Social Interaction and Exchange Networks in Eastern Honduras: Late Classic-Early Postclassic Period (AD 600-1000)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Pre-Columbian Cultures of Honduras after AD 900" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ceramics have been the most reliable indicator of social interactions in eastern Honduras. However, these material indicators have also been described sometimes as being rather homogeneous throughout the region. On the other hand, some scholars point out intraregional variations regarding eastern Honduran ceramic assemblages and what they represent in terms of intra and interregional interactions. It has also been argued that in both eastern and northeastern Honduras no great number of commodities was mobilized through interregional exchanges with west-central regions of the country, especially regarding obsidian procurement. Little has been said about commodity exchange among ancient communities within eastern Honduras. Based on ceramic and obsidian evidence, this paper will explore and re-examine interregional interactions within eastern Honduras, focusing on sites with similar and—apparently—late and short occupations (around AD 600-1000), namely: the Talgua Drainage, the Telica and Culmi Valleys in eastern Honduras and the Jamastran Valley in southeastern Honduras. An overview of these social trajectories from eastern Honduras is pertinent considering recent finds in the northeastern area, which highlight complex exchange networks in the region during the Late Classic and Early Post-Classic Periods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Pre-Columbian Cultures of Honduras after AD 900   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25091