Belize (Country) (Geographic Keyword)
226-250 (3,437 Records)
The impact of gold mining on rivers in the Australian colony of Victoria during the nineteenth century provides a case study of the acceleration of human intervention in world systems characteristic of the Anthropocene. As miners used water to extract gold from the soil they also re-shaped river systems, turning rivers into artefacts that were modified and manipulated as tools in order to achieve cultural goals. The cumulative and widespread effect of mining activity is made evident through the...
The archaeology of colonialism and capitalism in the Southwest Pacific: the Compagnie Calédonienne Nouvelles-Hébrides (CCNH) on Malakula, Vanuatu. (2017)
Much of the European mapping of the South West Pacific occurs relatively late in terms of global history. In Vanuatu (ex New Hebrides) the first visits were Spanish ships in 1606. The wider archipelago was not further explored until the visit of Cook in 1774 but soon afterwards it had been incorporated into the rapidly infilling global map. The geography, climate and people had been described as had hints of the economic potential and the islands could now be discussed and dissected amongst the...
Archaeology of Colonialism and Ethnogenesis in Guam and the Mariana Islands (2018)
This paper presents a new archaeological project that we are co-directing in Umatac, Guam. Combining historical written sources and archaeological information, we seek to contribute a better understanding of the historical-archaeological legacy connected to colonial processes related to the Hispanic Monarchy in the western Pacific, and their role in resulting ethnogenesis.
The Archaeology of Ecological Imperialism in Central Mexico (2017)
In the 1960s and 1970s, cultural anthropologist Roy Rappaport criticized the effects of the West on the developing world. Well before Crosby popularized the term, Rappaport labeled this process "Ecological Imperialism" to clarify the unequal relationship between the needs of an empire and environments it absorbs. Rappaport wrote when scientists were beginning to observe global ecological degradation, but anthropologists had yet to develop a historical perspective. Over the past decade,...
The Archaeology of Highland Chiriqui, Panama -- Documents, Images, and Datasets
Archaeology is defined by its grounding in material objects; without contextual elements of space and place, however, material culture is devoid of much of its meaning and archaeological information. This article focuses upon pre-Columbian objects – including gold, ceramics, and stone artefacts - from a small, localized area of the Chiriquí region of western Panamá in the context of the volcanic landscape. The discussion is intended as a provocative introduction to the archaeology of highland...
The Archaeology of Indigenous-European Interaction at LaSoye 2, Dominica, a Sixteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Trading Settlement (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2017, storm surges from Hurricane Maria exposed evidence of an early European colonial settlement on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. Subsequent survey and testing established the site as a trading settlement, dating from the sixteenth until eighteenth century, a period of dynamic change in the Caribbean. The site is located on the coastline of an...
Archaeology of Luatele Crater: Ritual and Prestige of the Tuimanu'a, Ta'u Island, American Samoa (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. An archaeological survey covering 50 acres was conducted in and around Luatele or Judds Crater, an extinct volcano, on Taʻu Island, Manuʻa District, American Samoa. The project identified 24 precontact sites comprising 101 archaeological features and a 142 m cave associated with the Samoan legend of Vaatausili. These features include star mounds, oval boulder...
The Archaeology of Public Health and Food Sovereignty in the Pacific Islands (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Colonialism has had significant influences on lifeways across the South Pacific, including health and diet in the past and today. Colonially introduced diets have caused a loss of traditional food practices, created cultural power dynamics, and have led to contemporary public health issues. These colonial legacies not only have continued impacts on the...
Archaeology of Religion in Nicaragua (2017)
This past summer I was given the opportunity to participate in an archaeology field school conducted in the country of Nicaragua. For the past 15 years, archaeologists have excavated sites along the shore of Lake Cocibolca in search for Mexican colonization. During my participation in the field school, we continued this quest through investigations at the site of El Rayo, the most significant site for studying the potential impact of outsiders on indigenous cultural traditions. The core...
Archaeology of Resistance? Barbuda in the Aftermath of Hurricane Irma (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Barbuda, a small island in the Lesser Antilles, was directly hit by mega storm, Hurricane Irma, in September of 2017. 90-95% of the modern structures were either completely destroyed or lost their roofs, windows and doors. Additionally, there was tremendous loss to both intangible cultural heritage and heritage sites. Erosion in coastal areas decimated more...
Archaeology of Smoking Behaviors on Putlic Parks of Santiago, Chile (2017)
Cigarettes are the most numerous, ubiquitous, and tolerated form of trash on the urban landscape (Graesch & Hartshorn 2014:1). This statement has special meaning in Chile, leading country in cigarette consumption in the continent, especially between women and youngsters. Current approaches in the study of this phenomenon are based on interviews, but no material study has yet been conducted. Considering the differences between people´s discourses and actions, along with the abundance and high...
The Archaeology of the Color Pink (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Archaeologies of Health, Wellness, and Ability" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Journey with me to the year 2167, where our intrepid archaeologist has made a fascinating discovery... a FOOB! Carefully cradled in its pale pink packaging, this breast prosthetic is thought to have had ritual purposes, and while the prosthetics do not deteriorate over time, intact packaging has never been found in situ before! This...
The Archaeology of the Southern Belize Region in Context (2018)
The region of Southern Belize is part of the Maya lowlands, an area that is geographically circumscribed, and located in-between several larger regional centers such as Tikal to the west, Caracol to the north, and the sites of Copán and Quiriguá to the southeast. The general history of archaeological investigations for this area are presented, along with site-specific studies from the Southern Belize Region. The current archaeological data of four major ancient polities of this region are...
The Archaeology of Travel in Greater Nicoya (2018)
Sometime before AD 1, a dynamic interaction and exchange network developed among the villages and hamlets of Greater Nicoya. The range and frequency of trade within this region is demonstrated by geochemically sourced ceramic and stone artifacts. The travel routes along which these artifacts were traded remain poorly understood. Geographic information systems (GIS) offer a means to predictively model the optimal terrestrial and aquatic travel routes that interconnected the settlements of Greater...
Archaeology, History, and Ancient Political Dynamics of the Mopan River Valley (2018)
One hallmark of Joseph Ball’s research has been integration of archaeological data and ethnohistorical and historical data, put to the service of addressing larger anthropological questions. In this paper, we present new data to examine one research question studied by Joseph Ball and Jennifer Taschek: Classic Maya political dynamics in the Mopan Valley of western Belize. This valley was home to five large centers, spaced 1 to 5 km apart: Las Ruinas de Arenal, Early Xunantunich, Classic...
Archaeomagnetic Directional Studies as a Tool for Understanding Feature Form and Function: A Case Study of Two Burned Rock Features in a Multicomponent Site in East Texas, USA (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Fire-Cracked Rock: Research in Cooking and Noncooking Contexts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Directional archaeomagnetic techniques were used to propose use-history models for two burned rock features at archaeological site 41AN162, in Anderson County, Texas, USA. While common in the region, such burned rock features are rarely associated with cultural artifacts that indicate their function. Archaeologists have...
Archaeometric Studies of Rock Paintings in Colombia, South America: Geochemical and Mineralogical Characterization (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Geochemical studies of rock paintings in Colombia help to reflect on the technological processes used by the painting peoples to make these representations. With the use of analytical techniques, the chemical and molecular composition of pigments and of possible raw materials used in their manufacture are identified. Geochemical and mineralogical analyses...
Archaeozoological studies of the Maritime Archaeology of the Port of Acapulco Project: Taphonomic and taxonomic analysis on faunal remains from San Diego Fort (2018)
The history of the Fort of San Diego in the Port of Acapulco de Juárez as a key defensive building, intended to protect the Asian valuable goods brought by the Manila Galleon, has been barely studied. Recently a garbage dump was located along the external wall of the fortification with an important quantity and variety of materials of remarkable archaeological and historical value. One of the studies that are being carried out is that concerning with the daily life of the population settled in...
Archaic Age Bahamas? New perspectives from Long Island (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Advances in the Archaeology of the Bahama Archipelago" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. It has long been assumed that the Bahamas were colonized by Ceramic Age peoples who began their expansion into the Caribbean islands from northeastern South America about 500 BC. The widespread occurrence of pottery in the Bahamas (Palmetto Ware), and the timing of initial ‘Lucayan" settlement in the Bahamas is dated to AD 700-800 ...
Archeology as a Teaching Tool (2019)
This is an abstract from the "NPS Archeology: Engaging the Public through Education and Recreation" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This project, conducted between summer and fall of 2018, was part of a larger NPS initiative to use archaeology as an educational tool. The project’s main objective was to use this interdisciplinary field to teach concepts stemming from various academic subjects, ranging from history to chemistry. To achieve this goal,...
Architecting the Underworld: What is a Southern Maya Lowland Chultun? (2017)
Chultunes, man-made subterranean chambers excavated into limestone bedrock, are ubiquitous features encountered throughout the Maya cultural region. Although studies in the Northern Lowlands have demonstrated that chultunes in that locale functioned as water cisterns, the ascription of them as purely utilitarian within the Southern Lowlands is under much debate. One issue that hinders dialogue is lack of a commonly accepted understanding of what constitutes a chultun. The first aim of this paper...
The Architectural and Urban Design Principles of Tenochtitlan (2018)
There exists a vast literature examining every aspect of Aztec culture. Despite this, few studies focus specifically on Aztec architecture and its implications for understanding broader aspects of Aztec cosmology. This paper contributes to our knowledge of Aztec society through an exploration of architectural and urban design principles that guided the building of their cities and ceremonial precincts. By examining ethnohistoric and archaeological sources, and drawing on evidence from several...
Architecture and Conservation Works at Chajul (2023)
This is an abstract from the "The Maya Wall Paintings of Chajul (Guatemala)" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. One of the major objectives of the Chajul Murals Conservation Project (COMUCH) was the consolidation and conservation of murals in several houses located at the modern town of Chajul inhabited by the Ixil Maya and located in the department of El Quiché, in western Guatemala. During our research carried out between 2015 and 2022, conservation...
Architecture and Figurine art in Central Veracruz (2017)
Terracotta figurine offerings as part of construction deposits are one of the traits that characterize the Classic period Central Veracruz culture. They are recurrent in both modest and monumental architecture, in sites of all ranks. In this they differ from ceramic figurine use in contemporary cultures, where they belong to the domestic and/or funerary sphere. This paper presents a case study on a series of figurine deposits of a palatial residence of the archaeological site of La Joya, showing...
Architecture and Spatial Organization of Urban Cercaduras at the Early Horizon Center of Caylán, Nepeña Valley, Peru (2017)
This poster presents architectural and spatial data from monumental urban compounds or cercaduras at the Early Horizon center of Caylán (800-1 B.C.), Nepeña Valley, Department of Ancash, Peru. Caylán is interpreted as the primary center of a multi-tiered polity that developed in the littoral portion of the Nepeña Valley and reached its peak during the second half of the first millennium BC. Recent fieldwork at Caylán revealed the existence of more than 40 cercaduras interpreted as...