Textile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the...Show moreTextile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the symbolic value. These approaches are rarely combined. This research focusses on the clothing of five Inca Capacocha mummies: The three individuals from mount Llullaillaco, the young boy from mount El Plomo, and the female adolescent from mount Ampato. The connection between the technology and the meaning of the woven garments is investigated through literature analysis. Technology and style meet in the structure of the textile, as the design is embedded in and part of the woven fabric itself, and the completeness of the structure can be considered a stylistic feature. The two aspects also meet in what the designs depict. These are abstract patterns that represent symmetry, repetitions, contrasts and inversions, all concepts that are found back in Inca socio-political systems, ideology, and the actual structure of woven cloth. Finally, technology meets symbology in the artisans, the people who infuse the raw material with meaning through the process of production. Their social identity and their investment of labour and time gives the textile its value and prestigious status. Treating textile as the unity that it is, brings us one step closer to understanding the people involved in the production and consumption of these goods. When approached holistically, textile holds the potential to inform us on culturally specific ideas, preferences, and values within a society, through the messages that it carries within both its structure and symbols.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
In central Nicaragua pre-Hispanic archaeological remains are visible throughout the rural landscape that is presently inhabited by farmers. However, no research has been done on whether these...Show moreIn central Nicaragua pre-Hispanic archaeological remains are visible throughout the rural landscape that is presently inhabited by farmers. However, no research has been done on whether these contemporary inhabitants perceive a continuity between the producers of the pre-Hispanic archaeological remains and themselves, nor how this is influenced by top-down national narratives on heritage and identity. Nevertheless this has important consequences for the way that heritage management projects could be effectively managed. Therefore, this thesis explores the role of the pre-Hispanic past in the construction of identity of the present-day inhabitants of rural central Nicaragua, and how national narratives on heritage and identity are related to this. Through anthropological methods including participant observation and structured and unstructured interviewing with the inhabitants of rural central Nicaragua, the role of the pre-Hispanic past in their construction of identity is investigated. Through literature research, the different ways in which the national narratives ascribe the role of the pre-Hispanic past in the formation of national Nicaraguan identity is explored. As such, this thesis can provide important information for future heritage management project.Show less
North Central Nicaragua has long been on the fringes of the researched world and this region is still largely underrepresented in discourses on Central American archaeology. These have...Show moreNorth Central Nicaragua has long been on the fringes of the researched world and this region is still largely underrepresented in discourses on Central American archaeology. These have traditionally put the emphasis on defining ethnic territories and boundaries across the isthmus, often obscuring local diversity. The existing knowledge on the pre-Conquest societies of North Central Nicaragua rely heavily on linguistic sources and biased colonial accounts. An archaeological effort to understand the pre-Conquest past of the region would not only contribute to the writing of local history, but also contribute to archaeological discussions on an interregional scale. Most of the archaeological data available for the Matagalpa and Jinotega departments are found in unpublished survey reports. These have been largely disregarded due to the non-systematic survey strategies used and lacks in a chronological understanding of the archaeological sites and finds. This thesis adopts a visual GIS approach that makes use of these data sources, in order to combine existing survey data and explore the pre-Conquest past in the Matagalpa and Jinotega departments of North Central Nicaragua. A flexible framework is used to analyse the survey data, accounting for its limitations and considering the particularly variable environmental zones that characterise this region. Considering different models of zonal complementarity and interregional exchange, the visual analysis seeks to gain an understanding of pre-Conquest interzonal interaction and exchange in the research area. The analysis reveals different patterns of interzonal interaction. Distributions of movable finds penetrate different environmental zones, indicating exchange between groups occupying different environmental zones. Finds linked to interregional networks are found in differing degrees of diversity in different parts of the research area, suggesting differing degrees of centrality and access to goods from outside regions. The available data supports interregional down-the-line trade models taking place in an environmentally and most likely also socially and culturally heterogeneous landscape. This thesis contributes to closing a knowledge gap on the pre-Conquest past both on a local and interregional scale. Combining existing archaeological data helps archaeology to participate more effectively in current discourses about pre-Conquest North Central Nicaragua. Interregionally, this thesis contributes by presenting a comprehensive data exploration in an underrepresented region through an environmental and geographical perspective. This perspective helps seeking new avenues in Central American archaeology that allow the consideration of local diversity without losing sight on interregional dynamics.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
closed access
Aguas Buenas is a site containing mounds and rock carvings in central Nicaragua. There are 371 mounds situated over a 28-hectare area with a complicated topography in a semi-geometrical pattern....Show moreAguas Buenas is a site containing mounds and rock carvings in central Nicaragua. There are 371 mounds situated over a 28-hectare area with a complicated topography in a semi-geometrical pattern. Thus far, the use, precise dating and the means of the site’s construction are known. However, in this thesis it is argued that it is a monumental site. This thesis presents the result of six months of fieldwork in Aguas Buenas, methodology, and results of the site survey and advanced mapping process, leading to the development of a Digital Elevation Model of the site and site feature databases. By applying a GIS-based methodology and the principles of phenomenology, and analysing the results in the context of the contemporary discussion on monumentality, several questions related to the building processes at Aguas Buenas and the experiences at the site are addressed. Areas that present a different spatial logic are offered, suggesting the site’s development and use in phases.Show less
Archaeological research on material culture in Nicaragua is mainly focussed on ceramics since this artefact class could be used as chronological indicators. Research on lithics is undervalued, and...Show moreArchaeological research on material culture in Nicaragua is mainly focussed on ceramics since this artefact class could be used as chronological indicators. Research on lithics is undervalued, and only a handful studies are published about this subject. This research is focussed on the lithic artefacts from the Chontales region in Central Nicaragua.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
The most characteristic feature of the archaeology of Chontales, Nicaragua, are the high amount of earthen and stone mounds present throughout the landscape. However, traditionally in the...Show moreThe most characteristic feature of the archaeology of Chontales, Nicaragua, are the high amount of earthen and stone mounds present throughout the landscape. However, traditionally in the archaeology of this region, the focus has predominantly been on building a ceramic sequence. This sequence is used to correlate the Prehispanic Chontales people to those of the Greater Nicoya region on the Pacific coast, and in its current state views ceramic types as representative of ethnic groups of people migrating from one region to the next. In this thesis, a new theoretical framework is used to argue that the relationship between ceramic style and ethnic identity is not straightforward. This warrants a reevaluation of the data that was used to build the sequence, in which the ceramics, mounds, and other archaeological features are analyzed together per site. The resulting site-complexes reveal a pattern of ethnic identity formation on a micro-scale, where contact with outside influences is predominantly visible in the material culture, rather than the habitus.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
In this thesis, the data on households from the archaeological sites of Chalcatzingo, Dzibilchaltún, El Remolino, Kaminaljuyú, and San José Mogote are analyzed and compared to each other. In this...Show moreIn this thesis, the data on households from the archaeological sites of Chalcatzingo, Dzibilchaltún, El Remolino, Kaminaljuyú, and San José Mogote are analyzed and compared to each other. In this way, an overview of Formative Mesoamerican households is reached. The aim of this research is to explore what we can interpret about the people living within these households with regards to materiality, social organization, and behavior. Furthermore, the data from the different case studies are compared with each other, in order to reveal general trends and significant differences between Mesoamerican regions. The results show that households from each of the case studies presented general similarities. Houses were primarily made out of clay construction materials, i.e. adobe and/or wattle and daub, which would have been part of the identity of the people living in them. These houses were usually arranged in patio groups with closely knit connections. Ancestors remained very much present within life and had important roles to play in the household. Decorations seem to have been used as a kind of language providing information about identity and delineating contexts. Structures and burials had very consistent orientations throughout the case studies, suggesting an overlying, Mesoamerican worldview. Each household provided for its own basic needs in terms of food preparation, tool production, and household rituals. They were also involved in partial specializations, permitting each household to exchange products for other necessary goods in an extensive local and regional market system. The elite played an important role in long distance exchange, and they had important ties to the ceremonial centers of each site. However, the exact ways these general similarities were expressed differed from site to site. Each case study retained its particular characteristics and, with that, its proper identity. It seems that each of these sites was part of a wider, Mesoamerican network and identity bridging geographical and historical distances, but at the same time the particular identities of individual settlements or regions were maintained.Show less
The hermeneutic interpretation of cultural tradition moves away from the surface meanings of material culture or ritual to focus on the historical and social context within which these meanings are...Show moreThe hermeneutic interpretation of cultural tradition moves away from the surface meanings of material culture or ritual to focus on the historical and social context within which these meanings are produced, transmitted, or reinterpreted through time. This thesis takes a long-term perspective on the perception of the Mixtec or Ñuu Dzaui sacred landscape, and strives to understand the meaning of cultural concepts in the terms of the Mixtec people themselves. Due to its temporal depth, it is argued that the Mixtec cultural tradition can be approached by investigating the symbolism of its sacred landscape from a multidisciplinary perspective focusing on archaeological contexts, pictorial manuscripts as well as contemporary rituals and oral history. In light of this, hermeneutical historical interpretation offers important insights for landscape archaeology. In both cases, the past and the present are approached in relation to each other, a relationship which is materialized in the concept of the sacred landscape. From the perspective of individual communities, sacred geography and ceremonial sites foster cultural continuity insofar as religious symbolism is transmitted through rituals conducted in meaningful landscape locations.Show less
The research of polychrome ceramics from northern Gran Nicoya, Nicaragua started in a classificatory and descriptive manner, had (and has) many concerns with chronology but has slowly but steadily...Show moreThe research of polychrome ceramics from northern Gran Nicoya, Nicaragua started in a classificatory and descriptive manner, had (and has) many concerns with chronology but has slowly but steadily evolved into a discipline that tries to explain the culture behind the pottery. In order to do so, many different techniques have been used. Decorations and forms are examined and compared to those of other culture areas from the very beginning. Also, the function of the ceramics are researched. In later times the clay of which the ceramics are made itself is also examined and conclusions about provenience and links between different areas can be made. Although the methods that each author applies are different, the common thought in all of the research on polychrome ceramics from northern Gran Nicoya is the hypothesis that it is influenced by the Mesoamerican culture area to the North, more than the Peruvian culture area to the South. The main influence is thought to come from the Maya area and apart from that Aztec influences can be seen. The Mixteca-Puebla stylistic tradition has also left its mark on Nicaraguan ceramic styles. Other authors stress the high level of resemblance with ceramic types from Honduras and El Salvador. In spite of the many examples of influence from the North, Gran Nicoya has still developed in a rather isolated fashion. Therefore I think Gran Nicoya belongs to the periphery of Mesoamerica, just like Honduras and El Salvador, instead of being in the centre of its cultural influence. It is also generally accepted that the Nicarao and Chorotega came to Nicaragua in different migration waves. This is supported by archaeological as well as ethnographic evidence. Furthermore, a general theory of the history of archaeology is discussed which leads us to the conclusion that the historical approach to the study of ceramics provides a special vantage point from which subjectivities from different authors can be filtered out so a higher level of objectivity is achieved.Show less
