Formative (Other Keyword)
151-172 (172 Records)
Data from a surface survey of 105 sq km in and around the site of Chiapa de Corzo indicate that over the course of the Late Formative, serving vessels of Sierra Red, a style that originated in the Maya Lowlands, were widely adopted across the Chiapa de Corzo polity. At the capital early Sierra Red serving vessels largely conformed to the size of serving vessels from the Maya Lowlands. In the hinterland, however, the Sierra Red vessels people were using had dimensions that conformed more tightly...
Situating Early Xunantunich, Belize, in the Preclassic Landscape: A Synthetic Perspective from Structure F1 (2021)
This is an abstract from the "The Preclassic Landscape in the Mopan Valley, Belize" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Over the last five years, intensive investigations of Structure F1 at Early Xunantunich, Belize, have shed light on a dynamic and important time in the site’s early history. The monumental platform structure played an important role in the early ceremonial center, creating the site’s northern boundary, hosting large public rituals,...
Skeletal Health and the Impact of Agriculture within the Mixtec Population from Etlatongo, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca during the Middle Formative (2018)
Sedentism and agriculture had major impacts on early human societies by increasing social complexity. Some scholars attributed an intensification of inequalities to a greater dependency on agriculture. This dependency, consequently lead to decreased health status of the non-elite/rulers population. Our goal is to address the overarching question of, how did agriculture impact ancient societies? And specifically, does the emergence of agriculture correlate with decreased health? Therefore, we...
Social Status and Ritual Practice at a Middle Formative Residential Complex at Tlalancaleca, Puebla (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Fieldwork recently undertaken at Tlalancaleca, Puebla, explored a residential complex dating to the Texoloc phase (650 – 500 BC) of the Middle Formative period. Horizontal excavations exposed a residential platform and several wattle and daub rooms flanking a central patio. This paper presents interpretations regarding: (1) the status of inhabitants; and (2)...
Sociopolitical and Cultural Renewals during Late and Terminal Formative in the Lerma’s Valley: The Post-Chupicuaro Developments (2018)
Chupicuaro reached its cultural and demographic peak between 400 and 100 BCE. This Formative culture was integrated into the western Mesoamerican sphere and was characterized by its homogeneity, with diversified but still poorly understood relationships with Central Mexico, particularly in the sites of Cuicuilco and Cerro de los Tepalcates, and Tlaxcala-Puebla area. The decades before our era underwent both socio-spatial reconfigurations, probably due to rapid environmental change in the...
State Formation and Economic Integration: New Perspectives from Ceramic Sourcing in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Checking the Pulse: Current Research in Oaxaca Part II" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The two occupations at Tilcajete, El Mogote and El Palenque, offer a unique perspective on the political and economic changes surrounding the rise of Monte Albán. Located in the southern arm of the Valley of Oaxaca, El Mogote was an important Rosario phase (700–500 BCE) community that grew in size and political importance during the...
Surface Sites and Surface Pipes Results of the Dead Horse Lateral Pipeline Data Recovery Grand County, Utah (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Environmental studies associated with the Dead Horse Lateral Pipeline project of Grand County Utah afforded archaeologists from Cultural Resource Analysts Inc. an opportunity to intensively study the cultural resources within and around the pipeline corridor. This multifaceted research examined both micro analyses associated with individual sites, artifacts,...
Sustainable Urbanism in the Mixteca Alta: Was There Ever Such a Thing? (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Advancing Public Perceptions of Sustainability through Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Researchers that study pre-Hispanic urbanism in the Mixteca Alta often remark that the region today is eroded and sparsely populated. Places that in the past supported urban populations in the tens of thousands today seem to struggle to sustain a few hundred. Some have called this the Mixtec paradox. Research on the...
The “Tamtoc Venus”: An Early Huastec Sculpture and Its Connections to Gulf Coast Sculptural Traditions (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Sculpture of the Ancient Mexican Gulf Coast, Part 1" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although the Huasteca belongs to the Mesoamerican culture area and the Gulf Coast region, some scholars have asserted that its culture, emblematized by its sculptural tradition, was isolated. The examination of Huastec stone sculptures from different periods reveals not only its links to other artistic traditions in Mesoamerica but...
Taphonomic Examination of the Skeletal Collection from Etlatongoa, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca (2018)
Recent excavations at the Middle Formative (850 – 400 BCE) site of Etlatongo, in the Mixteca male bearing striking red stains on the anterior cranium. These findings may suggest alteration of remains associated with burial rituals. However, human remains may be modified through several post-mortem taphonomic effects, including: trauma, rodent activity, discoloring, staining, cultural modification, interment rituals, damage throughout archaeological investigation procedures, biological and...
Tiempo y espacio a través de la cerámica: la ocupación Olmeca de Antonio Plaza, Veracruz (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. La región de Capoacan, al margen del río Uxpana, a pesar de ser distinguida por ser el lugar de hallazgo de la escultura conocida como "El Luchador", definida por los arqueólogos como de tradición Olmeca, ha sido un área poco estudiada. Por tal motivo, en el año 2017 dio inicio una investigación sistemática, que continuó en 2018 por medio de un programa de...
Tlalancaleca: Ceramics and Interregional Interactions in Formative Central Mexico (2018)
Using ceramics as a proxy for social contact, we discuss a long history of interregional interactions of Tlalancaleca with other areas during the Formative Period. We have observed some clear changes of ceramic assemblages in the transitions between the Middle, Late, and Terminal Formative (or between the Texoloc, Tezoquipan, and Late Tezoquipan phases). While we do not imply that the presence or absence of certain ceramic traditions serves as direct indicators for political control, it is...
Tlatilco Revisited (2018)
Since Tlatilco was discovered in the 1930s by Miguel Covarrubias, our understanding of the Early Formative site has changed with a steady flow over the last 80 years. During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s Tlatilco was excavated revealing the dynamic of the site, with the objective to establish the chronology and preserve the many burials. There seems to be extensive evidence that Tlatilco in fact was more than a burial site. The established (calibrated) dates for Tlatilco to be between 1200-900 BCE...
Tools for Change: Food Preparation Techniques during State Formation at the Tilcajete Sites (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Archaeology of Oaxacan Cuisine" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Cooking and eating are practices with cultural significance beyond sustenance. Understanding foodways during times of sociopolitical transformation can provide a window into how people foster, resist, and mediate social change in daily life. The context in which food is produced, prepared, consumed, and shared provides insight into people’s changing...
Tough Love - The Permian Basin Programmatic Agreement Research Program in Southeastern New Mexico (2018)
First implemented in 2008, the Permian Basin Programmatic Agreement (PBPA) is an alternative form of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended.The PBPA allows the oil and gas industry and potash mining companies in southeastern New Mexico to contribute funding for archaeological research in lieu of requiring a class III archaeological inventory within the PBPA Area, provided they avoid recorded cultural resources.This paper describes the context in...
The Transition to Home Living in Middle America (2015)
In Middle America the transition from the Archaic to Early Formative period (ca. 2000-1400 BC) was marked by the first use of pottery and the construction of durable dwelling clustered in small hamlets or villages. These markers of year-round dwelling in one place represent a major transition in Early Formative times to neolithic lifeways and presumably lifeworlds. I review the evidence of the earliest houses known from highland and lowland regions of Middle America, with an emphasis on the...
Upano, an Anthropized Valley in the Upper Amazon (2018)
Sangay, Ecuador, is probably the most prestigious and impressive site in Amazonia. It is indeed an immense establishment regrouping dozens complexes of artificial earthmounds and a network of endless paths dug along the edge of a terrace of the left bank the Upano. Many archaeological sites have been found in this narrow and straight Upano Valley has been modified over tens of kilometers in length by the pre-Columbian, but few of them have been excavated. Does this multitude of interconnected...
Variability in the Cultural Assemblage During the Formative Period in the Upper Colorado River Drainage Basin (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Formative period in the upper Colorado Drainage has been variously defined but broadly extends from 2000 B.P. to 400 B.P. Recent investigations indicate there was a high degree of variability in the cultural assemblage during this period. Specifically, habitation structures, maize storage facilities, and maize types show a great deal of variability. In...
Village to City: Formative Period Political Evolution in Central Mexico (2018)
Current research has prompted rethinking about the early development of sedentism, agricultural economies, and complex societies in Central Mexico. We discuss new evidence of significant interconnected changes ca.1000 BC that through multiple trajectories involved intensified maize production, expansion of sedentary villages, expanded interaction networks, and increased social complexity. With the establishment of the first cities, the Late Formative saw corporate political economy strategies...
Water, Water, Everywhere, but You Need to Walk to Get a Drink: The Relationship between Water Sources and Teuchitlán Culture Sites in the Tequila Valleys of Jalisco, Mexico (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study explores the relationship between several Teuchitlán Culture archaeology sites and their proximity to permanent and seasonal water sources within the Tequila Valleys of Jalisco, Mexico. Water is an essential resource that humans cannot live without. With a lengthy dry season of nearly seven months, questions arise regarding access to water and...
The Work of Feline Bones and Feline Imagery at Early Horizon Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Cholula to Chachoapan: Celebrating the Career of Michael Lind" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Large felines play crucial roles in origin narratives, cosmologies, and political authority in Mesoamerican societies, yet actual faunal remains and feline imagery are uncommon for the Early Horizon, from 1400 to 1000 cal BCE, especially in the highlands. Feline imagery appears in the stone sculptural corpus of the Gulf Olmec...
World Heritage Listings, Changing Climate, and the Salalah Doctrine: Archaeological Heritage Management at Nan Madol Monument, Pohnpei, FSM (2018)
Nan Madol monument in Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia was inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2016. The same day it was listed on the Endangered List for World Heritage sites by the Committee. The designation was meant to insist on the seriousness of conservation and management planning and it has had a profound impact. A Conservation Plan has been launched, supported in part by UNESCO, and fine-grained monitoring with geocontrols, 3-D mapping, UAV structure-in-motion...