L'art rupestre du Salvador constitue un héritage original ancré dans toutes les régions du pays. La production rupestre a été soutenue durant l'époque Préhispanique comme l'illustre les 70 sites mis en évidence par la recherche bibliographique et les projets de terrain. Si l'art rupestre salvadorien a été l'objet de publications scientifiques dès la fin du XIXe siècle, il n'avait jusqu'à aujourd'hui jamais donné lieu à une étude synthétique. Un investissement important dans les recherches sur le terrain nous a permis d'enregistrer près de la moitié des gisements étudiés. Des sondages stratigraphiques ont été réalisés sur 11 sites rupestres au Salvador, dans le but de mieux contrôler le cadre chronologique et culturel, mais aussi par-delà ses frontières au Honduras. Les relevés des sites visités ont permis d'élaborer une classification typologique des manifestations rupestres. Sur la base des informations recueillies, une base de données a été créée et introduite dans un Système d'Informations Géographiques. Grâce à cet outil, l'analyse spatiale révèle des traditions rupestres ; des ensembles de gisements aux caractéristiques iconographiques et morphologiques communes, dont l'extension géographique compose des territoires cloisonnés. En reprenant l'information archéologique et les études des groupes linguistiques, nous nous sommes efforcés de rétablir les traditions rupestres dans leur contexte chrono-culturel. Elles s'intègrent dans !'Histoire du Salvador et nous apportent des informations nouvelles sur les frontières culturelles à l'époque Préhispanique dans une zone d'interactions entre Mésoamérique et Aire Intermédiaire. / The rock art of El Salvador is an original legacy rooted in all regions of the country. Rock production was supported during the pre-Hispanic era as shown in 70 sites highlighted by bibliographical research and field projects. If the Salvadorian rock art has been the subject of scientific publications at the end of the 19e century, be bad until now never given rise to synthetic study. A significant investment in research in the field enabled us to save half of the studied deposits. Stratigraphic surveys made on 11 rock art sites in El Salvador, in order to better control the framework chronological and cultural, but also beyond its borders to the Honduras. Records of visited sites helped develop a typological classification of the rock art manifestations. On the basis of the information gathered, a database was created and introduced into a system of geographic information. Thanks to this tool, the spatial analysis reveals rock art traditions -deposits with common iconographic and morphological features, whose geographical spread constitute partitioned territories. Using the archaeological information and studies of the linguistic groups, we have tried to restore the rock art traditions in their chrono-cultural context. They fit into the history of El Salvador and bring us new information about pre-Hispanic cultural borders in an area of interactions between Mesoamerica and middle area.

abstract: Archaeologists have long contended that large-scale human migrations played an essential role in the cultural development of pre-Hispanic central Mexico. During the Epiclassic period (600-900 CE), migration is implicated in the appearance of new forms of material culture, sociopolitical disruptions, and the emergence of new regional polities. Sweeping social changes accompanied these developments, including demographic reorganization and increased levels of violence. Research across the social sciences finds that violence directed at individuals perceived as categorically distinct also typically increases during such periods of socio-political upheaval. This dissertation investigates identity-based violence in the Epiclassic Basin of Mexico to consider how diverse social identities contributed to the selection of victims of ritual violence. This research examines the skeletal remains from a sacrificial deposit at the Epiclassic shrine site of Non-Grid 4 in the Basin of Mexico, where a minimum of 180 human crania were interred as ritual offerings. The project reconstructs patterns of paleomobility and biological relatedness to determine whether individuals with distinct categorical social identities were more likely to become victims of human sacrifice. It answers the questions: (1) Were the sacrificed individuals predominantly locals who lived in the Basin of Mexico throughout their lives?; (2) Were the sacrificed individuals comprised of a single kin-group biologically continuous with pre-extant populations in the Basin of Mexico?; and (3) If victims were migrants biologically discontinuous with antecedent populations, from where in ancient Mesoamerica did they originate? Results indicate that a majority of sacrificial victims were immigrants originating north and south of the Basin of Mexico. Biogeochemical analyses of sacrificed individuals find that 80% are non-local migrants into the Basin, suggesting that they were likely targeted for violence based on their divergent residential histories. Multi-scalar biodistance analyses of Non-Grid 4 sacrificial victims demonstrate that they represent two biologically distinct groups. There was evidence, however, for both biological continuity among victims and pre-extant central Mexican populations, as well as for migration from northern and southern Mexico. This project therefore not only improves knowledge of migration during the central Mexican Epiclassic, but also contributes to broader anthropological understandings of the social context of violence. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2020

Xipe Totec is an Aztec god often associated with agriculture and fertility. It is a deity type that is common in ancient societies dependent on agriculture but what sets him apart is his link to a rather brutal set of rituals. Known as ‘Our Lord, the Flayed One’ he is depicted in a flayed skin from a sacrificed victim, and the act of flaying is a central part of his mythology and worship. The study aims to investigate the reasoning behind the symbolism that connects brutal acts such as flaying with agriculture and fertility; and what the symbolism can tell us about the Aztecs’ mindset and worldview. To bring a successful conclusion to the study, Xipe Totec’s functions and roles are analysed from a social context. The study hopes to contribute to the study and interpretation of Aztec society and culture, especially concerning religion.

Houses and lineages are both named, corporate units of social organization defined in part on the connection between people and place. They are distinguished from one another by the relative emphasis on biological descent in societies organized on the basis of corporate group membership. Over the past 15 years, researchers have debated whether ancient Maya social organization was characterized by house or lineage organization. Drawing on ethnographic, epigraphic, and archaeological data, researchers have concluded that the ancient Maya had some characteristics of house societies, but that biological descent was an important principle. One relevant line of evidence conspicuously absent from this debate is biological distance analysis as a means of identifying patterns of biological relatedness within sites. In this chapter we review intracemetery analyses from Mesoamerica, focusing on the Maya area, and discuss what, if any, insight such analyses of biological spatial organization might bring to bear on the house versus lineage debate. We suggest that the use of biological distance analysis will not resolve debates about the relevant importance of house and biological lineage in ancient Maya society, but increasing incorporation of intracemetery analyses within existing research programs will help identify those the circumstances in which biological kinship was emphasized in Maya society. As such, intracemetery biodistance adds an important and independent line of evidence that is currently underutilized in studies of ancient Maya social organization.

The Late Classic Period at Kaminaljuyú is one of the most poorly understood periods of occupation, possibly because the artifacts and architecture lack the ornate decoration found in earlier periods. One of the largest and best preserved areas of the site is located in the Parque Arqueológico de Kaminaljuyú in Zone 7 of Guatemala City. A major focal point of architecture atKaminaljuyú is the Acropolis, which has been the focus of various excavations, particularly the work of Gustavo Espinoza from 1958 to 1962. Despite this research, much of the important documentation and artifacts recovered from these excavations have been lost. In 2003, Brigham Young University and colleagues from the Universidad Del Valle in Guatemala City conducted excavations near the Acropolis and Palangana in order to collect additional artifacts and create a chronology of the structures found at the park. The team also focused on studying architecture and remapping the area, hoping to recover information vital to interpreting the construction and function of the buildings found there, with a particular focus on the relationship between the occupants of Kaminaljuyú and the people living at Teotihuacán. Using ceramics collected from the Brigham Young University/ Universidad Del Valle excavations, this thesis will focus on the Late Classic period of Kaminaljuyú in order to determine the function of the Acropolis during this period. A discussion of the status of the ancient inhabitants of the Acropolis will also be included. This thesis will provide the reader with a description of Late Classic ceramics and building phases. These findings will be explained in terms of the function of the Acropolis and the status of its residents during that period. The ultimate goal of this work is to illustrate that the Acropolis was used as a residential zone during the Late Classic Period. I will also argue that the people who lived near the Acropolis probably achieved an elevated status compared to residents of other parts of Kaminaljuyú, but lacked many of the luxury goods commonly associated with elites in Mesoamerica.

Not too much is known today about religion of ancient Mesoamerica, and it will only be through an intensive comparative study of the various deities as presented in the heiroglyphic manuscripts and native writings, and of the symbolic religious art in the architectural and sculptural remains, that greater knowledge of the subject will be gained. The "Tree of Life," one of the most striking religious symbols of the area, may be one key to such knowledge.

The implementation of geographic information systems for the analysis of Late Classic (500-800 C.E.) terraces at Monte Albán, reveals a spatial pattern not visible through prior pedestrian site surveys. The Valley of Oaxaca Settlement Pattern Project concluded that nearly all of the 1,464 Late Classic terraces at Monte Albán were used for residential purposes. Spatial analysis tools reveal a greater human-ecological complexity. The goal of this study was to use ArcGIS to map the 1,273 terraces near Monte Albán's ceremonial center and combine them with individually identifiable data sets. Analysis of each terrace, particularly based upon water availability, ceramic distribution, structural remains, and number of metates, reveals that 55.7% of these 1,273 terraces could have supported agricultural practices. The integration of agricultural space into a dense urban center reveals new spatial relationships between population density and urban agricultural practices, to which measures of resiliency and efficacy within similar modern systems can be applied.

No description available.

As one of many other distinct painting styles that appeared on ceramics throughout the Guatemalan Lowlands of the Late Classic Period (AD 600-900), the Red Background vases represented the economic reach of the owner into local and foreign courtly culture. Supernatural processions, playful hieroglyphic texts, and the distinctive red background circulated on vases, plates, and bowls in order to perform prestige and the elite identity in public feasts. The diverse narrative content of these vessels reveals the importance of mytho-historic origin stories and supernatural identities to the prevailing political order, while the unique hieroglyphic texts link the style and its imagery to the royal court of Pa’ Chan. However, the lack of context for most of these vases thwarts a straightforward understanding of their role in Maya society as objects from a specific geographic place with archaeological provenience. Despite this inability to embed the Red Background vases within a robust archaeological framework, the production and circulation of a visually distinct style by a named community still indicates that the creators of these objects wished to communicate a unique artistic identity through an intersection of formal qualities. Refocusing the question of agency through the lens of the final product reveals that these works acted as part of a larger campaign to create the typical courtly trappings of master artisan production and public social feasting with representatives of other powerful polities. This Master’s Thesis aims to examine the current corpus of almost sixty vases in order to describe how the Red Background style manifests. In addition, my study explores the tendency of many polychrome styles to link a specific royal court with the artistic product through hieroglyphic emblems. I conclude that the unique Pa’ Chan emblem takes this extroverted statement of belonging to a higher level, providing an emic classification of the vase where the text comprises a social category of art that performs identity through its distinct visuals. / text

Ce mémoire prend la forme d’une réflexion critique sur le modèle proposé par Hosler afin d’expliquer les taux quantifiés d’étain et d’arsénique dans des objets de statut métalliques Mésoaméricains provenant principalement de l’Occident mésoaméricain et couvrant les deux phases de développement de la métallurgie mésoaméricaine. Ces objets font partie de la collection du Museo Regional de Guadalajara. Plus particulièrement, ce mémoire s’intéresse aux grelots mésoaméricains puisqu’ils représentent un élément important de la métallurgie préhispanique en Mésoamérique. Cette réflexion critique soulève plusieurs considérations techniques, méthodologiques, étymologiques, iconographiques, ethnohistoriques et logiques du modèle de Hosler relativement à la couleur des alliages constituant les grelots mésoaméricains. Les paramètres sur lesquels Hosler base son modèle sont questionnables à plusieurs niveaux. Ainsi, le fait que les niveaux d’arsenic ou d’étain observés dans les alliages cupriques de biens utilitaires sont généralement inférieurs à ceux quantifiés dans les alliages cupriques usités pour la fabrication de biens de statut de la Période 2 pourrait s’expliquer par le fait qu’il s’agit de deux méthodes de fabrication distinctes ayant des contraintes techniques différentes ou que ces artéfacts ont des paramètres et des fonctions distinctes. Les limites de l’association soleil-or, lune-argent y sont également exposées et un chapitre est consacré à la sonorité. / This thesis takes the form of a critical reflection on the model proposed by Hosler to explain the levels of tin and arsenic in metallic Mesoamerican status objects coming mainly from the western part of Mesoamerica and covering both phases of the development of Mesoamerican metallurgy. These objects are part of the collection of Museo Regional de Guadalajara. In particular, this thesis focuses on Mesoamerican bells since they represent an important element of the development of pre-Hispanic metallurgy.This critical reflection raises several technical, methodological, etymological iconographic, ethnohistorical and logical concerns regarding Hosler’s model relating to the colour of the alloys making up Mesoamerican bells. The desire to obtain certain colours can not be proven based solely on the results of composition analysis. Furthermore, the parameters on which Hosler bases her model are questionable on several levels. For example, the fact that the levels of arsenic or tin observed in copper based alloys used for the fabrication of utilitarian goods are generally lower than those measured in copper alloys used for status goods from Period 2 could be explained by the differing technical constraints of two distinct fabrication methods or by the contrasting parameters and functions of the two types of artifact. The limits of the association between sun-gold and moon-silver are also exposed. A chapter is also dedicated to the sonority of the bells.