A Reconstructed Chaîne Opératoire for Mesoamerican Cochineal

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The interdisciplinary study of cochineal production in Mesoamerica has overwhelmingly focused on the written record. These documents, written by Spanish colonizers, European scientists, and modern-day ethnographers, yield insightful information into the material culture of cochineal production, from the cactus farm to the dye vat. Yet thus far, this information has not been used to generate hypotheses that can be tested by archaeological materials. This has limited archaeology’s contributions to cochineal studies, perpetuating a reliance on documents that often reflect biased and ethnocentric perspectives about Indigenous cochineal producers. In this paper, I draw from historical, ethnographic, and chemical information to reconstruct the stages of cochineal production. For each stage, I identify its associated artifacts, ecofacts, and features, as well as any modifications they may undergo in the process. I pair this analysis with preliminary experimental archaeology findings that suggest the utility of using carminic acid residues to positively identify artifacts modified by cochineal production. I then demonstrate how this approach can be used to test claims about cochineal production, including the antiquity of cochineal use in Mesoamerica, shifts in European demand for different cochineal products, and the reasons behind the decline in central Mexican production in the mid-1600s.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Samantha Nadel

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37206.0

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