Mesoamerica (Geographic Keyword)
301-325 (2,387 Records)
Ongoing design description and analysis have revealed commonalities in the decoration of diverse ceramic artifact classes. Here we outline the specifics of these design features, focusing on depictions of monkeys and birds, geometric designs such as crosshatching and dots, and how these are used individually and in combinations. The use of similar designs on diverse pottery artifact classes suggests a commonality of accepted design elements, although there are differences between classes in...
The Birth of Ehecatl: The Cultural Origins of the Avian Wind God OF Central Mexico (2015)
One of the most striking deities of the Aztec pantheon is Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, a duck-billed being embodying such ethereal concepts as rain-bringing wind and the breath of life. He is in jarring contrast to Quetzalcoatl, who although embodying the same concepts of wind, is a quetzal-plumed rattlesnake in Aztec thought. This study argues that in contrast to the plumed serpent, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl constitutes a relatively recent introduction of an avian wind deity from eastern Mesoamerica into...
The Black, The Red: A Study of Two Maya Mural Pigments from the Petén Region (2017)
Black and red are foundational colors in Mesoamerican painting and scribal arts, often derived from easily accessible raw materials. Although their presence is ubiquitous, variations in chemistry and microscopic properties are data that tell a more nuanced story. This paper summarizes analysis of black and red colorants used in Maya wall paintings that contribute to observations regarding local traditions in manufacture, as well as individual variation in artistic practice. Reported results...
Blindfolds and the Eternal Return in Late Postclassic Central Mexico (2017)
Scholars have invariably interpreted the blindfolds worn by certain figures in Aztec painted manuscripts as a sign of—in their words—"transgression," "sin," and "punishment." This talk challenges the simplicity and inherent Eurocentrism of that reading. It is true that the Aztecs perceived a person’s mistakes to plunge him into darkness and chaos, and that blindfolds, at one level, symbolized that disorder. The cause of a moral error, however, was embodied by certain objects and substances that...
Block Busters: What Systematic Replication Studies Reveal about Hypotheses on the Iron Ore Cubes (2016)
Among the most enigmatic artifacts to emerge from Formative period Gulf Coast deposits are thousands of small, roughly rectangular cubes of iron ore that are perforated in a consistent, t-shaped pattern. Numerous hypotheses have been suggested for the function and meaning of these artifacts, including that they may have served as beads that were strung together as helmet decorations; as objects that were strung together to serve as a sort of armor or mail; as tiny hammers for chipping obsidian;...
Blocks, Bricks, and Material Practices of Inter-Subjectification at La Venta, Mexico (2015)
La Venta, the Middle Formative Olmec capital, is famous for its unique structured deposits composed of thousands of serpentine blocks. The discovery of these "massive offerings" along with caches of fine jade artifacts was taken as evidence of a powerful ruling class who controlled this wealth and commanded the labor of countless commoners to bring the serpentine to La Venta, shape it into standardized forms, and bury it in a ritual precinct. This paper challenges that conventional...
Blue Creek
Background—The Maya City of Blue Creek Blue Creek is an ancient Maya city (900 BC–AD 1000) in northwestern Belize, just south of the southern Mexican border. Annual investigations of the site have been under way since 1990. Except for four years, these were, and continue to be, directed by Thomas Guderjan. Consequently, we have access to all records and archives of the project and have an excellent relationship with the government of Belize. The ancient city of Blue Creek covers more than 100...
Blue Creek Central Precinct Excavation Forms (2011)
Field data forms Central Precinct Blue Creek - 1993 - 1997
Blue Creek Central Precinct Excavation Forms
Field excavation forms and associated paper work form excavations at Blue Creek, Belize - field seasons 1993 through 1997, Maya Research Program
Blue Creek Regional Ecology Project: 2001, 2002, and 2003 Research Summaries (2003)
Over the past two seasons, the Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project, formerly the Blue Creek Archaeology Project (under the direction of Dr. Tom Guderjan) has shifted its research objectives away from earlier lines of inquiry to encompass both a broader scope of analysis and also embrace alternative though complementary questions regarding ancient Maya society. Important among the objectives that currently comprise our work in the Blue Creek area of northwestern Belize are: (1) better...
THE BLUE STONES FROM CHIAPA DE CORZO: MINERALOGICAL IDENTIFICATION AND MANUFACTURE (2016)
Since the beginning of Mesoamerican societies, the elites employed prestige goods to display their power and status. At Chiapa de Corzo (Chiapas, México), a Formative period site that lasted until the late Classic, the archaeologist recovered a group of ornaments crafted on bluish stones that contrasts with the common greenstone objects found at the tombs. In this paper, we present the mineralogical identification and technological analysis of them in order to discuss their local or foreign...
Boquete Area Ceramics Classification (2010)
These are only some of the more common ceramics found in the Boquete area, and the dates are tentative. Dates given are the most inclusive possible in order to incorporate the different time spans assigned by various researchers. This is highly simplified and for use only to get a rough chronological fix on ceramic samples. It collapses many divisions within wares that would not alter the chronological placement of a type.
Boquete_12k_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...
Boquete_50k_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...
Botanical analysis of sediments in offerings and fill at Tenochtitlan’s Great Temple (2015)
In this paper, botanical remains in sedimentological samples from offerings and fill are analyzed for biological identification. Seeds, fibers, resins, and other vegetal structures recovered using Struever’s floatation technique, modified by members of the Paleobotanical and Paleoenvironmental Laboratory, in the Institute of Anthropological Research (IIA), at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), yielded propagules, charred bits of textiles, copal, thorn fragments, splinters, and...
Boundary traits in archaeological settlements of the Bolonchen district, Yucatán, México. (2016)
In the course of surveying a kilometer-wide strip linking the archaeological sites of Labna, Kiuic and Huntichmul, several types of rare feature clusters were recorded that are difficult to interpret. Although some spatial patterns of these "special" features with respect to the local topography were recognized as the survey proceeded, it wasn’t until the sample of 10 km2 was completed and analyzed using GIS "least cost routes" that we were able to offer a more thorough interpretation of their...
Branching Out: Cerro Maya as a Strategic Link in a Preclassic Maya Exchange Network (2015)
Ours is the first generation of Maya archaeologists to be fully rooted in Maya history. Thanks to our mentors, and especially cooperation between epigraphers and archaeologists, we have come to know the faces, names and life stories of important figures in our own New World history, epics that rival those of the Old World. The telling of these stories is a work in progress, however, our mentors, Linda Schele and David Freidel, provided a courageous and insightful first effort at embodying the...
BREACHING SPIRITUAL BORDERS: How Indigenous Religious Ontologies Colonized Christianity (2016)
In 1524, only three years after the military conquest of central Mexico was complete, twelve Franciscan friars arrived in New Spain to begin an ambitious religious conversion program. The friars arrived in a territory where landscapes, buildings, and everyday objects (such as foodstuffs and ceramic objects) were already “mythologized”—deeply imbued with supernatural connotations. For the Spanish priests, Indigenous worlds were always potential minefields of spiritual pollution. Therefore, though...
Bread (nut) Pit? Determining the function of San Bartolo chultúns (2016)
San Bartolo, located in the Petén of Guatemala, boasts the earliest examples of Maya murals and writing known to date in Mesoamerica. Despite the extensive work in the monumental sector of the site, comparatively less work has been carried out on the domestic sectors. Like many Maya sites, chultúns are a common though enigmatic feature. High quantities of charcoal and household refuse recovered during the chultún excavations, including ground stone, animal bones, worked bone, and wood charcoal...
Bridging the Gap: Spectral and Structural Analysis of Archaeological Settlement in El Zotz, Guatemala (2018)
In the last decade, archaeologist have successfully employed active remote sensing technologies, such as LiDAR, to identify ancient settlement in the Maya lowlands. Near the site of El Zotz in northern Guatemala, this technology has aided in the identification of fortresses, terraces, and a network of raised roads. Archaeologist who employ LiDAR focus principally on the structural data acquired from the LiDAR point clouds. Building on these methodologies, we assess the benefits of incorporating...
Bridging the Gaps: Integrating Archaeology and History in Oaxaca, Mexico (2015)
Bridging the Gaps: Integrating Archaeology and History in Oaxaca, Mexico does just that: it bridges the gap between archaeology and history of the Precolumbian, Colonial, and Republican eras of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, a cultural area encompassing several of the longest-enduring literate societies in the world. Fourteen case studies from an interdisciplinary group of archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and art historians consciously compare and contrast changes and...
Brief Report On Paleoindian-Archaic Occupation of the Quiche Basin, Guatemala (1980)
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.
The build environment on Late Postclassic terraces in Tlaxcallan (2016)
During intensive survey and mapping of the Late Postclassic City of Tlaxcallan, we noted that the inhabitants of the ancient city of Tlaxcallan, in Tlaxcala, Mexico, developed a dense settlement pattern and complex urban landscape during the Late Postclassic (A.D. 1250-1521). Specifically, massive terraces and open and accessible plazas dominated this landscape. In this paper, we present the initial results of excavations on a series of terraces located at the northern edge of the city. This...
Building a Community: Late Classic and Postclassic Residential Structures at Rio Amarillo, Copan, Honduras (2015)
Rio Amarillo, an ancient town, rests 20 km east of the great Maya city of Copan in Honduras. In the last four years residences from the Late Classic and Postclassic period have been excavated at the site. Investigations of the residential buildings from Río Amarillo have allowed us to better understand the influences and allegiances of the inhabitants of this community resting on the margins of the Maya world. The architecture of the structures reflects ties to both Copan and to areas in the...
Building a Façade: When Political Involvement Changes the Narrative, Fabric, and Value of Historic Sites (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper explores the ways in which local government involvement in the restoration of historic structures and archaeological sites can change the ways in which they are valued and used by local communities. How do opinions surrounding heritage change when people are confronted with differing actors imposing differing values on historic properties? How do...