Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Country) (Geographic Keyword)
451-475 (1,154 Records)
At the site of Chiribaya Alta (900-1350 AD), located in the Osmore Valley of southern Peru, certain Chiribaya grave goods are associated with either adult males or females. For example, females are often buried with weaving tools, and males with musical instruments. It is not possible to estimate the biological sex of children from their skeletal remains. Therefore, children are often excluded from studies addressing gender identities. Here, we use grave goods known to be associated with sexed...
Generating a temporal baseline of human-animal exploitation in varying ecological environments between 1300CE and 1900CE for the Caribbean island of Saba (2017)
The archaeological study of historical human-environment interactions is important to elucidate the inherent links between cultural and biological/environmental diversity through time. Such studies are particularly significant in island settings, often characterized by sensitive biogeographical and ecological histories underlying current environment and social conditions. Zooarchaeology is a leading sub-discipline in the study and creation of archaeological human-environment interaction...
Genomic Contributions to Understanding Early Caribbean Settlement (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Coloring Outside the Lines: Re-situating Understandings of the Lifeways of Earliest Peoples of the Circum-Caribbean" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the Caribbean, archaeological and linguistic research have contributed a wealth of knowledge to our understanding of human settlement, yet many issues surrounding dispersal trajectories, adaptation to island environments, and population dynamics over time are still...
Genuine Reproductions: Ethics, Practicalities and Problems in Creating a Replica of a Zemi from Carriacou (2018)
When is a copy not a fake? In 2014, the Carriacou Archaeology Project (University of Oregon; University of London) excavated a unique stone zemi at the Grand Bay site on the island of Carriacou, Grenada. The decision was made to create casts of the zemi in order to facilitate simultaneous display of the object in multiple island museums. It was hoped this would allow both museums to advocate the small island of Carriacou as a site of particular archaeological significance, to stimulate...
Geochemical Characterization and Archaeological Utilization of the Cerro Kaskio Obsidian Source in Southwestern Bolivia (2017)
Obsidian is not only an excellent raw material for the manufacture of stone tools but because of its compositional homogeneity, it can also be related to specific geographic sources. The geochemical characterization of obsidian sources can help to determine the geographic origin of different stone tools as well as aid to infer patterns of resource utilization and exchange. Although some of the most important obsidian sources in the Andes have been identified and adequately characterized, many...
A Geochemical Database for Indigeneous Ceramics from South America (2017)
The indigenous peoples of South America have been producing pottery for more than 7,500 years. Pottery was made into vessels for the cooking and storage of foods, funerary urns, toys, sculptures, and a wide range of art forms. Due to the regional differences in the composition of raw materials used to manufacture and decorate pottery, geochemical investigations of pottery have proven successful for studying trade and exchange, changes in technology, provenance, etc. Some of the methods used to...
Geographic origin of sacrificed camelids at Huanchaquito (Chimú period, northern coast of Peru): insight from stable isotopic analysis (2017)
Excavations at the Chimú site of Huanchaquito located in the Moche Valley (northern coast of Peru) leaded to the discovery of an exceptional sacrificial deposit of more than 200 domestic camelid skeletons. This finding adds to the many testimonies of the presence of camelids on the Peruvian coast during the pre-Hispanic era. The abundant presence of animals suggests - but does not bring definitive evidence - that breeding took place locally in an unfavorable arid environment. Measurements of...
Geophysical Investigations of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Sites on Sint Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean (2021)
This is an abstract from the "NSF REU Site: Exploring Globalization through Archaeology 2019–2020 Session, St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Sint Eustatius served as a free port in the late seventeenth century, enabling the island to prosper in a evolving global economy. To better understand the role Sint Eustatius played in globalization, archaeological assessments have occurred at SE094 (Fort Amsterdam), SE095...
Getting Creative with Photogrammetry: Adventures in Dos Mangas, Ecuador (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Photogrammetry, the science of converting two-dimensional images into immersive 3D models, traditionally adheres to a strict set of guidelines and specialized tools. However, this poster explores the spirited realm of photogrammetry with rule bending and limits to achieve success in Dos Mangas, Ecuador. In this resource-constrained setting, innovators...
A GIS Analysis of Production Areas, Ritual Spaces, and Socioeconomics at the Mixed Inka-Local Administrative Center of Turi, Northern Chile (2017)
While anthropologists are often concerned with profiling the socioeconomic character of the cultures they study, this task can be challenging for archaeological researchers investigating long-abandoned settlements. Intrasite socioeconomic reconstructions in particular may depend upon such factors as the accurate detection of specific production activities and the partitioning of architectural features into socially informative categories. This paper presents a case study on this topic wherein...
GIS and Drones in the Middle Moche Valley: an Analysis of Huaca Menocucho (2017)
Huaca Menocucho is a prehistoric monumental center located in the middle Moche Valley on the northern coast of Peru. The site shows evidence of several construction and occupation phases of the Moche Valley cultural sequence (Prieto & Maquera, 2015). Huaca Menocucho and the surrounding area have faced looting and destruction from several sources. In July 2016, MOCHE, Inc. conducted a drone survey combined with a systematic surface artifact survey to record information about activities and...
"A Glittering Speculation": Archaeology of Jamaica’s First Coffee Boom, 1790–1806 (2018)
In the late 18th century, the British colony of Jamaica entered the first of its several boom periods in coffee production. A highly addictive product that was at the time primarily a luxury good for a small domestic market, overproduction on the island resulted in attempts by the coffee industry to expand their markets in Great Britain and the European continent to the middle and working classes. Meanwhile, the rush to get coffee to the market resulted in a rapid expansion in the number and...
The Great House and the Old Plate: Planter Household Archaeology (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological interpretations of household organization have long recognized its role in the construction of social identities and in the furtherance of social goals. While much of the historical archaeology of Jamaica, and indeed the Caribbean more broadly, has focused on exploring spatial and consumption choices of enslaved Africans and African...
The Greater Chiriquí Fringes: A Perspective from the Coiba National Park Islands on the Pacific Coast of Panama (2018)
The islands of the Coiba National Park (CNP) are located on the continental platform of Panama and the southeastern fringes of the Greater Chiriquí cultural region. During the period of the earliest human migrations to the isthmus (ca. 13,000 - 10,000 a.P.) these islands were connected to the mainland, although the current state of research cannot provide evidence of being inhabited earlier than ca. 1800 B.P. Multidisciplinary research aimed to study the long-term impacts of human on the insular...
Greater Nicoya Metates and the Art Market: A Case Study (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A distinctive tradition of intricately sculpted metates—commonly known as grinding stones—flourished along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica circa 300-900 CE. The Greater Nicoya burials that contain carved metates often include grave goods made of precious materials such as jade and gold. As a result, these sites have been subject to looting since...
Guide to the Identification of Certain American Indian Projectile Points (1958)
This guide to the identification of certain American Indian projectile points is designed to acquaint the reader with a series of projectile point types that have been identified and named by archaeologists. As a guide it is far from complete, and there are many additional types of projectile points that are not included; also, there are a number of distinctive forms which have not been typed. There are somewhere between 150 and 200 projectile point types that have been named in the United...
Having Reservations: A Discussion on Recognizing the Dynamic Qualities of "Food" within Archaeological Contexts from the pre-Columbian Caribbean (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Food is a biological necessity, but it is also created and used through culturally defined practices and perceptions, including capture, cultivation, and/or collection, preparation, consumption, disposal, and even secondary deposition. This paper challenges us to think more critically about how we identify,...
Health and Disease during the Ecuadorian Formative: A Case Study from Buen Suceso (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Ecuadorian Formative Period (3800-300 BC) is known for the creation of ceramics, a transition towards agriculture, and the development of sedentary settlements along the Pacific coast. These social and economic changes were often associated with declines in health, as people ate less varied agricultural diets and increasingly encountered pathogens...
The Health of the Herd: Considering Camelid Herding from Late Moche Peru (2017)
The herding of camelids in the pre-Columbian past impacted daily and ritual life of peoples residing there. During the Late Moche period of Peru, camelid herding was a major factor in the trade and exchange of goods, people and ideas. The extent of herding and the degree of camelid breeding in the coastal desert has been understudied. This paper will discuss the patterns in camelid age profiles and pathologies to inform the extent to which camelids where traveling along the coast and into the...
Herds for Gods? Sacrifice and Camelids Management during the Chimú Period (2017)
Although domestic Andean camelids are native from the highlands they have been largely present in the Peruvian coast since the end of Early Horizon (near 200 BC). This presence stresses the symbolic, ritual importance and economic values of camelids. In 2011 an impressive human and animal sacrificial context dating from the Chimú period was found in Huanchaquito near Chan Chan on the northern coast. At least 130 children and 200 camelids were uncovered during the successive excavations that took...
Heritage Conversations with Dos Mangas (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Finding Community in the Past and Present through the 2022 PARCC Field School at Buen Suceso, Ecuador" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological investigations in Dos Mangas began in 2006, and continued with excavation of a Valdivia village site, Buen Suceso, in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022. Those and subsequent excavations have combined archaeological inquiry with community engagement activities such as...
Heritage Organizations and Post-Hurricane Public Engagement: Knowledge Management and Lessons Learned from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. People, governments and societies have repeatedly throughout history had to respond to the effect of hurricanes on their communities and environments. Although places like the Caribbean have a long history of being impacted by natural disasters; hurricanes are seldom studied in the context of heritage management and community adaptation strategies in regards...
High C4 plants consumption from the Late Intermediate period in Cuzco region. (2017)
Maize was one of the important crops for Inca political economics as a ritual and a staple food. In previous study of sacrificed children mummies found at Mt. Llullaillaco, the individuals particularly consumed C4 resources (such as maize, amaranth and domestic animals raised with C4 plants) in ritual activities. Contrary, the dietary compositions of Machu Picchu skeletons have shown diversity. The individuals from Mt. Llullaillaco and Machu Picchu were most probably immigrated from different...
Hinterland Domestic Economies: A Summary of Recent Investigations at the San Lorenzo Settlement Cluster (2018)
This paper summarizes recent archaeological investigations at the San Lorenzo settlement cluster in the Mopan River Valley of Western Belize. Current research at this ancient hinterland settlement is concerned with better understanding household economic organization and integration during the Late and Terminal Classic (A.D. 670-890) occupations of this site. Households are fundamental units of economic organization in both past and present societies. The examination of ancient household...
Historical and Archaeological Contexts for Zooarchaeological Analyses at Brimstone Hill Fortress, St. Kitts, West Indies (2018)
Research at Brimstone Hill Fortress (1690 to 1854) focuses on comparative studies of the eighteenth century lifeways of British soldiers and enslaved Africans. The St. Kitts colonial government and British Royal Engineers designed the fort, and enslaved and free Africans constructed and maintained it. Excavations in areas occupied by British Army officers, enlisted soldiers, and enslaved Africans have produced substantial faunal remains. Especially revealing is the use of imported and local...