Mesoamerica (Geographic Keyword)
801-825 (2,459 Records)
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Excavations in Cacalotepexi Cave, Chiepetlan: Paleo-Indian Enigma and Late Postclassic-Early Colonial Transition (2017)
Cacalopetepexi Cave, located near the town of Chiepetlan, is notable for its depictions of what appear to be deer being chased by humans done in white paint. Excavations in the cave uncovered evidence of use in the Late Postclassic-Early Colonial periods. An unexpected find at the back of the cave was an enigmatic deposit of calcium carbonate filled with chert debitage and animal bones, which returned radiocarbon dates around 9800 cal BC.
Exchange and Interaction in Proto-Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Late Archaic and Early Formative Interregional Networks (2018)
Across much of Mesoamerica, the transition from Archaic to Formative occurred essentially simultaneously at 1800±100 BC. The earliest sedentary, ceramic-using villages occurred in clusters, but the clusters themselves were widely dispersed. They appeared in a variety of environmental settings, and they were surrounded by lands that were either empty or still inhabited by low-visibility/low-density populations. Given such patterns, it is far from obvious what factors would explain the...
Exchanging and Sharing Food In the Classic Maya polity of Motul de San José (2017)
Anthropologists often describe food as the cement that holds people together both by symbolizing shared values and by the practice of sharing food. But in Maya archaeology, "food" is also often assumed to have been acquired locally and consumed primarily at the family level, therefore having a limited role in creating and maintaining alliances except in special circumstances. In contrast, our recent interdisciplinary research at the Classic period Motul de San José polity, Guatemala, argues...
Exemplary Centers as Quintessential Places: Migrants and Architectural Quotations in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala (2017)
Exemplary centers are physically schematized archetypes which represent and communicate social realities and political orders. Such exemplary centers are quintessential places, as they represent identity and memory. Migrating populations frequently reconstruct exemplary centers that replicate homelands through materials and images demonstrating their identity. Such "architectural quotations" help the migrants to legitimate social and political positions in the new locations. Members of groups...
Exhibiting Cultural Context (2016)
A continuing issue is the treatment in exhibitions of Pre-Columbian objects as simply works of art. This is as much due to museum department compartmentalization and the dominance of design divisions who do not consider the integration of meaningful detail a priority and may even see it as disruptive to the overall design concept. Many of us are interested in developing contextualization without inhibiting the ability of art and artifacts to be appreciated for their own aesthetic merits so we...
Exhibiting Maya Archaeology in the Developed World: A Developing Country Perspective (2016)
Mounting exhibitions that highlight the achievements of Mesoamerican civilizations can be a daunting task for curators of even the most affluent museums in America, Europe or Asia. In the case of smaller museums with ever decreasing budgets, the challenges posed by these projects are greater, and sometimes even cost-prohibitive. But what about the situation faced by the lending institutions in the developing world? Are there challenges and benefits that result from their collaboration with...
Exotics for the Gods: Lowland Maya Ritual Consumption of European Goods along a Spanish Colonial Frontier. (2017)
As a number of researchers who have focused attention on Maya – Spanish interaction along the Belize colonial frontier have noted, the relationship between these two contrasting cultures was anything but amicable. As a result of this bellicose relationship, few material goods of European origin were traded into frontier settlements. The only exception were a few objects that were brought in by overzealous friars as gifts to the "heathen" Maya they sought to convert to their Christian faith. And...
Expanding radiogenic strontium baseline data for central Mexican paleomobility studies (2017)
Radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope values reflect local geology and have long been used in analyses of paleomobility within Mesoamerica. Research has focused on reconstructing individuals’ residential histories by comparing strontium isotope ratios in individuals’ tooth enamel and bone with local baseline values generated from soils, plants, or local fauna. While a great deal of work has been done developing baseline values across the Maya region, work in central Mexico is predominantly...
Expansion of an Eastern Shrine at the Tapir Group of the Medicinal Trail Community in Northwestern Belize (2016)
Excavations within the Tapir Group at Medicinal Trail, a Maya hinterland community in northwestern Belize, have revealed evidence for multiple phases of expansion of both Structure B-1, a large pyramidal structure on the eastern side of the courtyard group, and the plaza platform on which it rests. The Tapir Group is a relatively large, formal Plaza Plan 2 courtyard group (as defined by Becker). Excavations indicate that Structure B-1 was expanded at least twice and, in order to accommodate the...
Experiencing Yaxhom: Materiality, Memory, and Monumentality in the Puuc Hills of Yucatan (2016)
Research conducted at the ancient Maya site of Yaxhom has identified very early monumental architecture next to one of the most fertile tracts in the Puuc region of northern Yucatan. A third field season, reported on here, carried out further mapping and testing of the urban center to determine the extent of accompanying Formative architecture. We wished to test whether the platform served to mark place for a population with minimal investment in residential architecture or whether it formed...
Experimental Ceramic Technology Studies: Programme for Belize Archaeology Project (2016)
This is a multifaceted approach utilizing environmental, ethnographical, and ceramic studies from various instructors with feedback from students, faculty, and experienced potters. Incorporating this project in our field school, generates more knowledge and curiosity in the observation of materials in the field pertaining to this technology.The environment and its contribution to our needs such as clay, water, temper, fuel, and firing methods are some of the most important aspects of research....
Experiments in Replicating Eccentric Workshop Debris (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Ceremonial Lithics of Mesoamerica: New Understandings of Technology, Distribution, and Symbolism of Eccentrics and Ritual Caches in the Maya World and Beyond" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Elaborate Maya eccentrics were made from two kinds of blanks: large pieces of tabular flint and large flakes harvested from thick, roundish nodules. Preforms from these blanks were made by direct or indirect percussion, probably...
Explorando la diversidad socioeconómica en grupos domésticos mayas del período Clásico. El caso de Sihó, Yucatán. (2015)
En el sitio arqueológico de Sihó, Yucatán, conjuntos habitacionales intervenidos arqueológicamente sugieren una marcada diferenciación socioeconómica entre los grupos domésticos, que se manifiesta materialmente incluso en la zona central del asentamiento. El objetivo de esta ponencia es, con base en arquitectura, artefactos y ecofactos, ofrecer información sobre similitudes y diferencias respecto a las actividades llevadas a cabo, así como acerca del uso de los espacios en tres contextos...
Exploring Ceramic Variability at Tlatilco, Mexico (2017)
Tlatilco is an Early Formative society located in the Basin of Mexico dating from c. 1250-600 BCE. The site which was discovered by Mexican archaeologist, Miguel Covarrubias in the 1930s has undergone several phases of archaeological seasons often with very little material published. Many of the cultural objects uncovered were dispersed into museum collections in North America, used primarily as illustrative material. My research involves gathering iconographic and archaeological data from major...
Exploring Dental Modification Practices at Midnight Terror Cave, Belize. (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Dental modification in Mesoamerica dates to the Early Preclassic Period and persisted into the 16th century. Investigations have suggested a number of possible explanations, generally aesthetic or ritual, for the practice. There is little consensus in the field. A total of 1194 teeth were recovered from Midnight Terror Cave (MTC), Belize,...
Exploring Freshwater Turtle Population Dynamics in the Maya World through Ancient DNA Analysis (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Recent Advances in Zooarchaeological Methods" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the Maya world, zooarchaeological studies have recorded regionally focused declines in animal abundances due to drying conditions and land clearance. However, zooarchaeological data alone cannot document fluctuations in animal population structure or diversity, an insight that can be provided by ancient DNA analysis. In this study, we use...
Exploring Migration and Kinship of the Ancient Maya through Isotopes and aDNA in NW Belize (2017)
As a uniquely sustained archaeological research program that has annually excavated in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area for 25 years, the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) offers a wealth of knowledge for bioarchaeological research. This paper examines ancient Maya burials from northwestern Belize, spanning the Late Preclassic (250 BCE – 250 CE) to the Terminal Classic (850 – 950 CE). Detailed here are stable isotope, ancient DNA, and osteological analyses from a...
Exploring the Ancient Mitochondrial DNA of Pre-Columbian Populations inhabiting Basin Mexico during the Post-Classic Period (900-1521 AD) (2015)
The genetic study of pre-Columbian populations that inhabited the Basin of Mexico has recently started. The genetic analysis of different periods in specific spatial territories could contribute to understand patterns of interaction for pre-Columbian populations that lived in vast Mesoamerica. I use ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis to explore genetic similarities and differences within and between pre-Columbian bone samples, provided by the INAH, Mexico, belonging to post-Classic (900-1521 AD)...
Exploring the Changing Roles of Maya E-groups: Geochemical Analysis of E-group Plaster Floors at Actuncan, Belize (2017)
E-Groups were among the first monumental spaces constructed in Middle Preclassic Maya centers and served as important venues for negotiating social interactions and political integration of newly settled peoples. Starting in the Late Preclassic period, their roles began to shift. At some sites, such as Tikal and Uaxactun, votive offerings signifying communal ritual were replaced with dedicatory stelas or royal interments marking exclusionary practices and political appropriation of these spaces....
Exploring the Coastal Mosaic of Northern Quintana Roo: The Proyecto Costa Escondida and Scott L. Fedick’s Continuing Legacy in the Northern Maya Lowlands (2015)
Glover and Rissolo owe a great deal to Scott Fedick for his mentorship through our graduate school years and for his friendship and council as we embarked on our own multidisciplinary project, the Proyecto Costa Escondida. This paper highlights the contributions Scott has made to interdisciplinary research in the Maya area. In so doing, we discuss how our project on the north coast of Quintana Roo builds on this intellectual heritage. We, like Scott, are investigating the dynamic interplay...
Exploring the Use of Red Ochre at Midnight Terror Cave, Belize (2016)
The earliest use of red pigment in mortuary contexts has been documented in Neanderthal burials during the Upper Palaeolithic period (50,000- 12,000 BCE) in Europe (Roper 1991). The use of red pigment for both mortuary and decorative practices has been identified in Mesoamerica as early as the Early Preclassic. These practices include the sprinkling or encasing of various artifacts such as shell or bone in either red ochre or cinnabar. Investigations at Midnight Terror Cave (MTC) carried out...
Explotación teotihuacana de obsidiana verde en La Sierra de Las Navajas (2016)
Se analiza el proceso de explotación minera, talla y distribución de la obsidiana verde por parte de Teotihuacan en La Sierra de Las Navajas, con base en las excavaciones arqueológicas y recorridos detallados de superficie. Hemos identificado en el yacimiento tres tipos de locus de talla, talleres familiares, talleres especializados y áreas individuales de talla. La producción en general en el yacimiento comprende elaboración de instrumentos, armas, objetos religiosos y de vestimenta además de...
Extending the Notion of Night: Volcanic Eruptions in Mesoamerica (2017)
The recent research on archaeological evidence for nightly practices has profoundly shaped interpretations of the past. As scholars begin to investigate this unexamined portion of ancient life, it is essential to include associations of night beyond the time of day. Volcanic events strongly influenced life throughout ancient Mesoamerica and provide an alternative avenue of investigation into ancient experiences of a form of night created by ash. Volcanic eruptions, particularly those of...
Extraction of Soil Biomarkers from the Sacred Cacao Groves of the Maya (2016)
In Post Classic and Colonial times, cacao was an important crop to the Maya. Landa and others reported sacred groves of trees in the Yucatan region, and among these groves they saw cacao growing. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, cacao seeds were even used as a form of currency near Chichen Itza. Cacao typically grows in hot, humid climates. The Yucatan region is too dry and humidity is too low during the winter months to sustain cacao, but it has been found to grow in the humid microclimates...