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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

An Integrated Assessment Of Archaeobotanical Recovery Methods In The Neotropical Rainforest Of Northern Belize: Flotation And Dry Screening, Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein Sep 2009

An Integrated Assessment Of Archaeobotanical Recovery Methods In The Neotropical Rainforest Of Northern Belize: Flotation And Dry Screening, Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This report presents results of a study examining the ancient use of plants at four Late Classic (CE 600-900) Maya rural farmsteads in northwestern Belize. Our research specifically targeted residential middens for macrobotanical recovery. Samples yielded the remains of more than a dozen plant families, representing some genera that do not currently grow in the area. These plants were used in the Late Classic, countering the idea that ancient botanical remains do not survive in Neotropical archaeological contexts. We also evaluated two macrobotanical sample processing methods vis-à-vis one another: flotation and dry screening. Our results indicate that flotation recovered 58% …


Power Plants: Paleobotanical Evidence Of Rural Feasting In Late Classic Belize, Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein Jan 2009

Power Plants: Paleobotanical Evidence Of Rural Feasting In Late Classic Belize, Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Local Interaction And Long Distance Connections In The Ulua Valley: The View From Cerro Palenque, Julia A. Hendon Jan 2009

Local Interaction And Long Distance Connections In The Ulua Valley: The View From Cerro Palenque, Julia A. Hendon

Anthropology Faculty Publications

The site of Cerro Palenque, the largest settlement in the lower Ulua Valley (Sula Valley) in Honduras during the ninth and tenth centuries AD, was a locus of craft production of figurines and pottery, feasting, the ballgame, and other events associated with its ballcourt. Based on the analysis of imported obsidian, the evidence for ritual and craft production, and the layout of the settlement, Cerro Palenque maintained long distance trade connections with Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It also took part in local rituals and events with its smaller neighbors in the valley.


Heterarchy As Complexity: Archaeology In Yoro, Honduras, Julia A. Hendon, Rosemary A. Joyce, Russell Sheptak Jan 2009

Heterarchy As Complexity: Archaeology In Yoro, Honduras, Julia A. Hendon, Rosemary A. Joyce, Russell Sheptak

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Based on archaeological evidence from the Cuyumapa Valley in Honduras, including the presence of multiple ballcourts, this paper argues that archaeologists need to pay more attention to Carole Crumley's concept of heterarchy when considering social relations, political relations, and power in ancient societies such as those of the Maya and their neighbors in Mesoamerica. We redefine complexity to include less centralized but regionally heterogeneous societies in which social and political relations are not all centralized into a single hierarchical structure. The Cuyumapa Valley falls in the zone traditionally described as the southeastern edge or periphery of Mesoamerica. Yet our research …