Change and Continuity in the Greater Nicoya Region of Pacific Central America: A Comparison of Two Bagaces to Sapoa Transitional Areas

Summary

Ethnohistorical sources describe migrations of Mesoamerican peoples into the Greater Nicoya region of Pacific Nicaragua and Northwestern Costa Rica during the Classic to Postclassic transition, ca. 800 CE, a period known regionally as the Bagaces and Sapoa periods. Recent research has targeted this transition in order to better understand the material culture dynamics, as a means to further understand historical linguistic and genetic data. This paper contrasts two case studies: one from the Guanacaste sites of Finca Chiva, Villa Aventura, and Los Platanos; and the Nicaraguan sites of Santa Isabel and El Rayo. Consideration of such attributes as mortuary practices, settlement patterns, and decorated ceramics all contribute to an empirical evaluation of the migration claims. Among the conclusions are a critical reconsideration of the ‘Greater Nicoya’ concept, as well as evidence with other parts of Central America.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Cerámica sin Fronteras: Defining Cultural Phenomena at the Intersection of Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua

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