- The doctoral thesis of Carlos Andrés Salgado Ceballos, from Colima state, is linked to the work he did to obtain his UDLAP licenciatura diploma.
Carlos Andrés Salgado Ceballos, a UDLAP graduate from the Licenciatura in Anthropology with specialty in archeology, obtained an honorary mention in the Doctoral Thesis category for the 2018 Alfonso Caso Award, granted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH – Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia).
“The INAH awards are granted yearly since the 80s and are given in all the anthropology and history categories for specialists who work and study in Mexico, or Mexicans working abroad. Two theses received honorary mentions, considered to have earned this distinction. In my case, I obtained an honorary mention in the best doctoral thesis category,” stated in an interview the UDLAP alumnus.
For Carlos Salgado, obtaining this award meant a recognition from his colleagues in Mexico, “… I have been in England for 8 years, and it was important that my colleagues knew and valued my work, and thus I was very glad to be considered for this honorary mention”, he explained.
His thesis, written while in England at the University of Exeter, “Intraregional and Dynamic Strategies, deals with the production of Colima ceramics between 550 and 1000”. “It is curious because it is linked to my licenciatura thesis. I started my doctoral studies in 2012 and finished in 2017, but I have been working on this topic for about 20 years, as I am from Colima and I am a specialist in this area”.
His work is the archeo-metrical study of ceramic produced in Colima. “I tried to discover the political strategies behind this production, and see the different areas in Colima that interacted among themselves. I studied Colima because, traditionally, its archeology had been studied from its relations outside the State. This is the first time that a thesis sees Colima by itself as a unit” he added.
On the other hand, the UDLAP graduate, who has been studying abroad for many years, commented: “I would strongly recommend going abroad to see how things are done, learning, perhaps, what we are not doing here. What I liked was to see that Mexican researchers have the ability for this type of first-level research”.
Regarding his interest in archeology, the UDLAP graduate stated that it is a life-long interest, since his love of history is a part of him. “I believe that archeology is an endurance race, as things get done slowly. It is a career that requires financial backing to carry out projects, and thus it takes a long time to do, to wait for an answer and hope that it is positive. You have to be patient”.
Finally, he said “I appreciate my UDLAP´s professors because they were very good. If I had to summarize three things that they taught me, they would be scientific rigor while doing research, intellectual honesty that you must have during your research and, above all, to question the status quo”.