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

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