South America (Geographic Keyword)
801-825 (1,326 Records)
Different facets and stages of craft production commonly occur in different spatial loci regardless of differences in medium, technology, intensity and/or scale. Locational differences may be relatively minor with different facets or production stages being practiced concurrently, or masters and apprentices occupying different areas of a given room or workshop. While sheet metal preparation and alloying both require constant heat sources, the former requires a clean area protected from winds and...
Network Analysis in the Tairona Chiefdoms: Settlement Patterns and Social interaction in the El Congo Microbasin, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Archaeological Applications of Network Analysis" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper seeks to present the results of network analysis for the case of the chiefdom communities that inhabited the northwestern slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from AD 400 to 1600 in the El Congo microbasin. Through the use of statistical algorithms in R language and databases in geographic information systems, this paper...
A Network Analysis of Embedded Pathways at Mawchu Llacta, Perú (1591 – 1617 C.E.) (2016)
This paper investigates the occupation of a planned 16th century Spanish colonial resettlement named Santa Cruz de Tute, hereafter referred to as Mawchu Llacta. My analysis incorporates data compiled for the Proyecto Arqueológico Tuti Antiguo (PATA), with a particular focus on colonial census records from 1591, 1604, and 1617, which detail land tenure and livestock holdings. I argue that the construction of a computer-based representation of pathways in ArcGIS platform contributes to the...
Networking: digital archaeology repositories in Argentina (2017)
The digitization of primary data in social sciences and humanities, including archeology, has been a central issue in the management of science in Argentina by federal agencies, public universities and private foundations. About this topic, Argentina´s National Research Council (CONICET) created the Interactive Platform for Social Science Research, an interdisciplinary space, that over six years has generated protocols related to digitization and ways to share these results under the concept of...
Neutron Activation Analysis in Archaeological Pottery from Mendoza, Central Western Argentina (2016)
In Mendoza, the first record of pottery has been dated ca. 2000 years BP. The technology used varies in terms of manufacture and decoration. Differences in cultural, social and economic organization were also present in the area. The Atuel and Diamante river basins are in a transition zone, where different kinds of social organization, farmers and pastoralists in the north and hunter-gatherers in the south were present. This variability enhances a debate about analytical ways to approach ceramic...
New Approaches to Sambaqui Archaeology in Brazil (2017)
MaDu Gaspar and Paulo DeBlasis Sambaquis (shellmounds) have attracted attention since colonial times due to their monumentality, and to the presence of human burials and stone sculptures. Discussions on their natural or human origin dominated up to the 1960s, when debate shifted to cultural history and diet, and moundbuilders were taken as nomadic bands with shellfish-based subsistence. The 1990s, a time of changing paradigms in sambaqui archaeology, coincides with the coming of Suzy and Paul...
New bioarchaeological evidence for Guangala and Manteño-Huancavilca Cultures in Santa Elena peninsula (Southern Ecuadorian coast). (2015)
In this contribution we present the preliminary results of a study that addresses the funerary practices and the osteobiographical profile of various sites from Guangala culture (Regional Development Period, 300 BC-800AD) and Manteño-Huancavilca culture (Integration Period, 800AD-1530AD). In this case, we have investigated human remains from the Guangala site OGSE-46 from Samarina, several locations from the Manteño-Huancavilca period in La Libertad (OGSE-47) and Chanduy; most of them have not...
New data on hunter gatherer coastal use at the Southern tip of the Americas during the Late Holocene: Cabo Virgenes 24 (Patagonia, Argentina) (2016)
Cabo Virgenes 24 (CV 24) is an archaeological site located at the Southeastern end of continental Patagonia, Argentina. The site rests on an erotional beach which formation started in the Middle Holocene. The archaeological background shows that inland hunter-gatherers populations began to use this coastal space since 2000 years BP. The faunal record of CV 24 exposes a low density and high richness of marine and coastal faunal species. There is an emphasis on pinnipeds exploitation...
New Evidence of the Northern Manteño Frontier, The Land of the Pasaos Before the Spanish Encounter (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Early chronicles indicate that the Manteño groups organized themselves along the coast into complex trading chiefdoms: these regional polities, controlled ports, and navigation equipment such as balsa rafts. In addition, maize agriculture combined with seafood products conformed their subsistence economy. Echoing early chronicles, some scholars indicate...
New evidences of human corpse manipulation among hunter-gatherers societies in North-eastern Patagonia (Argentina) (2015)
A salient feature of Northeastern Patagonia during the late Holocene is the abundant record of burials with evidences of a strong handling of human bodies. In the lower basin of the Colorado River, burials are usually found in contexts such as formal disposal areas and domestic sites. In this work the bioarchaeological characteristics and the chronology of the Zoko Andi 1 site are presented. The earliest evidence of human corpse manipulation (ca. 1400 years BP) for Northeastern Patagonia was...
New information on marine hunter-gatherers of the Southernmost End of South America: technological and zooarchaeological study of site Bahía Mejillones 45, Chile. (2017)
In this poster we present the results of research at Bahía Mejillones 45, located at the northern coast of Navarino island, at 55º parallel south, Chile. We describe and illustrate the results of an extended archaeological excavation, including stratigraphic and radiocarbon information (6850 Cal BP) concerning the Middle Holocene assemblage. Bone technological elements are characteristic of early marine hunter-gatherer groups of the region, considering multi-denticulate harpoons, detachable...
A new look into camelid management in Middle Horizon Cusco (2016)
The Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000) brought dramatic changes to the Cusco region, particularly to valleys where Wari colonists settled in this period. Despite debate and research on the issue, our understanding of how Wari people altered local agropastoral arrangements in this zone remains limited. A prior study by the authors suggested that Wari populations maintained camelid flocks in a manner similar to that described for the Inca. Specifically it concluded that animals lived to maturity,...
A New Methodology for Geoglyph Research: The Drone and Satellite Imagery Survey of the Sihuas Valley, Peru (2016)
Throughout the 20th century, archaeologists have used aerial photography to record and study geoglyphs and other large features. This method, however, has its limitations like expense, flying time, and image resolution. With the addition of satellite imagery and drone photography into the archaeological toolbox, we can now obtain higher resolution images of variable landscapes. We conducted a preliminary survey of a section of the Sihuas Valley, Peru, in order to better understand the landscape...
New Perspective in the GO-CP04 Archaeological Site. Goiás, Brazil. (2016)
Research conducted in the 1980s in the area of the GO-CP-04 litho-ceramic archaeological site identified drawings, engravings and a burial ground. The shelter measurements averaged 40m in length by 4m in width. The radio carbonic dates vary between 4,455+/-115 years B.P and 1,020+/-40 years B.P. With the resumption of investigations, a reassessment of the characteristics of the shelter is presented. It is considered that the site area may be more than 50m long and the slope would be more distant...
New Perspectives for a Collaborative Community Archaeology in Colombia: Strengthening the Social Fabric through the Mitigation of Violent Pasts and the Re-Appropriation of Heritage Management (2016)
Colombian archaeologists continue to be criticized for instituting nationalistic agendas and ignoring the demands of local communities interested in participating in the research and stewardship of archaeological remains. This criticism of Colombian archaeology has a strong foundation, but it does not generate alternatives on how to mitigate the lack of cooperation between archaeologists and communities. It is necessary to assess processes in which communities have worked along with...
New Perspectives in the Geoarcheological Context of Hunter-Gatherer Sites from the Beginning of the Holocene, Serranópolis, Brazil (2018)
The GO-JA-01 and GO-JA-02 archaeological sites, located in sand stone shelters of Serranopolis excavated from the 1970s to 1990s and earliest at 10.400 years B. P., were occupied by hunter-gatherer and agricultural-ceramist groups. Recent studies have raised hypotheses regarding the appropriation and construction of the landscape by hunter-gatherer groups, based on evidences related to the paleoenvironment and the archeological site formation process in the Rio Verde river alluvial plain. The...
New perspectives on the identities and ideologies of localized ancient Andean communities through the examination of figurines. (2016)
This paper explores the quotidian use of figurines by the inhabitants of the village of Ak’awillay in the Cusco region. Most scholars have defined figurines as political tools used to support state ideologies. This research expands on this effort and focuses on the use of figurines in domestic contexts among non-state societies. The study of figurines from Ak’awillay and comparative data from archaeological and ethnographic contexts suggest that figurines had multiple uses and included ancestor...
New radiocarbon dates confirm late Pleistocene human occupation in the Pampas of Argentina at c. 12,170 14C yrs BP: evidence from extinct horse at the Arroyo Seco 2 site (2015)
The Arroyo Seco 2 site (AS2) is a multi-component open air hunter-gatherer site located in the Pampean Region of Argentina. A recently published monograph summarized the current interpretations of the site, which contains bone remains of 11extinct Pleistocene mammals, including Eutatus seguini, Glossotherium robustum, Megatherium americanum, Paleolama cf. wedelli, Toxodon platensis, Equus (Amerhippus) sp., Glyptodon sp., Hemiauchenia sp., Hippidion sp., Macrauchenia sp., and Mylodontinae. While...
News from unknown parts of the Amazon, interfluvial sites come to light (2016)
The expansion of archaeological research in the Amazon Basin, from the margins of major tributaries to small rivers and headwaters is populating empty portions of our maps. In the region of Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas State, Brazil, occupation of the interfluvial zone was neither ephemeral nor short lived with sites every two kilometers, on average. One extensively excavated site, Claudio Cutião, was occupied for over 1000 years beginning around 1600 BP. The formation of anthropic dark earth...
Ni la costa ni la sierra: The Archaeology of the Upper Nasca River Basin (2015)
The human and cultural geography of Andean South America has been seen as fundamentally divided between the coast and the highlands since the early days of Spanish colonization; a conceptual bifurcation that is assumed to have great antiquity and has subsequently shaped archaeological research in the region. Better settlement data from the foothills of the southern Nasca valley have demonstrated that the indigenous cultures of the Nasca valley extended much higher into the Andean uplands than...
Nieve Nieve, a local rural community under Spanish rule (2017)
The archeological site of Nieve Nieve is located in the middle Lurin Valley, Central Coast of Peru. The spatial configuration of this site differs drastically from other late prehispanic settlements in the valley. The presence of a colonial church as well as a series of architectonic compounds built along parallel and perpendicular streets not only indicate a well planned construction but also the introduction of a new, and probably foreign, urban design. Yet, other aspects such as the...
The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors on the North Coast of Peru--Moon Animals in the Virú Imagination (2016)
In the iconography of the north coast of Peru, Moon Animals are otherworldly quadrupedal predators which consistently have prominent eyes, teeth, tongues and claws, long curling tails and large head crests. They can resemble felines or foxes while other depictions appear more reptilian or amphibian. The name originates from the association with lunar and astral motifs in Moche art during the Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-AD 800). These Moche examples have come to define in the literature...
Nighttime Sky and Early Urbanism in the High Andes (2016)
Popular understanding of the relationship between the rise of early civilization and astronomy emphasizes the observance of particular moments in the cycle of the sun. This pattern is particularly strong at the Bolivian highland Andean site of of Tiwanaku (AD 500-950), a megalithic site known for its “Temple of the Sun”, “Gateway of the Sun”, and solstice festival that attracts thousands. Recent research throughout the Titicaca Basin documents a wide range of celebrated astronomical observations...
Non-state artisan specializations and exchange in the margins of the Inca Empire (2015)
Although most of the time is assumed that local economies were almost completely overtaken and transformed by the interest of Inca elites, there were situations were households behaved in more autonomous and probably unexpected ways from the point of view of the empire. Low-scale artisan specialization in mining related activities using imperial infrastructure such as the Inca road was one of the ways to strive and succeed during times of political change, when isolated areas like the Atacama...
North/South Archaic mobility in Dry Puna. Hunter- Gatherers from upper Azapa valley bassin, northern Chile. (2017)
The different models of hunter-gatherer mobility in South Central Andean area, despite its theoretical and conceptual factors, normally emphasize for the Archaic Period the complementarity between vegetation belt for various biotic resources, depending on availability, location and seasonality. Here we complement such models at a meso-scale level, based upon results from surveys and excavations in upper Azapa valley bassin, a region located at the foothills of the Northern Chile Cordillera. Our...