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
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 into the perception of monumentality in the Roman Empire has so far only concentrated on the monuments itself. The aim of this thesis is to show the necessity to shift the focus from the...Show moreResearch into the perception of monumentality in the Roman Empire has so far only concentrated on the monuments itself. The aim of this thesis is to show the necessity to shift the focus from the actual monument to its surroundings. Phenomenological research methods have been introduced in archaeology over the last couple of decades to analyse experience, but due to their imbeddedness in the post-processual theoretical framework they concentrate on the personal experience rather than on the common perception. However, other spatial analyses like those introduced by Space Syntax provide the necessary methods to analyse the general perception of space, but these analyses require detailed knowledge of the ancient urban environment which are often not preserved in the archaeological record. Therefore, other techniques have to be used to complement these analyses, like the concept of ‘armature’. In this way it seems possible to analyse the general perception of a monument based on an analysis of its relation with the surroundings.Show less
