are six two-bed studio apartments and two four-bed apartments. The cost per person is $230 per month. All dorms include beds and linens, towels, desks and chairs, a dining table, hot water, Wi-Fi and a kitchenette with a refrigerator, stove, microwave, cookware and utensils.

There is a 4WD vehicle pool at Tupper for field use.  Please contact the visitor services office for information regarding vehicle policy.