Mesoamerica (Geographic Keyword)
1,026-1,050 (2,459 Records)
Changes in pottery through time and their organizational correlates are fundamental to archaeological inference. Such correlates rely upon theory based upon distilling various ethnographic cases filtered through a series of socio-economic and socio-political assumptions about the relationship of production to the society at large. This paper summarizes some of the results of a diachronic study of pottery production units in Ticul, Yucatán, from 1965 to 2008. The data show that the kin structure...
How Many Birds Does It Take to Make a Feathered Shield? The Resources and Techniques of Mexica Featherworkers (2017)
The Florentine Codex is an excellent source for understanding the manufacturing techniques used by Mexica featherworkers to make luxury items. It records many of the tools and steps necessary to tie feathers and produce multicolor mosaics. Historical information about the selection of the raw materials, their storage, preparation, and handling, however, is scarce. The meticulous study of two Mexica feathered shields has allowed us to understand, not only the materials used in their manufacture,...
Huichol Symbolism and the Interpretation of Rock Art in the Western Sierra of Jalisco Mexico (2015)
The Huichol are not known to have inhabited the western sierra of Jalisco in historic times. However, it has been possible to use Huichol symbolism to interpret rock art at several locations in this region. This was first done with the large pictograph panel at La Peña Pintada in the Tomatlan river valley, indicating the use of the sun’s position on the eastern horizon as a dry season/wet season calendar and individual pictographs depicting plants and animals important for native subsistence. ...
"Human and Natural Processes Affecting Starch Grain Morphology in Archaeological Contexts". (2015)
Over the past decade an increasing number of archaeological starch grain studies have made important contributions to our understanding of prehistoric diets and subsistence strategies. The research has also generated a number of questions concerning the identification and interpretation of starch grain records from the Neotropics and elsewhere. Some of them involve possible modification of archaeological grains from cooking and grinding. Starch may also be susceptible to damage or degradation...
Human Sacrifice at Tula: Reputation, Representation, and Actuality (2016)
Since the mid-twentieth century, it has been a staple of the archaeological and art historical literature on Tula, echoed in popular coverage of the site, that its art is dominated by themes of human sacrifice, and that Toltec involvement in this practice exceeded that of prior Mesoamerican cultures in scope and intensity. In fact, there are no direct representations of human sacrifice in Tula’s art. Although the eclectic Tula art tradition drew on many sources, it rejected the graphic...
Human-climate-landscape interactions within the Rio Blanco Basin, Southern Belize (2015)
Excavations of alluvial terraces along the Rio Blanco, near the Maya site of Uxbenká in southern Belize, Toledo District, record Holocene human impacts and sediment aggradation from the pre-ceramic through the modern period. Assuming sediment aggradation rates on the terraces are inversely related to basin-wide hill slope erosion allows us to develop a landscape evolution model during the Holocene and investigate possible anthropogenic vs. climatic effects on the landscape. Radiocarbon dates and...
Human-object relationships in Classic Maya contexts: Object technologies, political participants, and cultural infrastructures (2015)
This paper examines the foundational cultural infrastructure provided by seemingly quotidian objects in Classic Maya (ca. AD 250-900) contexts. These materials (things like ceramic vessels, stone benches, and mirrors) carry out prosaic tasks (e.g., containing, supporting, reflecting), but also higher-order relational work, taking on roles as non-human "persons," and as partners in social relationships. In this paper, I focus on these human-object relationships in order to recast our view of...
Hun Tun Household Context and Social Complexity (2016)
The ancient Maya site, Hun Tun is located in northwestern Belize and serves as a platform of inquiry into social complexity at the household level. This paper addresses ancient Maya commoners in household contexts while discussing data that are pertinent to ideas of household identity, social formation, and household production by re-evaluating conventional notions of domestic space. The analysis of everyday objects in domestic contexts contributes to this discussion. Major archaeological...
Hñähño Narratives of San Ildefonso, Mexico: Social Memory in the form of Oral History (2016)
Oral history is the process of audio-recording first person accounts of experiences, stories and memory from living witnesses. Oral history has proven to be a valuable resource for archaeologists. It is argued that oral history research is an important for foregrounding subsequent archaeological research. In the summer of 2015, 10 hours of audio-recorded personal narratives were recorded from five Hñähño/Spanish speakers in the colonial of El Bothe, San Ildefonso, Queretaro, Mexico. Hñähño...
I don´t do mountains: regional survey in the Tequila valleys of Jalisco (2015)
Steve Kowalewski has created the largest full-coverage survey block in the entire world. He has championed survey because of the information it provides on regional and macro-regional processes. This can only be done by walking transect after transect covering large amounts of land. There is neither magic nor trick; it only takes hard work. Steve´s leadership and teachings on survey methods have benefited even the most peripheral areas of Mesoamerica. Based on the methods I learned from Steve, I...
Iconografia de la mariposa en Tula, Hidalgo (2017)
Representaciones de mariposas en la escultórica de la antigua ciudad de Tula, se observan en edificios monumentales y conjuntos habitacionales comunes. Aparece en forma de pectoral de las cariátides que sostenían los techos de los templos principales. Este distintivo también identifica a guerreros sacrificados, representados como altares dentro de espacios ceremoniales. El pectoral lo portan además gobernantes en pilastras y seres mitológicos en lápidas. Atributos de la mariposa se distinguen en...
Iconographic and Material Comparative Analysis of Ulúa Valley Polychromes (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This thesis explores the relationship between iconography and material analysis of Ulúa polychromes in Honduras between 450 – 1200 CE. From a dataset of 56 ceramic pieces, first analyzed iconographically which has been the main form of analysis for these artefacts. Second, the 56 pieces were sampled for INAA and processed through a computer program. The...
Iconographic Portraiture and Political Implications: Peter Harrison’s Contribution to Mayanists’ Understanding of Site Q (2015)
As a dirt archaeologist, Peter D. Harrison was both intrigued by and skeptical of hieroglyphic interpretations about the ancient Maya, especially relating to Tikal, Guatemala and its political context. However, at the same time he was particularly interested in site emblem glyphs and their significance, centering first on Tikal and next on Tikal’s political enemies. One of his published contributions to the field was a well-documented paper in which he critiqued the way in which epigraphers had...
The Iconography and History of the Hacha in Classic Veracruz (2016)
The hacha has long served as a key element in the yoke/hacha/palma complex of portable sculpture known chiefly for Classic Veracruz (c. 100-1000 CE) and closely related to the Mesoamerican ball game. Scholars have rightly associated hacha iconography with a specific decapitation sacrifice and related that sacrifice to rites surrounding rubber ball game. While this iconographical analysis is sound, it does little to explain the appearance of the hacha as a new category of material object, as well...
The Iconography of a Late Classic Polychrome Maya Vessel from Petén, Guatemala (2017)
While elite Maya polychrome ceramics often contain images and inscriptions related to political actors, motifs on the majority of polychrome ceramics relate to important elements of ancient Maya cosmology. This poster analyzes the iconography on a Classic Maya polychrome vessel from Petén, Guatemala donated to the San Bernardino County Museum. The central figure on the interior of the bowl is a deer and a supernatural figure is painted on the inside wall. Terrestrial motifs are found on both...
Identificación de los valores de autenticidad e integridad en la restauración de los monumentos arqueológicos en México (2019)
This is an abstract from the "La Restauración de Monumentos Prehispánicos en México: Principios, Práctica, y Visión al Futuro" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. El presente documento es una propuesta metodológica que aborda los principios básicos para identificar los valores de la autenticidad y la integridad de un monumento arqueológico intervenido para su conservación. Empleando conceptos fundamentales de la arquitectura como -- los materiales de...
An Identification of Zapotec Day Names (1958)
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Identifying Farming Strategies within Changing Regional Contexts at Tahcabo, Yucatán (2017)
Colonial- and national-period studies of agricultural practices in Yucatán can provide useful case studies to address current theoretical concerns in political ecology. Perspectives on livelihood strategies today are broadly comparable to household-level studies of economic activities accessible through archaeology, especially given historical archaeology’s attention to market integration and technological innovations. The time depth available through archaeological study complements...
Identifying Parrots, Songbirds, and Toucans with New Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) Markers (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological and historical evidence has demonstrated the sociopolitical, economic, and ritual significance of parrots, songbirds, and toucans in precontact Americas. In Mesoamerica, these birds, along with their plumages and their capabilities to sing and mimic sounds, were highly valued. However, taxonomic identification of avian fauna can be...
Identifying the Quintessence of Olmec Centers in Formative Olman (2017)
In the early 20th century, the discovery of the Olmec colossal heads associated with San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes led to the early designation of these three sites as the triadic centers of Olmec civilization, implying a level of cultural uniformity. Subsequent archaeological investigation has shown that the three centers, each with a distinct but overlapping chronology, share few commonalities in layout, artifact assemblage, or sculpture style. Indeed, the heads themselves...
Identity and the Maya Mid-level Elite as a Proxy for Political Change (2016)
The nuances of identity theory can be a helpful in determining social stratification within a site and determining intrasite political processes. Archaeology is specially suited for identity studies due to the nature of material culture as an integral part in social practices. While individual identities are difficult to parse out under the best circumstances, analysis of artifact distribution across a site can yield insight into group identities and the practices that follow them. Designation...
Identity on the Edge of the Kingdom: the Artifacts, Residences, and Ritual Areas of Río Amarillo, Copan (2015)
Excavations at the site of Río Amarillo, an ancient Maya town, reveal a community with complex affiliations influenced by the waxing and waning of Copan’s power. While seemingly autonomous during the Early Classic period, the Late Classic inhabitants of Rio Amarillo’s ritual core from the time of Ruler 12 through the reign of Ruler 16 embraced important aspects of the ideology and identity of the Maya city of Copan. These affiliations extended to an elite residential sector where a censer with a...
Identity, ritual, and violence in the Epiclassic Basin of Mexico (2016)
The practice of human sacrifice has a remarkable time depth within Mesoamerica. However, it is often misunderstood as a social practice. In this project, I investigate an Epiclassic (600-900 CE) shrine site in the northern Basin of Mexico, where over 150 male, human crania showing evidence of decapitation were unearthed. The Epiclassic period in the Basin of Mexico was a period of political fragmentation, migration, and warfare. I explore the identities of the individuals using a combination of...
Ideology and Power at Copán, Honduras (2015)
The ideology of place was central to the structures of power that directed the socio-political trajectories of the myriad polities that comprised the Classic Maya landscape. Nowhere was this more vital than at Copán, Honduras. In their book Forest of Kings, Linda Schele and David Freidel highlighted the ideological underpinnings of Copán's dramatic architecture and sculpture. They defined an interpretive history based on the inter-weaving of archaeological, art historical, and epigraphic data to...
IHOPE Maya: Linking lessons of the past to our present and future (2015)
Since 2007 the IHOPE Maya team has focused on synthesizing dynamic human-environmental interactions of the ancient Maya of southeastern Mexico and upper Central America (400BC-900AD). A series of great tropical societies, the Maya occupied a diverse range of tropical environments, adapting local strategies to meet varied subsistence, economic, political, and ecosystem service needs at large and small urban centers. Cycles of expanding populations, increasing despotism, and reliance on...