DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in commu... more DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in community processes. The intersection of negotiated memory and community practices is addressed through an analysis of the material assemblage the Late Valdivia (2400-1800 BC) site of Buen Suceso on the coast of Ecuador. I argue that elements of earlier periods were utilized in the creation of a unique community identity at Buen Suceso that emphasized communal relationships and which distinguish it from other Valdivia sites of this time period. In this study I draw on a theoretical approach that emphasized that communities are always in process, always being created through the practices of their members, both at large scales such as feasts, and in smaller contexts of bodily practices. This emphasis on the process and practice involved in community formation and maintenance means that archaeologists examine instances of community, rather than external or pre-existing bounded entities. Likewise, the meaning of the past is socially mediated, through processes and practices of remembering and forgetting, of commemoration and alteration. These social meanings given to the past are thus part of the political processes implicated in community maintenance. I build a model for the investigation of Valdivia communities that explores the temporal, spatial, and power dimensions of community processes. I identify temporalized village spatial forms, a dedicatory deposit, and decorative elements within the ceramic assemblage that indicate community processes at Buen Suceso focused on a period some 1,000 years in the Valdivia past. The selection of this period posed the community at Buen Suceso in contrast to increasing social hierarchy at other contemporaneous sites in this region. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that point to two diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences interrupt any singular or monolithic understanding of “Valdivia social life” and instead highlight the need for locally-developed and historicized examinations of social practices. The work presented here contributes to wider archaeological and anthropological discussions by illustrating how, even in so-called simple societies, communities were always politicized and negotiated. It further interrupts easy expectations for incremental increases in social hierarchy through time by presenting a case in which people rejected increasing social differentiation in favor of community practices that emphasized communalism without hierarchies.
The Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador (4400-1450 BC) represents one of the first sedentary soci... more The Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador (4400-1450 BC) represents one of the first sedentary societies in the New World. United by shared material across a broad expanse of the coast, the circular shape of early Valdivia villages was quickly associated with the circular layouts of villages from Amazonian cultures such as the Gê Bororo. Reference to a Tropical Forest Cosmology, a shared worldview manifest through community ritual that emphasized the connection of humans to their natural forest and riverine environment, was used to explain these similarities across the tropical lowlands of South America. This explanation is insufficient, however, for later phases of Valdivia occupation, when the circular village shape, and presumably some of the rituals used to maintain this shape, had largely been abandoned. Recent excavations at the Late Valdivia site of Buen Suceso in the Manglaralto Valley have recovered evidence of this traditional circular village layout that, due to its singularity in the archaeological record for this time period, cannot be explained simply with reference to a Tropical Forest Cosmology. Instead, I build on Tropical Forest Cosmology and explore the significance of the nostalgia represented in this layout through an agency-centered approach that builds on theories of social memory to explore the active and varied ways that inhabitants of Buen Suceso crafted and maintained their village with references to older village forms.
This poster presents the ceramic seriation results from Buen Suceso, a stratified Late Valdivia s... more This poster presents the ceramic seriation results from Buen Suceso, a stratified Late Valdivia site in southern coastal Ecuador. My work builds on Betsy Hill’s seriation which was limited in the Late and Terminal phases of Valdivia, as these periods were represented only by surface collections and arbitrarily divided into 150 year periods. Overlapping occupation at Buen Suceso extending from Middle to Terminal Valdivia has allowed for comparison with ceramic seriations from other sites and, most critically, directly addresses weaknesses in the current Valdivia ceramic chronology, leading toward a refined understanding of the periodicity of ceramic change during this time.
Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination... more Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination the coastal region is seen primarily as the domain of the mestizo. While previous racial politics promoted mestizo identity as the perfect Ecuadorian, combining its indigenous and European heritage, the rise of the indigenous movement has seen a shift from the normalizing discourse of mestizo to a political and social discourse surrounding indigenous identity that is both symbolically and economically valued. This paper examines varying claims of authenticity in two communities on the coast of Ecuador, one through explicit claims of indigena identity through ties to archaeological heritage, and the other through the deep knowledge of the nativo, gained through generational ties to the land. I specifically explore the use of “expert” knowledge gleamed from archaeologists and other specialists that is used by the communities to demonstrate the variety of indigenous identities that they claim, but which are often categorically rejected by outsiders who still view the coast through the mestizo lens.
Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination... more Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination the coastal region is seen primarily as the domain of the mestizo, in large part because the lack of overt markers of indigeneity such as language or dress. While previous racial politics promoted mestizo identity as the perfect Ecuadorian, combining its indigenous and European heritage, the rise of the indigenous movement has seen a shift from the normalizing discourse of mestizo to a political and social discourse surrounding indigenous identity that is both symbolically and economically valued. Coastal communities have sought to capitalize on this new indigenous salience while at the same time reaffirming traditional ways of life than have not changed despite this rhetorical shift. Central to these efforts in both official government and unofficial community discourses is the role of artifacts and knowledge generated about the past through archaeology in the reconstruction and revalidation of traditional coastal practices as authentically indigenous. This paper examines varying claims of authenticity in two communities on the coast of Ecuador, one through explicit claims of indigena identity through ties to archaeological heritage, and the other through the deep knowledge of the nativo, gained through generational ties to the land. I specifically explore the use of “expert” knowledge gleamed from archaeologists and other specialists that is used by the communities to demonstrate the variety of indigenous identities that they claim, but which are often categorically rejected by outsiders who still view the coast through the mestizo lens.
The Valdivia phase of Formative Period coastal Ecuador consists of a remarkable suite of characte... more The Valdivia phase of Formative Period coastal Ecuador consists of a remarkable suite of characteristics that persist over a broad span of time and space. This paper presents the results of excavations at Buen Suceso, a Middle to Late Valdivia site in Manglaralto River valley. Through comparison of materials recovered at Buen Suceso and other Valdivia sites in the area, I present an outline for understanding the dynamic maintenance of tradition within Valdivia society.
Building on a theory of community politization and materialized practice (e.g., Pauketat 2000), t... more Building on a theory of community politization and materialized practice (e.g., Pauketat 2000), this paper examines the development of community identities in the Manteño society on the coast of Ecuador during the Integration Period (A.D. 800-1532). The trait-list approach previously used by archaeologists to examine coastal identity (e.g., Estrada 1957) has had limited success and a reassessment is necessary. I use ethonhistoric accounts and archaeological evidence to examine the politization of communities and development of regional identities on the coast, and discuss this evidence in light of my on-going work at the site of Dos Mangas.
Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution of d... more Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution of domesticated plants. Theobroma cacao originated in the Neotropics from South America. However, little is known about its domestication and use in these regions. In this study, ceramic residues from a large sample of pre-Columbian cultures from South and Central America were analyzed using archaeogenomic and biochemical approaches. Here we show, for the first time, the widespread use of cacao in South America out of its native Amazonian area of origin, extending back 5000 years, likely supported by cultural interactions between the Amazon and the Pacific coast. We observed that strong genetic mixing between geographically distant cacao populations occurred as early as the middle Holocene, in South America, driven by humans, favoring the adaptation of T. cacao to new environments. This complex history of cacao domestication is the basis of today's cacao tree populations and its knowledge can help us better manage their genetic resources.
Virtual Valdivia is home to an online database of archaeological ceramics from the Valdivia cultu... more Virtual Valdivia is home to an online database of archaeological ceramics from the Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador. The Virtual Valdivia database includes object record data for hundreds of ceramic vessels to facilitate inter-site analysis by archaeologists around the world.
Formal and design analysis of ceramics recovered from survey contexts at the late prehispanic Man... more Formal and design analysis of ceramics recovered from survey contexts at the late prehispanic Manteño (A.D. 800-1532) site of Agua Blanca, Ecuador are used to address suspected ethnic/regional differences during this period. Additionally, a standardized methodology for ceramic analysis from this period is presented.
While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the intere... more While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the interests of the academic community and tourism industry in mind, there are fewer examples of archaeology conducted with the needs of local “publics” foregrounded. We propose greater dialogue between archaeologists and the people who live near (and within) places where archaeologists conduct research, and consider the dissemination of archaeological information to communities involved in archaeological projects to be an important principle of best practices within the discipline. Drawing from ongoing community-engaged archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán, we explore the opportunities and risks inherent in intensified dialogue and dissemination. In particular, we consider the challenges of balancing epistemologies within a co- learning project in which community members share their perceptions of archaeology and knowledge of cultural heritage and we propose archaeological techniques as beneficial ways to learn about local pasts and present-day issues. Reaching a rapprochement requires commitment to collaboration on both sides. Co-learning projects to be considered in this light include a field trip for middle school students and their parents to a nearby archaeological site, a youth photography project that addressed strengths and problems within the community, and a heritage day at the primary school.
DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory i... more DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in community processes. The intersection of negotiated memory and community practices is addressed through an analysis of the material assemblage the Late Valdivia (2400-1800 BC) site of Buen Suceso on the coast of Ecuador. I argue that elements of earlier periods were utilized in the creation of a unique community identity at Buen Suceso that emphasized communal relationships and which distinguish it from other Valdivia sites of this time period. In this study I draw on a theoretical approach that emphasized that communities are always in process, always being created through the practices of their members, both at large scales such as feasts, and in smaller contexts of bodily practices. This emphasis on the process and practice involved in community formation and maintenance means that archaeologists examine instances of community, rather than external or pre-existing bounded entities. Likewise, the meaning of the past is socially mediated, through processes and practices of remembering and forgetting, of commemoration and alteration. These social meanings given to the past are thus part of the political processes implicated in community maintenance. I build a model for the investigation of Valdivia communities that explores the temporal, spatial, and power dimensions of community processes. I identify temporalized village spatial forms, a dedicatory deposit, and decorative elements within the ceramic assemblage that indicate community processes at Buen Suceso focused on a period some 1,000 years in the Valdivia past. The selection of this period posed the community at Buen Suceso in contrast to increasing social hierarchy at other contemporaneous sites in this region. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that point to two diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences interrupt any singular or monolithic understanding of “Valdivia social life” and instead highlight the need for locally-developed and historicized examinations of social practices. The work presented here contributes to wider archaeological and anthropological discussions by illustrating how, even in so-called simple societies, communities were always politicized and negotiated. It further interrupts easy expectations for incremental increases in social hierarchy through time by presenting a case in which people rejected increasing social differentiation in favor of community practices that emphasized communalism without hierarchies.
New radiocarbon dates and excavations show that Buen Suceso (OSE-M-2M-4) in Santa Elena, Ecuador,... more New radiocarbon dates and excavations show that Buen Suceso (OSE-M-2M-4) in Santa Elena, Ecuador, was occupied between 3700 and 1425 BC. These dates demonstrate that Buen Suceso is a rare multicomponent Valdivia site and one of the longer-occupied Valdivia sites investigated to date.
DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in commu... more DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in community processes. The intersection of negotiated memory and community practices is addressed through an analysis of the material assemblage the Late Valdivia (2400-1800 BC) site of Buen Suceso on the coast of Ecuador. I argue that elements of earlier periods were utilized in the creation of a unique community identity at Buen Suceso that emphasized communal relationships and which distinguish it from other Valdivia sites of this time period. In this study I draw on a theoretical approach that emphasized that communities are always in process, always being created through the practices of their members, both at large scales such as feasts, and in smaller contexts of bodily practices. This emphasis on the process and practice involved in community formation and maintenance means that archaeologists examine instances of community, rather than external or pre-existing bounded entities. Likewise, the meaning of the past is socially mediated, through processes and practices of remembering and forgetting, of commemoration and alteration. These social meanings given to the past are thus part of the political processes implicated in community maintenance. I build a model for the investigation of Valdivia communities that explores the temporal, spatial, and power dimensions of community processes. I identify temporalized village spatial forms, a dedicatory deposit, and decorative elements within the ceramic assemblage that indicate community processes at Buen Suceso focused on a period some 1,000 years in the Valdivia past. The selection of this period posed the community at Buen Suceso in contrast to increasing social hierarchy at other contemporaneous sites in this region. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that point to two diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences interrupt any singular or monolithic understanding of “Valdivia social life” and instead highlight the need for locally-developed and historicized examinations of social practices. The work presented here contributes to wider archaeological and anthropological discussions by illustrating how, even in so-called simple societies, communities were always politicized and negotiated. It further interrupts easy expectations for incremental increases in social hierarchy through time by presenting a case in which people rejected increasing social differentiation in favor of community practices that emphasized communalism without hierarchies.
The Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador (4400-1450 BC) represents one of the first sedentary soci... more The Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador (4400-1450 BC) represents one of the first sedentary societies in the New World. United by shared material across a broad expanse of the coast, the circular shape of early Valdivia villages was quickly associated with the circular layouts of villages from Amazonian cultures such as the Gê Bororo. Reference to a Tropical Forest Cosmology, a shared worldview manifest through community ritual that emphasized the connection of humans to their natural forest and riverine environment, was used to explain these similarities across the tropical lowlands of South America. This explanation is insufficient, however, for later phases of Valdivia occupation, when the circular village shape, and presumably some of the rituals used to maintain this shape, had largely been abandoned. Recent excavations at the Late Valdivia site of Buen Suceso in the Manglaralto Valley have recovered evidence of this traditional circular village layout that, due to its singularity in the archaeological record for this time period, cannot be explained simply with reference to a Tropical Forest Cosmology. Instead, I build on Tropical Forest Cosmology and explore the significance of the nostalgia represented in this layout through an agency-centered approach that builds on theories of social memory to explore the active and varied ways that inhabitants of Buen Suceso crafted and maintained their village with references to older village forms.
This poster presents the ceramic seriation results from Buen Suceso, a stratified Late Valdivia s... more This poster presents the ceramic seriation results from Buen Suceso, a stratified Late Valdivia site in southern coastal Ecuador. My work builds on Betsy Hill’s seriation which was limited in the Late and Terminal phases of Valdivia, as these periods were represented only by surface collections and arbitrarily divided into 150 year periods. Overlapping occupation at Buen Suceso extending from Middle to Terminal Valdivia has allowed for comparison with ceramic seriations from other sites and, most critically, directly addresses weaknesses in the current Valdivia ceramic chronology, leading toward a refined understanding of the periodicity of ceramic change during this time.
Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination... more Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination the coastal region is seen primarily as the domain of the mestizo. While previous racial politics promoted mestizo identity as the perfect Ecuadorian, combining its indigenous and European heritage, the rise of the indigenous movement has seen a shift from the normalizing discourse of mestizo to a political and social discourse surrounding indigenous identity that is both symbolically and economically valued. This paper examines varying claims of authenticity in two communities on the coast of Ecuador, one through explicit claims of indigena identity through ties to archaeological heritage, and the other through the deep knowledge of the nativo, gained through generational ties to the land. I specifically explore the use of “expert” knowledge gleamed from archaeologists and other specialists that is used by the communities to demonstrate the variety of indigenous identities that they claim, but which are often categorically rejected by outsiders who still view the coast through the mestizo lens.
Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination... more Though the Ecuadorian landscape is home to a variety of indigenous groups, in popular imagination the coastal region is seen primarily as the domain of the mestizo, in large part because the lack of overt markers of indigeneity such as language or dress. While previous racial politics promoted mestizo identity as the perfect Ecuadorian, combining its indigenous and European heritage, the rise of the indigenous movement has seen a shift from the normalizing discourse of mestizo to a political and social discourse surrounding indigenous identity that is both symbolically and economically valued. Coastal communities have sought to capitalize on this new indigenous salience while at the same time reaffirming traditional ways of life than have not changed despite this rhetorical shift. Central to these efforts in both official government and unofficial community discourses is the role of artifacts and knowledge generated about the past through archaeology in the reconstruction and revalidation of traditional coastal practices as authentically indigenous. This paper examines varying claims of authenticity in two communities on the coast of Ecuador, one through explicit claims of indigena identity through ties to archaeological heritage, and the other through the deep knowledge of the nativo, gained through generational ties to the land. I specifically explore the use of “expert” knowledge gleamed from archaeologists and other specialists that is used by the communities to demonstrate the variety of indigenous identities that they claim, but which are often categorically rejected by outsiders who still view the coast through the mestizo lens.
The Valdivia phase of Formative Period coastal Ecuador consists of a remarkable suite of characte... more The Valdivia phase of Formative Period coastal Ecuador consists of a remarkable suite of characteristics that persist over a broad span of time and space. This paper presents the results of excavations at Buen Suceso, a Middle to Late Valdivia site in Manglaralto River valley. Through comparison of materials recovered at Buen Suceso and other Valdivia sites in the area, I present an outline for understanding the dynamic maintenance of tradition within Valdivia society.
Building on a theory of community politization and materialized practice (e.g., Pauketat 2000), t... more Building on a theory of community politization and materialized practice (e.g., Pauketat 2000), this paper examines the development of community identities in the Manteño society on the coast of Ecuador during the Integration Period (A.D. 800-1532). The trait-list approach previously used by archaeologists to examine coastal identity (e.g., Estrada 1957) has had limited success and a reassessment is necessary. I use ethonhistoric accounts and archaeological evidence to examine the politization of communities and development of regional identities on the coast, and discuss this evidence in light of my on-going work at the site of Dos Mangas.
Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution of d... more Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution of domesticated plants. Theobroma cacao originated in the Neotropics from South America. However, little is known about its domestication and use in these regions. In this study, ceramic residues from a large sample of pre-Columbian cultures from South and Central America were analyzed using archaeogenomic and biochemical approaches. Here we show, for the first time, the widespread use of cacao in South America out of its native Amazonian area of origin, extending back 5000 years, likely supported by cultural interactions between the Amazon and the Pacific coast. We observed that strong genetic mixing between geographically distant cacao populations occurred as early as the middle Holocene, in South America, driven by humans, favoring the adaptation of T. cacao to new environments. This complex history of cacao domestication is the basis of today's cacao tree populations and its knowledge can help us better manage their genetic resources.
Virtual Valdivia is home to an online database of archaeological ceramics from the Valdivia cultu... more Virtual Valdivia is home to an online database of archaeological ceramics from the Valdivia culture of coastal Ecuador. The Virtual Valdivia database includes object record data for hundreds of ceramic vessels to facilitate inter-site analysis by archaeologists around the world.
Formal and design analysis of ceramics recovered from survey contexts at the late prehispanic Man... more Formal and design analysis of ceramics recovered from survey contexts at the late prehispanic Manteño (A.D. 800-1532) site of Agua Blanca, Ecuador are used to address suspected ethnic/regional differences during this period. Additionally, a standardized methodology for ceramic analysis from this period is presented.
While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the intere... more While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the interests of the academic community and tourism industry in mind, there are fewer examples of archaeology conducted with the needs of local “publics” foregrounded. We propose greater dialogue between archaeologists and the people who live near (and within) places where archaeologists conduct research, and consider the dissemination of archaeological information to communities involved in archaeological projects to be an important principle of best practices within the discipline. Drawing from ongoing community-engaged archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán, we explore the opportunities and risks inherent in intensified dialogue and dissemination. In particular, we consider the challenges of balancing epistemologies within a co- learning project in which community members share their perceptions of archaeology and knowledge of cultural heritage and we propose archaeological techniques as beneficial ways to learn about local pasts and present-day issues. Reaching a rapprochement requires commitment to collaboration on both sides. Co-learning projects to be considered in this light include a field trip for middle school students and their parents to a nearby archaeological site, a youth photography project that addressed strengths and problems within the community, and a heritage day at the primary school.
DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory i... more DOWNLOAD VIA LINKED URL> This dissertation is an examination of the use of social memory in community processes. The intersection of negotiated memory and community practices is addressed through an analysis of the material assemblage the Late Valdivia (2400-1800 BC) site of Buen Suceso on the coast of Ecuador. I argue that elements of earlier periods were utilized in the creation of a unique community identity at Buen Suceso that emphasized communal relationships and which distinguish it from other Valdivia sites of this time period. In this study I draw on a theoretical approach that emphasized that communities are always in process, always being created through the practices of their members, both at large scales such as feasts, and in smaller contexts of bodily practices. This emphasis on the process and practice involved in community formation and maintenance means that archaeologists examine instances of community, rather than external or pre-existing bounded entities. Likewise, the meaning of the past is socially mediated, through processes and practices of remembering and forgetting, of commemoration and alteration. These social meanings given to the past are thus part of the political processes implicated in community maintenance. I build a model for the investigation of Valdivia communities that explores the temporal, spatial, and power dimensions of community processes. I identify temporalized village spatial forms, a dedicatory deposit, and decorative elements within the ceramic assemblage that indicate community processes at Buen Suceso focused on a period some 1,000 years in the Valdivia past. The selection of this period posed the community at Buen Suceso in contrast to increasing social hierarchy at other contemporaneous sites in this region. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that point to two diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences interrupt any singular or monolithic understanding of “Valdivia social life” and instead highlight the need for locally-developed and historicized examinations of social practices. The work presented here contributes to wider archaeological and anthropological discussions by illustrating how, even in so-called simple societies, communities were always politicized and negotiated. It further interrupts easy expectations for incremental increases in social hierarchy through time by presenting a case in which people rejected increasing social differentiation in favor of community practices that emphasized communalism without hierarchies.
New radiocarbon dates and excavations show that Buen Suceso (OSE-M-2M-4) in Santa Elena, Ecuador,... more New radiocarbon dates and excavations show that Buen Suceso (OSE-M-2M-4) in Santa Elena, Ecuador, was occupied between 3700 and 1425 BC. These dates demonstrate that Buen Suceso is a rare multicomponent Valdivia site and one of the longer-occupied Valdivia sites investigated to date.
Abstract Previous research of prehispanic coastal Ecuador has argued for the development of socia... more Abstract Previous research of prehispanic coastal Ecuador has argued for the development of social hierarchies during the Late Valdivia period (2400–1800 BCE), based on changing regional settlement patterns, increased long-distance exchange, and increasing intra-site differentiation. Recent investigations at Valdivia sites have highlighted the diversity of settlement patterns and social forms during this period. The present research utilizes a negotiated community framework to investigate practices of community formation and maintenance. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that indicate diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences point to the negotiated nature of communities, highlighting differing strategies for community maintenance at different sites, and emphasizing the contingent nature of increasing social complexity within Valdivia society.
International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 2015
The challenges of building research partnerships around community mapping are critically reviewed... more The challenges of building research partnerships around community mapping are critically reviewed in reference to the politics of heritage and identity among Indigenous Maya communities in highland Guatemala. This paper discusses how the goals and interests of archaeologists meshed with those of indigenous mappers in five communities that chose to participate in the mapping program. Based on responses to a survey about the mapping project, participants report joining in order to enhance self-determination, gain cartographic literacy, and improve life opportunities. Community authority over the project and a broad base of participation (including young and old, male and female) proved essential to the program, which combined traditional practices of governance with new technologies. This paper describes the community organizational model and protocols for selecting features and topics for thematic maps as well as for gaining community consensus on map content. Finally, it reflects on...
Previous research of prehispanic coastal Ecuador has argued for the development of social hierarc... more Previous research of prehispanic coastal Ecuador has argued for the development of social hierarchies during the Late Valdivia period (2400–1800 BCE), based on changing regional settlement patterns, increased long-distance exchange, and increasing intra-site differentiation. Recent investigations at Valdivia sites have highlighted the diversity of settlement patterns and social forms during this period. The present research utilizes a negotiated community framework to investigate practices of community formation and maintenance. Through a comparative analysis of ceramic assemblages from four Late Valdivia sites I highlight differences in ceramic use and assemblage composition that indicate diverging ways of fomenting community through participation in communal eating. These differences point to the negotiated nature of communities, highlighting differing strategies for community maintenance at different sites, and emphasizing the contingent nature of increasing social complexity within Valdivia society.
The emphasis of the JFA on field methods resonates strongly with current disciplinary interest in... more The emphasis of the JFA on field methods resonates strongly with current disciplinary interest in multivocality and participatory research. In this new epistemology of inclusiveness, communities play an active role in the production of archaeological knowledge as well as in the conservation of cultural heritage. From the perspective of archaeologists trained in the U.S. who conduct research in Latin America, we historicize changes in the triadic relationship among archaeologists, contemporary communities, and things of the past. This examination focuses on the evolving social context of archaeological practice. The social milieu within which archaeology is conducted is explored further by reference to a recent survey of archaeologists that elicited comments on grand challenges to archaeology. A few examples of the many forms that an engaged archaeology might take are offered from the Maya region. Although collaborative research poses challenges that emerge as communities entangled with archaeological practice become research partners, we suggest that the enhanced relevance that accompanies this transformation is well worth the effort.
Patricia A. McAnany (Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, U... more Patricia A. McAnany (Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA), Sarah M. Rowe (Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA), Israel Quic Cholotio (Community Mapping Program, Riecken Foundation Libraries, Guatemala), Evelyn Caniz Menchú (Community Mapping Program, Riecken Foundation Libraries, Guatemala) and José Mendoza Quic (Community Mapping Program, Riecken Foundation Libraries, Guatemala)
The challenges of building research partnerships around community mapping are critically reviewed in reference to the politics of heritage and identity among Indigenous Maya communities in highland Guatemala. This paper discusses how the goals and interests of archaeologists meshed with those of indigenous mappers in five communities that chose to participate in the mapping program. Based on responses to a survey about the mapping project, participants report joining in order to enhance self-determination, gain cartographic literacy, and improve life opportunities. Community authority over the project and a broad base of participation (including young and old, male and female) proved essential to the program, which combined traditional practices of governance with new technologies. This paper describes the community organizational model and protocols for selecting features and topics for thematic maps as well as for gaining community consensus on map content. Finally, it reflects on this transmodern approach to indigenous mapping and the future of research partnerships.
Polychrome ceramics represent one of the most decoratively complex forms found for the Guangala c... more Polychrome ceramics represent one of the most decoratively complex forms found for the Guangala culture (c.a. 100 B.C. to 800 A.D.). The Guangala culture, located in coastal Ecuador, produced extremely decoratively complex polychrome ceramics during the Regional Development Period, a time of great economic and social change in Ecuador and the Northern Andean Region. This paper examines the designs recorded on these polychrome ceramics to learn their possible meanings as well as the function they may have had within the Guangala culture during this period of change.
The designs on these ceramics are highly standardized, depicting both geometric and zoomorphic designs. The primary vessel form is a direct walled hemispherical bowl, which is generally used as a drinking vessel. The chicha ritual of the Canelos Quichua culture of eastern lowland Ecuador is investigated for an ethnographic example of the way in which the drinking bowls were used. The designs on Guangala polychromes were most likely viewed during this type of ritual.
This study examines the use of these drinking bowls, and the other ceramics forms, for their use in creating and maintaining social identity within the relatively egalitarian Guangala culture at a time when trade interactions were intensifying and other cultures in the area were developing social hierarchies. To do this discussions have been included of practices for design analysis, theories relevant to cognitive archaeology and ethnoarchaeology, as well as other studies of ceramic design, which are used for comparative models.
The fundamental conclusion of this study is that these designs served to create and maintain social cohesion in the Guangala culture at a time of great economic and social change, allowing them to maintain a relatively egalitarian society at a time in which most other cultures in the region were developing elite classes and hierarchical stratification.
While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the intere... more While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the interests of the academic community and tourism industry in mind, there are fewer examples of archaeology conducted with the needs of local “publics” foregrounded. We propose greater dialogue between archaeologists and the people who live near (and within) places where archaeologists conduct research, and consider the dissemination of archaeological information to communities involved in archaeological projects to be an important principle of best practices within the discipline. Drawing from ongoing community-engaged archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán, we explore the opportunities and risks inherent in intensified dialogue and dissemination. In particular, we consider the challenges of balancing epistemologies within a co- learning project in which community members share their perceptions of archaeology and knowledge of cultural heritage and we propose archaeological techniques as beneficial ways to learn about local pasts and present-day issues. Reaching a rapprochement requires commitment to collaboration on both sides. Co-learning projects to be considered in this light include a field trip for middle school students and their parents to a nearby archaeological site, a youth photography project that addressed strengths and problems within the community, and a heritage day at the primary school.
Abstract: Since the early 20th century when the anarchist geographer Kropotkin used mutual aid an... more Abstract: Since the early 20th century when the anarchist geographer Kropotkin used mutual aid and cooperation to challenge the social Darwinist view of community as a staging ground for fierce interpersonal competition, social scientists have approached community as a way to organize groups outside of the restrictions and inequalities that can emerge with the inception of formal laws. This precedes later arguments by researchers such as Tonnies who argued that communities “rest in the consciousness of belonging together and the affirmation of the condition of mutual dependence” (Tonnies 1925:69). Yet while formal community studies have fallen out of favor, the last 20 years have seen a resurgence in research on how social, political, and environmental climates weave individuals together into communities of almost infinite variety. These new studies emphasize the constructed and longitudinal nature of the physical and social worlds within and between communities and push for an improved understanding of how these worlds, and the researchers themselves, create and impact the communities we study. Too often researchers fail to explore the ways in which power is negotiated within this dynamic framework. This failure can reify the divide between egalitarian and hierarchical modes of social organization, while neglecting alternative power structures, the possibility for modes in between, or the flexibility of choices on a continuum between these two extremes. This less dynamic framework is present in the often criticized, but still prominent and persistent evolutionary framework that positions simple communities against more complex social forms. The participants in this roundtable explore how power and relationships are negotiated within communities through anarchist, Indigenous, egalitarian, heterarchical, feminist, and/or queer (among many others) perspectives. These foci do not center inequality or hierarchy as a driving component of community but rather highlight the ways in which community-making can provide creative alternatives to this long-standing dichotomy. Organized by Sarah Rowe and Lewis Borck
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The challenges of building research partnerships around community mapping are critically reviewed in reference to the politics of heritage and identity among Indigenous Maya communities in highland Guatemala. This paper discusses how the goals and interests of archaeologists meshed with those of indigenous mappers in five communities that chose to participate in the mapping program. Based on responses to a survey about the mapping project, participants report joining in order to enhance self-determination, gain cartographic literacy, and improve life opportunities. Community authority over the project and a broad base of participation (including young and old, male and female) proved essential to the program, which combined traditional practices of governance with new technologies. This paper describes the community organizational model and protocols for selecting features and topics for thematic maps as well as for gaining community consensus on map content. Finally, it reflects on this transmodern approach to indigenous mapping and the future of research partnerships.
during the Regional Development Period, a time of great economic and social change in Ecuador and the Northern Andean Region. This paper examines the designs recorded on these polychrome ceramics to learn their possible meanings as well as the function they may have had within the Guangala culture during this period of change.
The designs on these ceramics are highly standardized, depicting both geometric and zoomorphic designs. The primary vessel form is a direct walled hemispherical bowl, which is generally used as a drinking vessel. The chicha ritual of the Canelos Quichua culture of eastern lowland Ecuador is investigated for an ethnographic example of the way in which the drinking bowls were used. The designs on Guangala polychromes were most likely viewed during this type of ritual.
This study examines the use of these drinking bowls, and the other ceramics forms, for their use in creating and maintaining social identity within the relatively egalitarian Guangala culture at a time when trade interactions were intensifying and other cultures in the area were developing social hierarchies. To do this discussions have been included of practices for design analysis, theories relevant to cognitive archaeology and ethnoarchaeology, as well as other studies of ceramic design, which are used for comparative models.
The fundamental conclusion of this study is that these designs served to create and maintain social cohesion in the Guangala culture at a time of great economic and social change, allowing them to maintain a relatively egalitarian society at a time in which most other cultures in the region were developing elite classes and hierarchical stratification.
Organized by Sarah Rowe and Lewis Borck