Universiẗat, Diss., 2002--Bonn.

abstract: In anthropological models of social organization, kinship is perceived to be fundamental to social structure. This project aimed to understand how individuals buried in neighborhoods or patio groups were affiliated, by considering multiple possibilities of fictive and biological kinship, short or long-term co-residence, and long-distance kin affiliation. The social organization of the ancient Maya urban center of Copan, Honduras during the Late Classic (AD 600-822) period was evaluated through analysis of the human skeletal remains drawn from the largest collection yet recovered in Mesoamerica (n=1200). The research question was: What are the roles that kinship (biological or fictive) and co-residence play in the internal social organization of a lineage-based and/or house society? Biodistance and radiogenic strontium isotope analysis were combined to identify the degree to which individuals buried within 22 patio groups and eight neighborhoods, were (1) related to one another and (2) of local or non-local origin. Copan was an ideal place to evaluate the nuances of migration and kinship as the site is situated at the frontier of the Maya region and the edge of culturally diverse Honduras. The results highlight the complexity of Copan’s social structure within the lineage and house models proposed for ancient Maya social organization. The radiogenic strontium data are diverse; the percentage of potential non-local individuals varied by neighborhood, some with only 10% in-migration while others approached 40%. The biodistance results are statistically significant with differences between neighborhoods, patios, and even patios within one neighborhood. The high level of in-migration and biological heterogeneity are unique to Copan. Overall, these results highlight that the Copan community was created within a complex system that was influenced by multiple factors where neither a lineage nor house model is appropriate. It was a dynamic urban environment where genealogy, affiliation, and migration all affected the social structure. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2015

No description available.

Sepiolite is a clay mineral, a complex magnesium silicate, a typical formula for which is (OH2)4(OH)4Mg8Si12O30•8H2O. It is formed by blocks and cavities (tunnels) growing in the direction of the fibres. The tunnels, 3.7 x 10.6 Å in cross-section, are responsible for the high specific surface area and sorptive properties of sepiolite. The co-intercalation of 3-methyl cyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH), the Douglas-Fir beetle anti-aggregation pheromone, with methanol, ethanol, acetone, or benzene into sepiolite tunnels was studied. The resulting nanohybrid materials were characterized by means of various techniques, such as multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy, porosity studies and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). This was done in the hope of obtaining slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels. It was demonstrated by 13C MAS NMR (carbon-13 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance) that at room temperature there are two different MCH molecules: one MCH inside the tunnels and the other one outside the tunnels of the sepiolite. Heating nanohybrid materials at 60˚C for 20 hours removes the external MCH molecules from the sepiolite. 13C MAS NMR showed that by further heating nanohybrid materials at 120˚C for 20 hours, methanol, ethanol, or acetone peaks were greatly reduced; however, the benzene peak was not reduced. To better understand how benzene acts inside sepiolite, intercalation of d6-benzene, and co-intercalations of d6-benzene with MCH and d6-benzene with pyridine into sepiolite tunnels were carried out, and these samples were studied by the same techniques. Another technique was used in order to see whether the slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels could be obtained: sepiolite-MCH nanohybrids were treated with 20 ml of 0.5 M HCl solution. It was found that when 1 gram of MCH-sepiolite sample was acid treated at room temperature, about 35% of intercalated MCH was removed from the sepiolite. The role of sepiolite clay was also studied in Maya-Blue representative structure sepiolite-indigo adduct. It is known that upon heating the sepiolite and indigo mixture, the stability that is present in Maya-Blue is achieved. It is still a mystery, however, how exactly indigo and sepiolite interact with each other.

This study examines the emergence of status differentiation during the Early and Middle Preclassic periods (1200/1100-300 BC) in the Maya lowlands through the examination of pottery and its status as a valued object. Through macroscopic, contextual, and compositional analyses of previously excavated pottery from four sites in the Petén lakes region of Guatemala—Nixtun-Ch’ich', Tayasal, Ixlú, Zacpetén—this project focuses on the ways value was encoded into vessels. Unlike later polychrome wares, Middle Preclassic pottery displayed little status-marking decoration, suggesting that the "object-value" of pottery was based on function and use ("use-value") rather than attributes related to production (“production-value”). By integrating production attributes with contexts of recovery, this project explores the ways early pottery was produced, used, and deposited at a time when societal differentiation became identifiable archaeologically through the appearance of substantial architectural endeavors and access to exotic goods. This connects to the larger anthropological question of how emerging status differentiation in communities impacts the notion of value in material culture and the process through which prestige goods developed in complex societies.Data generated from this study of 27,870 sherds provide multiple lines of evidence for ways that value was encoded on early Maya pottery. To examine factors relating to production-value, macroscopic (type-variety analysis and modal analysis) and compositional (petrographic analysis of thin sections, INAA, and LA-ICP-MS) analytical methods are used to assess the presence of production-value markers. Attributes ranging from paste composition to surface decoration reveal the diversity in valuation at the beginning of vessel use-life. Use-value is examined through a contextual analysis of pottery and its deposition, with primary focus on the extensive excavations at Mound ZZ1 at Nixtun-Ch'ich'. On the basis of the findings, I conclude that the construction of value and prestige was carried out in many ways by emerging elites in the western Petén lakes area, but it appears that pottery’s role in this was not prescriptive, but supportive.Beyond investigating how early Maya pottery was valued, this study demonstrates the importance of an integrated methodological approach to artifact analysis that considers both contextual and physical attributes. This provides a way to operationalize a concept like object value, which can be difficult to access through the archaeological record. The complementary data presented here reflect the myriad ways in which object-value is affected by both production choices and social behaviors.

No description available.

The concept of religion and its practice within ancient societies across the world is a subject that has fascinated scientists for centuries. The pre-Columbian Maya codices, first-hand Postclassic hieroglyphic documents, have been examined by hundreds of anthropologists. Analysis of these books has led scientist to hypothesize that these manuscripts were vitally connected to the Maya Postclassic belief system. Understanding the central focus of a civilization's religion and how, why and under what circumstances the religion is practiced truly distinguishes them as a culture. The intent of this thesis is to examine the role of rain in Maya Postclassic religious belief. Through an examination of Postclassic Maya ethnographies, archaeological evidence and the Maya Dresden, Paris and Madrid codices, this thesis evaluates the major theme of rain that is threaded throughout the culture and religion of the Maya people. By cross referencing ethnohistoric, ethnographic and archaeological evidence, it is revealed that rain was a fundamental-part of Maya religious practice as: 1) a symbol of fertility, 2) a phenomenon that people actively sought to control through religious practice and 3) as a fundamental building block of the Maya universe, construed broadly to encompass both the natural and divine elements of the universe.

Ancient Maya iconography primarily depicted elite individuals in idealized states of being and rationalized their power and authority through ideological concepts and otherworld beings. This study aims to reexamine previous assumptions made concerning the Quadripartite Badge. This motif is examined based on iconographic associations and contexts, as well as temporal and spatial distributions. The dataset was created from currently identified examples of the Quadripartite Badge, although only a select group is extensively examined. The spread of this motif is demonstrated through time and its spatial dispersals are noted for their political consequences. Indicating the liminal status of its user, the Badge is frequently placed in scenes of transformation, accompanying rites of passage. It is also established that as elite women became more prominent, women from Tikal and Calakmul circulated this iconography through marriage alliances, as seen in the number of newly ‘arrived’ women carrying the Badge. Other iconographic associations of the Badge revealed strong ties with the Maize God and the cyclical nature of agriculture. For the continuation of the maize cycle and renewal of universal forces, sacrifice was required; the completion of ritual sacrifice was demonstrated through the depiction of the Quadripartite Badge. This one expression of power simultaneously validated earthly and otherworldy authority, ensuring the continuation of the cosmos and the perpetuation of the sun and maize cycles

Migration, as a theory to explain aspects in the archaeological record, has fallen out of favor in Mesoamerican archaeology, possibly due to a lack of a standard definition or description of migration. Migration as an explanation of change in Maya civilizations has been around since the 1950's and the culture-history era of American archaeology. Since the early 1990's, migration has been treated as a process, one that can be discerned in pre-literate cultures as well as historical ones. Models of the migration process are being developed and tested. One type of migration, elite dominance migration, is a particularly suitable process to study in Mesoamerica. A model of elite dominance migration might include the following attributes: advance contact by the migrating culture, migration to a center, maintenance of contact with the sending population, spatial concentration of the incoming population, migration of a selected population of elites, and a cause or push factor. To find these attributes, the receiving population is studied to determine if there are multiple changes in the material record consistent with an intrusion of an outside group. And, there should be a rough chronological correlation between the sending and receiving populations. The Maya site of Chichén Itzá is a classic case study, and provides a starting point as a possible receiving population of an elite dominance migration. There is an abundance of scholarship devoted to the question of the relationship between Chichén Itzá and Tula, Hidalgo, in Central Mexico. The iconographic similarities between the two sites are numerous and have been thoroughly discussed in the literature. But, there is much more evidence that should be examined in applying a model of elite dominance, such as architecture, artifacts (including ceramics and obsidian), burial and caching practices, and site configuration. Comparing all of these categories at the two sites, one reaches two conclusions: there are multiple lines of evidence for change in the material record across the spectrum of categories at Chichén Itzá, and, to a lesser extent, at Tula, Hidalgo, indicating a population intrusion. And, secondly, there are abundant similarities in architecture, caching practices, ceramics, and other aspects of the material record that support the assertion of strong contacts between the two sites. Applying the model of elite dominance migration to Chichén Itzá, the majority of the markers for this type of migration can be seen in the material record of the site, as well as the site of Tula, Hidalgo. Chichén Itzá has the attributes of a receiving population, with an elite dominance migration of Central Mexican people taking place there, either from Tula, Hidalgo or from a third, as yet unspecified site that impacted both Chichén Itzá and Tula.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.