Nicaragua falls on the edge of what is often referred to as Mesoamerica’s “southern periphery.” Only a small amount of archaeological research has been conducted in Nicaragua, and there has been little of it in the northwestern portion of the country. Because of this, there are no local ceramic typologies or sequences which can make the identification and classification of artifacts difficult. The proposed research focuses on investigating the ceramic assemblage from the Santa Cristina archaeological site located in the Department of Chinandega, in northwest Nicaragua. The goal of this research will be to create a ceramic typology for the site, taking into consideration ceramic wares, groups, types, and varieties that have already been identified in other parts of Central America and defining taxa that have not been previously identified. Establishing the ceramic typology and defining taxa will help establish cultural affiliations as well as chronological markers. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis examines the fabrication and provenance of 2,871 obsidian artifacts collected from twelve prehispanic archaeological sites in four physiographic zones throughout the Department of Chinandega, the northwesternmost department of Nicaragua. This research represents the first systematic study of obsidian artifacts in the region and focuses on two aspects of the obsidian artifacts. First, I present a macroscopic technical analysis of artifacts collected from twelve sites in the Department. The second part of the thesis presents a collaborative geochemical provenance study of obsidian procurement across these sites. Results indicate that most prehispanic sites participated in multiple sets of long-distance trade networks centered on obsidian as early as the Late Preclassic, up until the Late Postclassic, exploiting trade from four obsidian sources to the north. Analyses show that populations in the Department primarily, though not exclusively, utilized a core-flake industry that was worked on-site with material from the Güinope source in Honduras. A limited number of prismatic blades and a few other formal tools sourced from two additional further sources (La Esperanza in Honduras and Ixtepeque in Guatemala) appear almost exclusively as imported finished products more recently in the archaeological sequence. Additionally, the archaeological sites situated in the eastern coastal plains of the Department contained the largest variety of source material, followed by the sites of the northern foothills, a single site in the Nicaraguan depression, and lastly a single site in the Maribios volcanic front. Although ceramic analyses from the collection are partially complete and developing, this region is best understood as a cultural mosaic connected to the Mesoamerican populations in the north. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In order to analyze the socio-economic and environmental system that is demanding soil remediation solutions in Chinandega region (Nicaragua), a DPSIR framework was used to model the system and to point out opportunities and limitations for phytoremediation applications in the region. An inventory of naturalized and autochthonous plant species was conducted while exploring their socioecological and economic co-benefits like potential candidates for sustainable phytoremediation strategies in Chinandega. Sustainable phytoremediation practices combined with agroforestry are unlikely to demand high cost inputs (if compared to conventional physicochemical soil treatments) but could potentially produce valuable socio-ecological and economic co-benefits which could enhance the cost-effectiveness of these practices in Chinandega (i.e. food production, fuelwood, building material, medicine, animal feed, carbon sequestration) among others (e.g. ecosystem services conservation, bioenergy production, essential oil production, phytomining, etc.). In the inventory of the existing vegetation in the two sites of study, 23 plant species resulted to be potential candidates for phytoremediation strategies in Chinandega according to the 9 criteria presented in this thesis. The capacity of POPs decontamination of these candidate plant species is still an unexplored field of research that would demand more detailed investigation in order to evaluate their further potential to phytoremediate these soils. However, the inventoried species clearly thrive in heavily contaminated sites which implies that they can withstand high levels of soil pollution, which makes them potential candidates for phytoremediation. The depth and scope of the contaminated soil layers, translocation patterns, phytoremediation capacity and the mechanisms involved calls for further investigations and feasibility studies based on this selected group of species. / För att analysera det socioekonomiska och miljömässiga system som kräver lösningar för rening av jord i Chinandega (Nicaragua) användes en DPSIR-modell för att kartlägga systemet och påvisa möjligheter och begränsningar för att tillämpa fytoremedieringsinitiativ i regionen. En inventering av naturligt anpassade växtarter genomfördes genom att undersöka deras socioekologiska och ekonomiska fördelar som potentiella kandidater för hållbara fytormedieringsstrategier i Chinandega. Hållbara fytoremedieringsmetoder kombinerat med skogsjordbruk kommer sannolikt inte att kräva högre kostnader (jämfört med konventionella fysikalisk-kemiska markbehandlingar) men kan potentiellt ge resultat när det gäller socioekonomiska och ekonomiska fördelar som skulle kunna förbättra kostnadseffektiviteten hos dessa metoder i Chinandega (d.v.s. livsmedelsproduktion, bränslevirke, byggmaterial, medicin, djurfoder, kolsekvestration) bland annat (t.ex. bevarande av ekosystemtjänster, bioenergiproduktion, essentiell oljeproduktion, fytominering, etc.). I inventeringen av den befintliga vegetationen i de två studieplatserna framkom 23 växtarter som potentiella kandidater för fytoremedieringsstrategier i Chinandega enligt de 9 kriterier som presenteras i denna avhandling. POP-dekontamineringskapaciteten hos dessa kandidatväxter är fortfarande ett outforskat område som skulle kräva mer forskning för att utvärdera potentialen att fytoremediera dessa jordar. Det faktum att dessa arter hittades på de starkt förorenade områdena innebär emellertid att de kan klara dessa nivåer av markförorening. Den identifierade kunskapsklyftan på translokeringsmönster av dessa arter, djup och omfattning av de förorenade markskikten och fytormedieringskapaciteten hos växterna och de involverade mekanismerna kräver ytterligare undersökningar och förstudier baserade på denna valda grupp av arter. / <p>2019-10-17</p>

Much attention has been paid to the increasingly important role of women as social and political actors in Latin America. Though recent scholarship has examined women's activism in primarily urban contexts, this paper focuses on the case of poor rural women in Nicaragua. Based on participant observation and interview data collected over five consecutive weeks, this paper traces the pathways by which women's activism emerged in a context where traditional gender roles still predominate. These women's forms of participation—often on the basis of their interests as mothers—constitute a "politics of immediate needs” that responds to concrete matters of survival while introducing new issues of direct concern to women into the public sphere. However, community participation has also generated additional burdens for women who now juggle productive, reproductive, and activist roles. By exploring the complexities of these dynamics, this paper provides an ethnographic account of the highly nuanced contestatory process by which women enter the public sphere, collectively organize, and begin to challenge various gendered aspects of their society. / text