- University of New Hampshire
Department of Anthropology
Huddleston 311
73 Main St.
Durham, NH 03824 - 603.862.4742
Eleanor Harrison-Buck
University of New Hampshire, Anthropology, Faculty Member
While ubiquitous among ancient Maya sites in Mesoamerica, archaeological analysts frequently overlook the interpretive potential of ground stone tools. The ancient Maya often made these heavy, bulky tools of coarse-grained, heterogeneous... more
While ubiquitous among ancient Maya sites in Mesoamerica, archaeological analysts frequently overlook the interpretive potential of ground stone tools. The ancient Maya often made these heavy, bulky tools of coarse-grained, heterogeneous materials that are difficult to chemically source, unlike obsidian. This paper describes an application of handheld, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to provenance ground stone artifacts (tools and architectural blocks) composed of granite: a nonhomogenous, phaneritic stone. We present a multicomponent methodology that independently tested whole-rock, thin-sectioned, and powdered samples by petrographic microscope, conventional, lab-based XRF, and portable XRF units,
Research Interests:
Often understudied by archaeologists, ground stone tools (GST) were ubiquitous in the ancient Maya world. Their applications ranged from household tools to ceremonial equipment and beyond. Little attention has been focused on chemically... more
Often understudied by archaeologists, ground stone tools (GST) were ubiquitous in the ancient Maya world. Their applications ranged from household tools to ceremonial equipment and beyond. Little attention has been focused on chemically sourcing the raw stone material used in GST production, largely because these tools were fashioned out of igneous or sedimentary rock, which can present characterization challenges. And, although portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) has been applied widely to source obsidian, the utility of pXRF for geochemically sourcing other kinds of stone remains underexplored. We present a small-scale application of pXRF for determining granite provenance within a section of the Middle Belize Valley in Belize, Central America. Belize is an ideal location to test chemical sourcing studies of granite because there are only three tightly restricted and chemically distinct sources of granite in the country, from which the overwhelming majority of granite for ancient tool production derived. The method described here demonstrates that successful and accurate geological characterizations can be made on granite GST. This cutting-edge sourcing technique has the potential to be more widely applied in other regions to reveal deeper connections between the sources of GST production and sites of consumption across space and through time.
Research Interests:
I outline a relational economy model that is broadly applicable to a range of economies both past and present. A relational economy begins from the basic premise that all economic transactions are social and interpersonal relations. I... more
I outline a relational economy model that is broadly applicable to a range of economies both past and present. A relational economy begins from the basic premise that all economic transactions are social and interpersonal relations. I apply this model to reciprocal gift economies, specifically the Classic Maya of Mesoamerica (ca. AD 250–850). For my case study, I present evidence from archaeological contexts including the Bonampak murals and hieroglyphic texts to show how marriage and war were in many instances paired acts, simultaneously dissolving former alliances and cementing new social relations. Prestige goods including cacao (chocolate), jade, feathers, and cotton mantles were exchanged in both marriages and warfare. I show how marriage partners, captives, and prestige goods were not objectified in these reciprocal exchanges but were gendered and personified (human and nonhuman) beings. I present a posthumanist approach to a relational economy and suggest that prestige goods are perhaps best understood as relational beings or persons that were mutually constituted and generative. From a relational perspective, these transactions did not embed the social into the economic but were inherently emotional and interpersonal transactions and, therefore, simultaneously social and economic relations in ancient Maya society.
Research Interests: Mesoamerican Archaeology, Economic Anthropology, Economic Theory, Gift Giving (Economic Anthropology), Marriage Transactions (Anthropology of Kinship), and 11 moreMaya Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, Maya Art, Economic archaeology, Maya Epigraphy, Archaeology of Kinship and the Family, Ancient Warfare, Mesoamerican Religion, Prestige goods economy, Ontological Turn, and Relational Archaeology
Shamanism and animism have proven to be useful cross-cultural analytical tools for anthropology, particularly in religious studies. However, both concepts root in reductionist, social evolutionary theory and have been criticized for their... more
Shamanism and animism have proven to be useful cross-cultural analytical tools for anthropology, particularly in religious studies. However, both concepts root in reductionist, social evolutionary theory and have been criticized for their vague and homogenizing rubric, an overly romanticized idealism, and the tendency to ‘other’ nonwestern peoples as ahistorical, apolitical, and irrational. The alternative has been a largely secular view of religion, favoring materialist processes of rationalization and “disenchantment.” Like any cross-cultural frame of reference, such terms are only informative when explicitly defined in local contexts using specific case studies. Here, we consider shamanism and animism in terms of ethnographic and archaeological evidence from Mesoamerica. We trace the intellectual history of these concepts and reassess shamanism and animism from a relational or ontological perspective, concluding that these terms are best understood as distinct ways of knowing the world and acquiring knowledge. We examine specific archaeological examples of masked spirit impersonations, as well as mirrors and other reflective materials used in divination. We consider not only the productive and affective energies of these enchanted materials, but also the potentially dangerous, negative, or contested aspects of vital matter wielded in divinatory practices.
Research Interests:
In this study, we offer a relational approach to theorizing boundaries for the Maya, adapting Mills’ (2018) concept of “boundary objects” as a means of understanding how people and things bridge or cross boundaries and were critical for... more
In this study, we offer a relational approach to theorizing boundaries for the Maya, adapting Mills’ (2018) concept of “boundary objects” as a means of understanding how people and things bridge or cross boundaries and were critical for developing and maintaining allied relations. We trace a network of sites on both sides of the Guatemala–Belize border dating to the Terminal Classic and Postclassic, which are generally characterized as times of increased conflict, movement and migration of people, and disruption in dynastic succession with an emphasis on shared governance. We examine the introduction of northern-style traits in the eastern Maya lowlands during the Terminal
Classic and Postclassic periods, including circular and colonnaded buildings and distinctive portable goods such as molded-carved ceramics, phallic and turtle effigies, and other material forms.We suggest that during fractious periods in Maya history, northern traits were implicated in boundary crossing negotiations and entangled relations, which included marriage alliances with “foreigners” as a means of
elite legitimation.
Classic and Postclassic periods, including circular and colonnaded buildings and distinctive portable goods such as molded-carved ceramics, phallic and turtle effigies, and other material forms.We suggest that during fractious periods in Maya history, northern traits were implicated in boundary crossing negotiations and entangled relations, which included marriage alliances with “foreigners” as a means of
elite legitimation.
Working with local partners, we developed an archaeology museum in the Creole community of Crooked Tree in the Maya lowlands of northern Belize. This community museum presents the deep history of human-environment interaction in the lower... more
Working with local partners, we developed an archaeology museum in the Creole community of Crooked Tree in the Maya lowlands of northern Belize. This community museum presents the deep history of human-environment interaction in the lower Belize River Watershed, which includes a wealth of ancient Maya sites and, as the birthplace of Creole culture, a rich repository of historical archaeology and oral history. The Creole are descendants of Europeans and enslaved Africans brought to Belize-a former British colony-for logging in the colonial period. Belizean history in schools focuses heavily on the ancient Maya, which is well documented archaeologically, but Creole history and culture remain largely undocumented and make up only a small component of the social studies curriculum. The development of a community archaeology museum in Crooked Tree aims to address this blind spot. We discuss how cultural sustainability, collaborative partnerships, and the role of education have shaped this heritage-oriented project. Working with local teachers, we produced exhibit content that augments the national social studies curriculum. Archaeology and museum education offer object-based learning geared for school-age children and provide a powerful means of promoting cultural vitality, and a more inclusive consideration of Belizean history and cultural heritage practices and perspectives.
Research Interests:
Excavations at Crawford Bank in Crooked Tree, Belize, exposed a lithic deposit with no associated ceramics. The deposit primarily consists of chipped chert and chalcedony tools and debitage, as well as a small number of worked slate... more
Excavations at Crawford Bank in Crooked Tree, Belize, exposed a lithic deposit with no associated ceramics. The deposit primarily consists of chipped chert and chalcedony tools and debitage, as well as a small number of worked slate fragments. Most of the chert likely sources to the Northern Belize Chert-bearing Zone (NBCZ). The recovery of two Archaic period formal tools – a Lowe point and a constricted uniface/trimmed macroblade – suggests a pre-Maya occupation. Use-wear analysis of both tools and debitage demonstrates a wide range of uses with a focus on wood and hard contact materials. The use-wear patterns demonstrate a heavy reliance on ad hoc/expedient technology for the completion of different tasks involving wood by preceramic peoples. The Crawford Bank site likely represents one or more short-term, task-orientated
preceramic occupation(s) for the extraction and use of the available resources of the local wetland environment, most notably logwood.
preceramic occupation(s) for the extraction and use of the available resources of the local wetland environment, most notably logwood.
Research Interests:
Following the U.S. Civil War, groups of ex-Confederates arrived in Belize as clashes with Caste War Maya reached their peak, resulting in more frequent Maya raiding of British and Creole logging camps. Cross-examining ethnohistoric and... more
Following the U.S. Civil War, groups of ex-Confederates arrived in Belize as clashes with Caste War Maya reached their peak, resulting in more frequent Maya raiding of British and Creole logging camps. Cross-examining ethnohistoric and archaeological data from Maya, ex-Confederate, Creole, and British sites in northern Belize, we aim to better understand the distinct identities and myriad relationships of these odd bedfellows. The colonizers (British and ex-Confederates) had divergent agendas, but each used limited supplies of Euro-American imports, namely guns and tobacco products, in the remote colonial frontier to form powerful economic dependencies with Maya and Creole groups.
This article examines Maya New Year's rites involving pilgrimage and bloodletting. We suggest that ceremonies today that center around the initiation of young men and involve self-sacrifice and long-distance pilgrimage to the mountains... more
This article examines Maya New Year's rites involving pilgrimage and bloodletting. We suggest that ceremonies today that center around the initiation of young men and involve self-sacrifice and long-distance pilgrimage to the mountains and coast may have pre-Hispanic roots. New Year's ceremonies express a core ontological principle of dualistic transformation involving physical change (jal) from youth to adulthood and transference or replacement (k'ex) of power in official leadership roles. This distinct way of knowing the world emphasizes one's reciprocal relationship with it. We conclude that ancient Maya pilgrimage was not about acquiring a particular thing or venerating a specific place or destination. It was about the journey or what Timothy Ingold calls ''ambulatory knowing.'' The Maya gained cosmological knowledge, linking the movement of their body to the annual path of the sun and their sexuality and human regenerative
power to earthly renewal, which required blood to be successful.
power to earthly renewal, which required blood to be successful.
Research Interests:
This article examines the so-called First Chronicle of the Maya Books of Chilam Balam, a segment of shared content found in three of the native copybooks from northern Yucatán, including the Tizimin, the Chumayel, and the Maní, also known... more
This article examines the so-called First Chronicle of the Maya Books of Chilam Balam, a segment of shared content found in three of the native copybooks from northern Yucatán, including the Tizimin, the Chumayel, and the Maní, also known as the Códice Pérez. I reevaluate the chronology and historical content of the First Chronicle found in these books by examining the following: (1) the dates applied to the katun cycles (increments of roughly twenty-year periods) in light of recent archaeological finds from Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Champotón, and Mayapán; (2) Maya conventions of time as expressed in the katun chronicles; (3) the shared subject matter found in all three books; and (4) the internal structure and transcription conventions of the First Chronicle. This study suggests that the early chronicles may offer a larger measure of historical accuracy and reliability than is currently accepted.
Research Interests:
In 2013, we see a clear continuation of certain themes noted in previous reviews, including economy, mobility, human-environment interactions, social complexity, identity, and power. There is a greater emphasis on comparative approaches... more
In 2013, we see a clear continuation of certain themes noted in previous reviews, including economy, mobility, human-environment interactions, social complexity, identity, and power. There is a greater emphasis on comparative approaches but also a general move away from reductionist, macrosystemic models in anthropological archaeology, with studies emphasizing diversity, multiple pathways or trajectories, and variability in local responses. The fallout of the so-called “postmodernist turn” continues to prompt lively debate, with methodological rigor being emphasized as well as the critical cross-examination of our Western modes of inquiry,with some scholars considering the possibility of multiple truths in their theoretical interpretations of the past. [anthropological archaeology, science, modernist–postmodernist divide, methodological and theoretical diversity, trends, year in review]
Terminal Classic circular architecture has been characterized as a “non-Classic” trait stemming from Chontal-Itza groups from the Gulf lowlands who developed a long-distance, circum-peninsular trade route and established their capital... more
Terminal Classic circular architecture has been characterized as a “non-Classic” trait stemming from Chontal-Itza groups from the Gulf lowlands who developed a long-distance, circum-peninsular trade route and established their capital city at Chichen Itza in northern Yucatan. Recent investigations of a series of circular shrines proximate to the Caribbean coast in Belize have yielded ceramics and radiocarbon dates that link these buildings to the ninth century, coeval with the early Sotuta phase at Chichen Itza (a.d. 830–900). We present an architectural comparison of circular shrines and map out a network of sites that cluster along the rivers and coast of Belize. We consider two possibilities that may not be mutually exclusive: (1) local elite emulation of northern styles following pilgrimage to Chichen Itza for political accession ceremonies, and, (2) trading diasporas involving small-scale migration of Chontal-Itza merchants along the eastern Caribbean coast.
In this study, I develop a theory of landscape archaeology that incorporates the concept of “animism” as a cognitive approach. Current trends in anthropology are placing greater emphasis on indigenous perspectives, and in recent decades... more
In this study, I develop a theory of landscape archaeology that incorporates the concept of “animism” as a cognitive approach. Current trends in anthropology are placing greater emphasis on indigenous perspectives, and in recent decades animism has seen a resurgence in anthropological theory. As a means of relating in (not to) one’s world, animism is a mode of thought that has direct bearing on landscape archaeology. Yet, Americanist archaeologists have been slow to incorporate this concept as a component of landscape theory. I consider animism and Nurit Bird-David’s (1999) theory of “relatedness” and how such perspectives might be expressed archaeologically in Mesoamerica. I examine the distribution of marine shells and cave formations that appear incorporated as architectural elements on ancient Maya circular shrine architecture. More than just “symbols” of sacred geography, I suggest these materials represent living entities that animate shrines through their ongoing relationships with human and other-than-human agents in the world.
[Maya architecture, animism, relational ontology, landscape archaeology, agency]
[Maya architecture, animism, relational ontology, landscape archaeology, agency]
Research Interests:
In 2011 a large architectural complex, known as Hats Kaab, was identified within the Belize River East Archaeology (BREA) study area and test excavations were performed in 2012. While E-Group-like in its configuration, the structure... more
In 2011 a large architectural complex, known as Hats Kaab, was identified within the Belize River East Archaeology (BREA) study area and test excavations were performed in 2012. While E-Group-like in its configuration, the structure displayed various anomalies, most notably the lack of an associated ceremonial center or residential structures. Here, we explore reasons why the Late Preclassic Maya would have placed such a large monument in a relatively “isolated” location. We posit that this site marked an important crossroads or nexus between east-west and north-south trade and communication networks. To bolster these claims, various lines of evidence were explored, including a least cost-path analysis between the Belize, Sibun, and New Rivers; and artifact analyses of obsidian from the Guatemalan highlands and groundstone from the Maya Mountains. We conclude that the Hats Kaab monument may have served as a natural meeting point and functioned as a recognized place in the landscape for groups to congregate and exchange both information and trade goods beginning as early as the Preclassic period.
Research Interests:
Like many other cultures in the Americas, the ancient Maya did not see the world in terms of a sharp distinction between active subjects and passive objects. Rather, material objects such as sculptures, trees, and houses each were not... more
Like many other cultures in the Americas, the ancient Maya did not see the world in terms of a sharp distinction between active subjects and passive objects. Rather, material objects such as sculptures, trees, and houses each were not only seen as being alive, but potentially having some degree of personhood. This chapter explores the ways in which humans had strong social relations not just among themselves but among non-human actors. The chapter also considers the notion that objects might have agency and considers how such objects play into political strategies, the maintenance of authority, and the construction of identity.