Costume and Identity in Pacific Nicaragua

Summary

Sixteen years of archaeological research along the shore of Lake Cocibolca in Pacific Nicaragua has yielded a wealth of material culture relating to domestic practice and mortuary rituals for the period from AD 500 to 1250. Among these are numerous objects of adornment, such as pendants, beads, and ear ornaments. Additional costume information is found on small ceramic figurines, primarily of females with painted decoration indicating clothing, hairstyle, tattooing, and jewelry. Based on initial research we presented on the construction of identity from the Santa Isabel site. Now with another five years of excavation we are able to add new information from the sites of El Rayo and Sonzapote to contrast these contemporary sites to discuss regional variations in concepts of the ‘body beautiful.’ Furthermore, changing styles from the late Bagaces (AD 500-800) to Sapoa (AD 800-1250) periods allows evaluation of ethnohistorical claims for ethnogenesis with the arrival of ‘foreign’ groups with possible Mesoamerican origins.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Adornment, Personal Ornamentation, and the Construction of Identity: A Global Archaeological Perspective   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14965