'Out of Mexico' 25 Years Later: A Reconsideration of Migration into Greater Nicoya

Summary

In 1989, John Hoopes and I presented a paper at the SAA conference in which we attempted an archaeological evaluation of ethnohistorical models for Mexican migrations into the Greater Nicoya region of Central America. Although the paper was never published, it became the foundation for my current research in Pacific Nicaragua. Colonial chronicles describe ‘Mexican’ cultural practices of the Nahua-speaking Nicarao and, to a lesser extent, the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega. Linguists and art historians of the 20th century have supported claims of Mesoamericans in the region beginning about 800 CE. After 15 years of excavating several major sites along the shore of Lake Cocibolca, specifically looking for the Mexican connection, we have amassed an excellent database for ancient Nicaraguan lifeways, but rather ambiguous evidence for Mexican colonies. This paper will outline the evidence for migration ‘out of Mexico’ and then critically evaluate the archaeological evidence as it relates to foreign influence as opposed to in situ development.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Caminos perdidos y vías olvidadas: Trade Routes and Exchange Networks in Late Pre-Hispanic Central America   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

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