History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Looted Cultural Objects, Elena Baylis

Articles

In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, museums are in possession of cultural objects that were unethically taken from their countries and communities of origin under the auspices of colonialism. For many years, the art world considered such holdings unexceptional. Now, a longstanding movement to decolonize museums is gaining momentum, and some museums are reconsidering their collections. Presently, whether to return such looted foreign cultural objects is typically a voluntary choice for individual museums to make, not a legal obligation. Modern treaties and statutes protecting cultural property apply only prospectively, to items stolen or illegally exported after their effective dates. …

Dulce Sueños De Tierra, Sweet Dreams Of Earth, Jordany Genao

Theses and Dissertations

Jordany's paper congregates their archival research into an art practice that examines the decolonial impulse to excavate the self and produce autonomy. Using ceramics to reference and re-animate Taino ritual objects found in museums, resulting in alternative museology, their work seeks to honor Caribbean ancestors by subverting colonial history.

La Colección Arqueológica Costarricense De Karl Wahle, Cónsul Honorario De La Monarquía Austrohúngara. Renacimiento De Una Colección Olvidada, János Gyarmati

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

En 1902, el Departamento de Etnografía del Museo Nacional de Hungría, antecesor del Museo de Etnografía, adquirió una colección de ciento tres objetos arqueológicos costarricenses del Museo de la Corte de Viena. Los objetos habían pertenecido originariamente a un conjunto mayor (de cuatrocientos cincuenta), comprados al director del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica por Karl Wahle, el cónsul austrohúngaro en San José, quien posteriormente los donó al museo de Viena. Una cuarta parte de las piezas, hallazgos arqueológicos de cuatro cementerios en las inmediaciones de la capital costarricense, llegaron a Budapest por intermediación del diplomático húngaro Bela Rakovszky, quien en …

Ancient Migrations In West Mexico: Mtdna Analyses, Patricio Gutiérrez Ruano

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite the mounting evidence that suggests The Aztatlán tradition in West Mexico was a major cosmopolitan region during the Postclassic period (AD 900-1521) with connections to the rest of what is now Mexico, archaeologists have characterized items in West Mexico as culturally distinct from the rest of Mesoamerica. Recently, endogenous, and exogenous material culture has been interpreted as movement and exchange of goods and ideas between subregions and surrounding areas, all of which mention physical contact and trade were involved between Aztatlán and elsewhere. This has included interacting with areas as far as the U.S. Southwest, as well as in …

Review Of Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello By Monica Brown, Katie E. Gosman

Library Intern Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Lords From The Desert, Caroline Mercado

Capstones

Lords from the Desert

This work explores a reality that is little talked about: how the most prestigious pre-Columbian art exhibits in the United States hide a murky origin. From looting of temples to illicit art trafficking, to smuggling and collectors’ affairs, the pieces gain value in proportion to the social prestige of their owner. Along the way, the most important is lost: research that provides context and allows us to know history. The First World wins a seductive, but simplistic story. The Third World, from which all these cultures emerge, loses patrimony and possibilities of understanding themselves. A pair …

Modeling Sound In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin

Anthropology Department: Theses

Digital technologies enable modeling of the potential role of sound in past environments. While digital approaches have limitations in objectively rendering reality, they provide an expanded platform that potentially increases our understanding of experience in the past and enhances the investigation of ancient landscapes. Digital technologies enable new experiences in ways that are multi-sensual and move us closer toward reconstructing holistic views of past landscapes. Archaeologists have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes. However, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences that also include sound and other senses. Geographic Information Systems …

Archaeological Textiles Of Sechín Bajo – A Formative Site Of The North Coast Of Peru: Preliminarily Results, Katalin Nagy

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

In spring 2014, I took part in an archaeological project carried out by a German-Peruvian team of archeologists in the Sechín Valley, next to the Valley of Casma, on the North Coast of Peru. The project started more than ten years ago and has been taking place parallel to some other important archaeological projects on the North Coast. Its aim was to unearth the temple mounds and to reconstruct the parts of the various phases. The earliest layers date back to the Pre-Ceramic Period. During the wall construction of the temple, many textile fabrics such as nets and ropes were …

Pre-Columbian Textile Structures At Castillo De Huarmey, Peru, Aleksandra Laszczka, Jeffrey C. Splitstoser, Miłosz Giersz

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Systematic excavations at the Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site, located on the North Coast of Peru, enabled researchers to collect an immense number of fabrics. During the first season of textile investigations, carried out in July of 2014 by American and Polish researchers, 724 objects were examined, including textile fragments, yarns, and cordage. A general description of the basic structures indicates a variety of weaving techniques. Although the collection consists mainly of plain weave of all kinds, new structures such as three-dimensional cross-knit looping and feather-mosaic work were recognized, none of which were encountered among textiles collected from the surface …

Archaeological Pioneer Or Pot Hunter: The Life And Work Of Clarence Bloomfield Moore, Sarah Washam

Honors Theses

The early twentieth century bred a generation of amateur archaeologists with time on their hands and money in their pockets. Although amateurs, they made great advances in the science of archaeology. Among these archaeologists were men such as Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the city of Troy; Howard Carter, the discoverer of the riches of King Tut's tomb; Mathew Stirling, the man who discovered the Olmec culture; Sir Arthur Evans, who discovered the Mycenae; and Hiram Bingham, who found the lost city of Machu Picchu. Most of these men were middle to upper class and thus had the money and free …

Discovering Maine's Prehistory Through Archaeology : An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Unit For Grades 5-8, Diane R. Kopec

Maine Collection

Discovering Maine's Prehistory Through Archaeology : An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Unit for Grades 5-8

Developed by Diane R. Kopec for the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (Draft Edition), Augusta, Me., 1988.

Contents: Acknowledgements / Introduction / Description / Organization & General Procedures / Educational Goals & Behavioral Objectives / Unit Plan / What is Archaeology / Doing Archaeology: The Archaeologist & Methods / Doing Archaeology: Prehistory / Doing Archaeology: Excavation & Interpretation / Living Archaeology / Native Americans Today / You and Archaeology / Sources. References, Teacher Bibliography and Glossary