Mesoamerica (Geographic Keyword)
2,151-2,175 (2,459 Records)
Paleoethnobotanical research the past two decades from around the world makes it clear that multi-proxy data including from genetic and paleoecological approaches are necessary for understanding plant exploitation, domestication, and spread of agriculture. Recently, bio-archaeologists using such kinds of multidisciplinary endeavors have come to understand that addressing prehistory is also relevant to understanding species adaptation and survival in future environments. This paper discusses...
Some More Thoughts on the Study of Prehispanic Soundmakers (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Music Archaeology's Paradox: Contextual Dependency and Contextual Expressivity" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The study of prehispanic musical instruments or soundmakers stored in museum collections was certainly foundational to the history of music archaeology. Due to the fact that they were most often decontextualized, those studies used to concentrate on one of two aspects of many of these artifacts; namely, their...
Some Recent Publications About Oaxaca (1959)
This resource is a citation record only, the Center for Digital Antiquity does not have a copy of this document. The information in this record has been migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded. If you have a digital copy of the document and would like to have it curated in tDAR, please contact us at comments@tdar.org.
Sounds in context. Musical instruments from Teotihuacan. (2017)
In this paper we present the advances in the organological, acoustic and contextual analysis of musical instruments excavated by Dr. Linda Manzanilla in the sectors of Teopancazco, Oztoyahualco, Tunnels and Xalla, all of them located in the archaeological site of Teotihuacan. These instruments were part of a complex system of sound communication that often accompanied the rituals and daily activities. We propose some interpretations on the use of certain instruments and their relationship with...
Soundscapes and Visionscapes: Investigating Ancient Maya Cities with GIS and 3D Modeling (2018)
Researchers have been applying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine the roles of visibility and movement in archaeological landscapes around the world. However, few studies have investigated the role sound potentially played in structuring experience in ancient cities. To begin to fill this gap, this paper builds on our initial investigations to develop new geospatial and virtual reality (VR) methods to examine ancient acoustics. For the ancient Maya, sight and sound worked in...
Source Variability and Technological Variation of Domestic Lithic Production at Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, during the Late Postclassic Period (2016)
Lithic raw material acquisition and household flaked stone crafting continues to enable a better understanding of ancient Maya domestic economies. One such example at Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, seeks to determine how local households provisioned themselves and how Santa Rita Corozal articulated with other Chetumal Bay sites during the Late Postclassic Period (A.D. 1200-1530). Data presented in this paper challenge previous models of resource exploitation and exchange by suggesting that a...
Sourcing Obsidian in the Central Mesoamerican Region Using XRF Analysis (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Obsidian tools and flakes are commonly examined in sourcing studies in areas with abundant volcanogenic deposits. Obsidian provenance research in the central Mesoamerican region has shown extensive networks of obsidian trade during the Formative and Classic periods. In this study, we used portable XRF to analyze a previously unstudied collection of over...
Sourcing Preceramic obsidian from Las Estacas, Morelos, and Yuzanu 36, Oaxaca (2018)
Understanding of long-distance exchange during the Mesoamerican Preceramic suffers from a limited range of materials whose source locations can be determined relative to later periods. Obsidian is one of the few materials that can provide evidence for long-distance exchange through geochemical analysis, although relatively few sourcing studies have been carried out on Preceramic obsidian. In this paper, we report recent pXRF results from obsidian recovered at two Preceramic sites: Las Estacas,...
Sourcing the Clay: LA-ICP-MS Analysis of Ceramics from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Northwestern Belize (2015)
This poster presents results of recent provenance research of Lemonal Cream ceramics from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) region located within the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area in Northwestern Belize. We used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) on Lemonal Cream wares from four different sites within the PfBAP region to determine the elemental signatures and compared them to the elemental signature of clay deposits uncovered...
Space, Ritual and Production at Wari Camp (2015)
This paper examines the construction of residential and ritual space at the prehispanic Maya site of Wari Camp, located in northwestern Belize in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area. We explore the productive activities of temple and pair groups at the site through examination of lithic and ceramic material recovered from excavations conducted at the northern satellite of the site in 2012. In addition, environmental and soil data from the site provides insight into the relationships...
Spanish Empire Dynamics, Early Globalization, and Copper Production in Early Colonial Mexico (1522–1648) (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica, they found a well-developed metallurgical tradition based on copper and copper-based alloys. With an increasing demand for copper and an almost complete lack of...
A Spatial Analysis of Proposed Egalitarian Site Organization in Postclassic Tlaxcallan (2015)
The Tlaxcaltecas are known as one of the few groups to maintain autonomy from the Late Postclassic expansion of the Aztec Triple Alliance in Central Mexico. This is particularly interesting given their location, surrounded by Aztec allies and tributaries. In their 2010 paper, Fargher et al. proposed that the success of the Tlaxcallan state was attributed to a political ideology that emphasized egalitarianism rather than imperialism. In a 2011 paper, Fargher et al. expanded upon this hypothesis...
Spatial Analysis of the Preserved Wooden Architectural Remains of Eight Late Classic Maya Salt Works in Punta Ycacos Lagoon, Toledo District, Belize (2017)
In 2005, eight Late Classic Maya sites with the remains of wooden posts were found beneath the surface of Punta Ycacos Lagoon in southern Belize. The presence of briquetage on the surface and embedded among the clusters of wooden architectural features implies association with salt production activity. This research employed a rigorous field survey, combined with mapping, sampling, and building a GIS. Detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of wooden posts was conducted to determine if...
Spatial Arrangements at Chichen Itza (2016)
Site mapping has been a mainstay in the study of archaeological cultures. Following upon the heels of mapping efforts, which have grown increasingly precise as our own technology develops, scholars have studied site, building, and monument orientations to great effect. In the Maya region such investigations have shown how the Maya positioned themselves relative to the cardinal and inter-cardinal directions, natural aspects of the landscape, and/or other parts of the built environment at inter-...
Spatial Roles in Cacaxtla: A Delineation from the Study of Its Architecture (2017)
The archaeological site of Cacaxtla, in the central highlands of Mexico, had its heyday during the Mesoamerican Epiclassic period. Its architectural characteristics define it as a place for residential and government activities, in contrast with the neighboring hill Xochitecatl, where constructions typify ritual purposes. Excavations were not accompanied by scientific studies of materials for the understanding of functions of rooms, porches, and courtyards that make up the site. Therefore, it is...
Speculations on the Course of Mixtec History Prior to the Conquest (1958)
This resource is a citation record only, the Center for Digital Antiquity does not have a copy of this document. The information in this record has been migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded. If you have a digital copy of the document and would like to have it curated in tDAR, please contact us at comments@tdar.org.
Spheres of Production of the Lapidary Objects at the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan: The Legitimacy and Extent of the Power of the Aztec Empire (2015)
In the Great Temple and the surrounding structures at the Sacred Precinct of Mexico Tenochtitlan, the archaeologists recovered thousands of lapidary objects devoted to the religious cult of the Mexica society. Great quantities of them were considered foreign productions or relics related with certain Mesoamerican styles and traditions. In this research we will show that the technological analysis, using Experimental Archaeology and the characterization of the manufacturing traces with SEM,...
Spondylus Shells in Pre-Columbian Copan: Their Religious and Economic Significance (2018)
This work offers a brief discussion on the importance of Spondylus princeps and Spondylus calcifer in the ceremonial, and economic life of ancient Copan. Archaeological contexts at the site indicate that the uses of Spondylus, either as non-worked valves, or finished artifacts was restricted to a small high-status sphere of Copan society. Additionally, contextual data indicate that the Spondylus was used in a least three ritual activities: as offering in burials; caches; and canceling of...
Sport and Ritual as Social Bonding: The Communal Nature of Mesoamerican Ballgames (2015)
For over a century, the Mesoamerican ballgame has received copious attention in the academic literature. Much of this attention, however, has focused on either the control and promulgation of the game by elite actors, or the game’s interconnections with indigenous cosmogonies. Because of this intense focus on the game as elite and/or ritual practice, we often lose sight of the communal role it may have held. Anthropological research into the cultural role of sport suggests that while sport...
Springs Shapefile (2010)
The aim of the LEAP projects was to publish multi-layered e-publications and develop and link them to associated digital archives. The original LEAP project was funded by the AHRC while the LEAP II, A Trans-Atlantic LEAP, was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This shapefile is part of a 2011 LEAP II project "Placing immateriality: situating the material of highland Chiriquí" by Karen Holberg. All files associated with this record must be downloaded to ensure that the shapefile...
The Spurious Claim of “Human Sacrifice” (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 2: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Almost without question, “human sacrifice” is held as a legitimate concept by archaeologists—and the public. The concept is widely employed to explain aspects of Mesoamerican behavior. In this presentation, I argue that human sacrifice was never...
SRTM Raster (2010)
The aim of the LEAP projects was to publish multi-layered e-publications and develop and link them to associated digital archives. The original LEAP project was funded by the AHRC while the LEAP II, A Trans-Atlantic LEAP, was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This raster is part of a 2011 LEAP II project "Placing immateriality: situating the material of highland Chiriquí" by Karen Holberg. All files associated with this record must be downloaded to ensure that the raster file opens...
SRTM_4_USGS Raster (2010)
The aim of the LEAP projects was to publish multi-layered e-publications and develop and link them to associated digital archives. The original LEAP project was funded by the AHRC while the LEAP II, A Trans-Atlantic LEAP, was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This raster is part of a 2011 LEAP II project "Placing immateriality: situating the material of highland Chiriquí" by Karen Holberg. All files associated with this record must be downloaded to ensure that the raster file opens...
SRTM_Utm17_Clip Raster (2010)
The aim of the LEAP projects was to publish multi-layered e-publications and develop and link them to associated digital archives. The original LEAP project was funded by the AHRC while the LEAP II, A Trans-Atlantic LEAP, was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This raster is part of a 2011 LEAP II project "Placing immateriality: situating the material of highland Chiriquí" by Karen Holberg. All files associated with this record must be downloaded to ensure that the raster file opens...
SRTM_UTM_17 Raster (2010)
The aim of the LEAP projects was to publish multi-layered e-publications and develop and link them to associated digital archives. The original LEAP project was funded by the AHRC while the LEAP II, A Trans-Atlantic LEAP, was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This raster is part of a 2011 LEAP II project "Placing immateriality: situating the material of highland Chiriquí" by Karen Holberg. All files associated with this record must be downloaded to ensure that the raster opens...