This thesis provides an analysis of Manteño site abandonment in the cloud forest of Manabí, Ecuador. First, the types, frequency, and distribution of artifacts at site C4-044 were recorded, mapped, and compared to levels of phosphate in the soil to determine activity areas. The obtained evidence allowed me to make general approximations of the site’s pre-abandonment behavior. Then, the archaeological data together with environmental and bioarchaeological information from the region were assessed to propose the mode of departure from site C4-044. Through ethnography and ethnoarchaeology, a recent historical account of abandonment in the cloud forest was obtained as well, providing additional insight regarding adaptive strategies and behavioral choices to changing contextual circumstances. The culmination of this evidence shows a gradual mode of abandonment from site C4-044 in the cloud forest that was planned and executed accordingly. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, Dec. 1923. / Typewritten (carbon copy). Description based on print version record. Bibliography: numb. l. 245-263.

Music is a powerful force. It highlights social hierarchies and relationships. It is a means by which the ordinary everyday can be transformed into the sacred. It has the ability to change our daily routine. How though, was music used, and in what ways did it function in the courtly society of the ancient Maya? In Classic Maya iconography we frequently find scenes of dance performance, ritual, or palace scenes depicted with musicians. Rarely however, are musicians the central focus of the action taking place. Were Maya musicians simply a background ‘soundtrack’ to the primary action unfolding or were they an integral part of Maya courtly life?This thesis conducts an iconographical analysis of the representations of music, musical instruments, and musicians among the Maya along with the consideration of archaeological evidence. The evidence considered comes primarily from the iconography of musicians and musical instruments depicted on several painted ceramic vessels but also takes into consideration iconography found in the murals of Bonampak and the paintings at Naj Tunich Cave, as well as archaeological evidence that appears in the form of preserved instruments at sites such as Pacbitun and the Copan Valley. For the ancient Maya, music was segmented. This is seen in the types of instruments and their groupings as portrayed in Maya iconography. These groupings denote differing categories of musical forms and functions which pertain to particular settings, such as interior palace settings as compared to exterior public settings.In exploring these images, many characteristics common to the depiction of musicians in interior palace settings become apparent that are not see in depictions of musicians in exterior public settings. First, the musicians are depicted kneeling, seated, or standing still. Second, they are located furthest from the most prominent figure. Third, acoustics do not affect instrument choice. Fourth, the form of attire varies more greatly in interior settings than in exterior settings. Finally, the order of instruments remains as standard as those in exterior settings. These scenes provide further evidence of instrument specialization and musical segmentation in Maya music and emphasize the significance music held in Ancient Maya Culture. / text

The function of a ceramic vessel is often evaluated in relation to its form. Vessels with complex forms can be challenging to analyze from this perspective and require a different approach. One such example is an overlooked yet long-lived specialized vessel type in the form of conjoined lúcuma fruits found throughout the ancient Andes. The main object of this study is a Nasca version of this vessel type in the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. This study explores the relationship between form and iconography, rather than function. It examines how Nasca potters adopted the conjoined lúcuma form vessel and adapted it to into their fertility iconography.

L’impact actuel de l’Homme sur la biosphère affecte l’ensemble des organismes vivants et des milieux. Il est souvent considéré comme étant à l’origine de la 6ème crise d’extinction de masse. La quantification des effets de ce phénomène est cependant complexe car certains ont débuté bien avant que les scientifiques ne s’intéressent à ces questions et ne produisent des données de référence. Ce problème est tout particulièrement manifeste dans les milieux les plus fragiles, telles que les îles, dont les écosystèmes ont pu être bouleversés par l’Homme de manière très rapide et cela avant que leur biodiversité n’ait été documentée. Dans ce cas, les ossements fossiles s’avèrent être les uniques vestiges témoignant de l’existence passée de faunes parfois éteintes. Ils deviennent donc l’unique fenêtre permettant d’entrevoir la biodiversité ancienne de ces milieux. Mon travail de thèse se questionne sur la biodiversité passée au sein de l’archipel de la Guadeloupe (Antilles françaises) à travers l’exemple des reptiles squamates (lézards et serpents). L’étude de près de 40 000 ossements issus de 31 sites archéologiques et paléontologiques datant de la fin du Pléistocène (30 000 B.P.) à nos jours, a permis de mettre en évidence l’évolution de la diversité de ces vertébrés dans le temps ainsi que de leurs relations avec les différentes populations humaines. Ces résultats ont été obtenus grâce à l’utilisation de diverses méthodes (anatomie comparée, morphométries traditionnelle et géométrique, paléohistologie et archéozoologie, récits des premiers voyageurs) et grâce au développement d’approches méthodologiques spécifiques aux squamates. Les données obtenues font état de l’impact limité sur les faunes par les populations humaines amérindiennes ayant occupé la Guadeloupe pendant plus de 4000 ans jusqu’au 17éme siècle. En effet, bien qu’ayant chassé certains squamates (iguanes et améives) et probablement participé à un enrichissement de la faune, les Amérindiens ne semblent pas avoir contribué à appauvrir la biodiversité des squamates guadeloupéens. En revanche, les données fossiles plus récentes démontrent un fort impact sur les faunes de squamates exercé par les populations européennes qui colonisent ces îles à partir du XVIIème siècle. L’effet de cette seconde vague de colonisation se manifeste par la transformation morphologique de certains taxons (réduction de taille, réduction de variabilité morphologique) et par une série d’extinctions totales ou partielles d’espèces (restriction d’aire géographique). Ainsi, le taux d’extinction des squamates de Guadeloupe est estimé entre 47 et 56% depuis 300 ans. Cette vague d’extinctions s’oppose à l’apparente stabilité de la faune des squamates que révèle le registre fossile du Pléistocène et de la première moitié de l’Holocène. Ces résultats démontrent l’intérêt de l’étude minutieuse des faunes fossiles récentes pour une meilleure compréhension de l’impact de l’Homme sur son milieu au cours du temps, un domaine encore relativement peu développé, tout particulièrement pour ce qui concerne les squamates. / Current human impact on the biosphere affects all living organisms and environments. This global phenomenon is often considered as the origin of the 6th mass earth extinction crisis. Yet, the quantification of the effects of this crisis can be problematic because it started long before scientists started to investigate it and to produce reference data. This issue is especially obvious in fragile ecosystems, like islands, which environments could have been quickly modified in relation with anthropogenic phenomena before their biodiversity can have been described. In this case, fossil bones are often the sole remaining remains of past ecosystems and the only possibility to study them. My PhD work is interested in squamate (snakes and lizards) past biodiversity of the Guadeloupe Islands (French West Indies). I studied more than 40 000 fossil bones of squamates from 31 archaeological and paleontological deposits dated from Late Pleistocene (40 000 B. P.) to nowadays. My study reveals the evolution of the diversity of these reptiles along with their relations with past human populations. The results are obtained using several methods (comparative anatomy, traditional and geometric morphometrics, paleohistology and zooarchaeology) and thanks to new methodological tools I developed dedicated to the study of squamate bone remains. My results show the limited impact on squamate faunas of Amerindian human populations who inhabited Guadeloupe islands during more than 4 000 years. Indeed, although these populations seem to have hunted some squamates (iguanas and ameivas) and slightly contributed to enrich squamate diversity, they do not seem to be the cause of any extinction event. At the opposite, European populations who colonized Guadeloupe Islands since the XVIIth century strongly impacted the native squamate biodiversity. These effects take the forms of morphological modification of some taxa (size reduction, reduction of morphological variability) and partial (decrease of geographic distribution) or total extinction of many taxa. Indeed, the extinction rate of squamates species in Guadeloupe during the last 300 years is estimated between 47 and 56%. This recent mass extinction phenomenon strongly contrasts with the apparent stability of the squamate diversity between Pleistocene and the first half of Holocene revealed by fossil data. These results show the interest of studying late quaternary fossil faunas to better understand the impact of Human on its environment, a field of research still largely underdeveloped especially concerning squamates.

This dissertation examines the initial contacts and cultural encounters between Europe and the Mexica and investigates the ways in which the Mexica treasures acquired by the conquistadores played a pivotal role in shaping social, cultural, political and religious perceptions and misperceptions about the Mexica, Hapsburgs and their empire, and Europe as a whole in the early sixteenth-century. The initial shipment of art, artifacts, weapons and other goods given to King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Hapsburg by the Mexica ruler Moctezuma (via Hernán Cortés) arrived in Seville on November 5th, 1519, followed by additional deliveries soon thereafter. The objects included in these shipments would play a significant role in shaping and promoting the newly-expanded imperial identity, while simultaneously contributing to the European audience’s construction of an identity for the indigenous peoples of the New World, doing so through a European vision and recontextualization of pre-Columbian and earlypost-Conquest art and artifacts. This project explores these issues by focusing on three specific media: gold, mosaics (or small stonework) and featherwork, the three media most associated with the indigenous peoples and most coveted by European audiences. In doing so, I seek to understand what it was about these media specifically that inspired their new-found audiences to desire these materials so intensely, above all other forms of production to be found in the pre-Columbian Americas; how each art form fit into existing preconceptions and was used to shape new identities and beliefs about both cultures; and what we learn from answering these questions. / Art History

This diploma thesis is focused on the question how the Maya from Tikal celebrated ends of the katun cycles of their calendar during the Classic period. To answer this question the tesis brings the analysis of all Tikal's katun period-ending steale and altars. The accent is put on katun period-ending rituals. This thesis is also concerned with twin-pyramid complexes which were developed at Tikal to host katun-ending commemoration. Keywords Pre-Columbian America, Mesoamerica, the Maya, the Maya calendar, katuns, rituals, stelae.

Essa pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar e catalogar sistematicamente os objetos que serviram como \'dinheiro primitivo\' na área andina durante o período conhecido como Horizonte Tardio, que vai de 1.476 a 1.534 d.C. Após este primeiro passo, tentamos precisar em quais esferas sociais estes objetos circulavam e que papel desempenhavam em cada uma delas, definindo, assim, o seu funcionamento em um sistema de valor determinado e específico. O tema da pesquisa se justifica basicamente por dois motivos: (a) a forma insatisfatória, e muitas vezes superficial, com que os trabalhos a respeito da economia incaica tratam a questão do dinheiro; (b) o costume - ao nosso ver equivocado - de entender o \'dinheiro primitivo\' por meio de conceitos alheios à realidade do antigo Peru. Para a realização dessa pesquisa foram utilizadas como fontes principais as crônicas espanholas escritas durante os séculos XVI e XVII. Sempre com o cuidado de não cair em anacronismos, fato comum quando se trata de pesquisas a respeito da economia nas sociedades consideradas arcaicas. Esperamos com este trabalho poder contribuir para uma compreensão mais ampla do \'dinheiro primitivo\' e da noção de valor entre os Incas. / The scope of this research is to systematically classify and identify the objects that served as \'primitive money\' in the Andean region during the period know as the Late Horizon, which covers the years 1476 through 1534 A.D. We tried to indicate how these objects circulated within the various social spheres and the role they played in each one of them, in order to determine their function in a system that had definite and specific values. The reason to decide on this theme was basically two: (a) the inadequate and often superficial way which money issue is dealt with in the existing works on Inka economy; (b) the general understanding of \'primitive money\' by means of concepts which are not appropriate to the reality of ancient Peru. This research was based on chronicles written by Spaniards during the XVI and XVII centuries. Throughout this work, we were careful not to fall into anachronism, since that usually happens in researches on economy about the so called archaic societies. We hope that this work may be a contribution to a better understanding of \'primitive money\' and notion of value in the Inka society.

Este trabalho investigou a sociocriosfera nos Andes Centrais e examinou as percepções, adaptações e os impactos dos desastres glaciais nos povoados do Callejón de Huaylas, Peru. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que se utiliza de conceitos de cultura, adaptação, risco, perigo e desastre para compreender de forma integrada os efeitos advindos de mudanças climáticas regionais e as relações existentes entre os povoados do Callejón de Huaylas com as geleiras adjacentes. O trabalho teve como base os aportes teórico-metodológicos da Geografia Física e da abordagem cultural na Geografia para entender os problemas físicos e humanos advindos da ocupação de uma região inóspita. A investigação foi estruturada em três momentos: primeiramente, foi realizada a construção dos cenários físicos dos desastres glaciais, por meio de uma série de instrumentos – como mapas geológico, geomorfológico, de declividade, de uso e ocupação do solo e dos principais riscos glaciais do flanco ocidental do Nevado Huascarán (Cordilheira Branca). Posteriormente, foi investigado o processo civilizatório andino no Callejón de Huaylas – com base, principalmente, em evidências arqueológicas, foi gerado o mapa de localização dos assentamentos pré-colombianos, de acordo com os estágios de desenvolvimento cultural. O terceiro momento refere-se à identificação dos efeitos pós-coloniais e de ocupação humana em zonas de alto perigo na região periglacial, aumentando o risco dessas comunidades. Assim, no campo dos cenários físicos, a integração dos registros geológicos e geomorfológicos mostrou o dinamismo das regiões periglaciais andinas, ou seja, desde longa data a paisagem vem sendo definida pela dinâmica glacial Os principais vetores da dinâmica do fluxo de massas, desencadeada por ação glacial direta e indireta, permitiu a delimitação das principais regiões de perigo. Nessas regiões, situa-se grande parte da infraestrutura agrícola atual, e no caso da cidade de Huaraz (9°31'42"S e 77°31'37"O), grande parte das áreas urbanas, mostrando o grande risco ao qual está submetida. Por outro lado, sítios arqueológicos como Keushu (9°5'24"S e 77°41'59"O), não se encontram em zonas de grande perigo de fluxos decorrentes da dinâmica glacial. No cenário do processo civilizatório, os assentamentos das culturas pré-colombianas localizavam-se, predominantemente, em zonas elevadas, distantes dos trajetos de aluviões. Portanto, consideramos que as culturas pré-colombianas adaptaram-se aos perigos dos desastres glaciais. Nesse sentido, é pertinente reconhecer que essas populações gestaram um essencial etnoconhecimento andino. As cidades modernas mais populosas, como Huaraz, que estão em áreas de alto risco de desastres glaciais, tem origem na época colonial. Assim, o período colonial resultou não apenas na espoliação das riquezas dos Andes, mas, sobretudo, na desestruturação de um sistema cognitivo milenar. O processo de desterritorialização produzido pelos desastres glaciais provocou, para além de perdas econômicas, perdas de relações, que afetam a existência da pessoa produzindo, portanto, perdas irreparáveis. A reterritorialização dos locais suscetíveis aos desastres glaciais se dá pela necessidade de se ter um lugar (para plantar, para viver), mas também devido aos sentimentos topofílicos que se referem ao elo afetivo existente entre a pessoa e o lugar. Em suma, este trabalho mostra que o modelo de sociedade pós-colonial tende a inviabilizar possíveis estratégias de adaptação às mudanças climáticas no Callejón de Huaylas. / This work investigated the sociocryosphere of the central Andes, examining perceptions, adaptations and impacts of glacial disasters on the towns of the Callejón de Huaylas, Peru. It is a case study that uses concepts of culture, adaptation, risk, hazard and disaster to comprehend in an integrated way the effects of regional climate changes and the existing relations between the villages of the Callejón de Huaylas and adjacent glaciers. The work is based on the Physical Geography theoretical-methodological contributions and the cultural approach in Geography to understand the physical and human problems arising from the occupation of an inhospitable region. The research was structured in three moments. Firstly, the physical scenarios of glacial disasters were constructed through a series of instruments - such as geological, geomorphological, slope, land use and occupation maps and the main glacial hazards of the western flank of the Nevado Huascarán (Cordillera Blanca). Subsequently, the Andean civilization process was investigated in the Callejón de Huaylas - based, mainly, on archaeological evidence, the map of the pre-Columbian settlements location was generated, according to the cultural development stages. The third point concerns the identification of post-colonial effects and human occupation in the periglacial region high-danger zones, increasing the risk of these communities. Thus, in the field of physical scenarios, the integration of geological and geomorphological records showed the dynamism of Andean periglacial regions, that is, the landscape has long been defined by glacial dynamics. The main mass flow dynamics vectors, triggered by direct and indirect glacial action, allowed the delimitation of the main danger regions A large part of the present agricultural infrastructure is located in these regions, and in the case of the city of Huaraz (9°31'42"S e 77°31'37"O), a great part of the urban areas, showing the great risk to which it is submitted. On the other hand, archaeological sites like Keushu (9°5'24"S e 77°41'59"O) are not in zones of great danger of flows from glacial dynamics. In the civilization process scenario, the pre-Columbian cultures settlements were located, mainly, in elevated zones, far from the alluvial paths. Therefore, we consider that pre-Columbian cultures have adapted to the hazards of glacial disasters. In this sense, it is pertinent to recognize that these populations have generated an essential Andean ethno-cognition. The most populous modern cities, such as Huaraz, in areas of high risk of glacial disasters, originated in the colonial time. Thus the colonial period resulted not only in the spoliation of the riches of the Andes, but above all, in the deconstruction of a millenarian cognitive system. The process of deterritorialization produced by glacial disasters has caused, in addition to economic losses, loss of relationships, which affect the person's existence, thus producing irreparable losses. The reterritorialization of sites susceptible to glacial disasters is due to the need to have a place (to plant, to live), but also due to the topophilic feelings that refer to the affective link between the person and the place. In short, this work shows that the postcolonial society model tends to make impossible strategies to adapt to climate change in the Callejón de Huaylas.

In 1938, the Carnegie Institution of Washington published the results of ethnoarchaeological research conducted in Guatemala and southern Mexico by North American archaeologist Robert Wauchope. This seminal work, titled Modern Maya Houses: A Study of Their Archaeological Significance, aimed to understand the significance of traditional Maya houses (known in the study region as casas de paja) for the identification and interpretation of ancient dwelling remains in archaeological excavations. At the time, Wauchope documented only ten distinct house types among six of the 28 Maya language (cultural) groups. Due to its narrow scope, Wauchope’s investigation focused more on the physical properties of house construction and less on the social behaviours and beliefs generating the architectural forms. In recognition of Wauchope’s survey remaining incomplete, the primary aim of this dissertation has been to ethnographically record and comparatively analyse the remaining casas de paja in contributing to a greater cross-cultural understanding and theory of the entire repertoire of Maya house architectures. In combining both architectural and anthropological method, the author was able to make a number of important research findings; most notably that a pan-Maya, and pre-Columbian, semantic relationship existed between individual house types, indexing a shared cultural history and proto-Maya house architecture that possibly originated as early as 4,000 years prior to present times. In addition to the architectural documentation of house traditions, the author also investigated the processes of house transformation and change in the 70 years since Wauchope’s original survey. The rapid rate of built environment transformation in both Guatemala and Mexico over those intervening years underscores the importance of recording these cultural traditions before they pass. In contemporary times the few remaining chozas or casas de paja stand as historical reminders to a time past but not forgotten and embody traditional knowledge related to cultural beliefs and behaviours, which are intimately linked to the land, materials and climate of the region. Chapter 1 of the dissertation introduces the study region and establishes the primary aims and objectives of the research. Chapters 2 and 3 present the theoretical background and methodological approach governing the research project while Chapter 4 gives an historical overview of Maya house traditions. Chapters 5 and 6 are devoted to the ethnographic findings of the regional survey and Chapter 7 discusses Maya house change in the years since Wauchope’s 1930s investigation. Chapter 8 details the contribution which the ethnographic investigation makes to Euromerican architectural theory in relation to non-Euromerican material and cultural histories in contributing to a world cross-cultural architectural canon and scholarship. In coming to a greater understanding of a past (pre-Columbian) and present (Maya casas de paja) subject, the thesis calls for an understanding, appreciation and acceptance of non-Euromerican architectural forms by Euromerican academics and practitioners in moving toward a greater acceptance of a diversity of human needs in the creation of social, cultural and built environments. The overall significance of this thesis lies in the position that the sustainability of lifestyle practices, and allocation of wisdom, skills, and the fulfilment of human needs, as embodied in building ‘traditions’, are of major relevance to current and future generations.