Expressions of Ideology and the Consolidation of Social Complexity through Jade and Jadeite Material Culture in Precolumbian Costa Rica

Summary

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

Using Costa Rican precolumbian jade, jadeite, and greenstone artifacts from the collections of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, this study aims to amplify and widen the range of research carried out on the Isthmo-Colombian Area. It particularly seeks to examine and discuss the role of those objects as indicators of rank and prestige as well as how ideology is expressed through material culture—including the relevance of jade objects in social, political, and religious contexts. This is done via an analysis of the origins and distribution, as well as recognizable and categorizable forms and styles of those artifacts. Exploring iconographic nuances and symbolisms related to elites, this research provides insight into material culture related to the multifaceted nature of social complexity in prehistoric Costa Rica and seeks to shed further light on aspects regarding the emergence, expression, and consolidation of social complexity in the area.

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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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37343.0