Iconographic and Material Comparative Analysis of Ulúa Valley Polychromes

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This thesis explores the relationship between iconography and material analysis of Ulúa polychromes in Honduras between 450 – 1200 CE. From a dataset of 56 ceramic pieces, first analyzed iconographically which has been the main form of analysis for these artefacts. Second, the 56 pieces were sampled for INAA and processed through a computer program. The purpose of using these two analyses is to see if past iconographic analysis holds firm in its assumptions of representing group identity as well as how these iconographic elements represent group dynamics among the Ulúa Valley. Chapter 1 details the historical context around the Ulúa Valley. Iconographic analysis of 56 samples is defined in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 introduces the instrumental neutron activation analysis process while Chapter 4 establishes the initial data findings. Chapter 5’s discussion goes in depth to compare iconographic and material processes for samples and their corresponding groups. Chapter 6’s concluding notes bring each group into a structural context of the Ulúa Valley and how the samples can tell us how these groups may present themselves in physical spaces. Through this research and the use of both analyses, there is a varied expression of samples even if composition is similar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37739.0