Trade, exchange, production and consumption in pre-Columbian and colonial Lower Central America (Panama Nicaragua and Costa Rica)

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

This symposium examines material manifestations and theoretical aspects of trade, exchange, production and consumption in pre-Columbian and colonial Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Both organic (plant and animal) remains and a variety of artifact classes (including, but not limited to, ceramics, stone tools and shell artifacts) are examined and discussed. The production, use and discard of material goods is examined with attention paid to evidence of craft specialization and long- and short-range trade and exchange. Production and consumption of perishables, especially plant and animal foods, is examined in terms of identification of regional consumption patterns and possible human effects on these resources and past environments. This symposium hopes to renew interest in this dynamic geographic region linking Mesoamerica and Andean South America.