Re-discovering the Copan Sub-Stelae Caches: A Collection Stewardship and Re-Identification Project

Summary

Beginning in 2013, the authors have engaged in an archaeological collection stewardship project at the ceramic artifact repository in the Centro Regional de Investigaciones Arqueológicas at Copan, Honduras. Responding to a request from the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia to address a serious concern that the contextual information had become separated from hundreds of objects, we initiated a re-identification process to ensure the long-term care, access, and use of the ceramic collections. Focusing first on the famous Copan sub-stelae and altar caches, the authors established a protocol that can be carried forward to numerous other objects from excavated contexts. As a result of the work, the objects and their ritual context are being re-analyzed seventy-five years after their discovery in light of new technological breakthroughs. The work underscores the importance of collection stewardship coupled with archaeological training both for archaeologists and local institute managers.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Community Diversity in the Archaeological Past and the Complicated Present: Ongoing Field Research and Civic Engagements in the Copan Valley, Honduras   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage