Journal articles: 'Pre-Columbian artefacts'

1

Gassmann, Guntram, Sabine Klein, Andreas Schäfer, Elias Welk, and Katrin Wester. "Investigating Pre-Columbian Gold and Copper in Costa Rica – Ores, Mines and Artefact Production." METALLA 27, no. 2 (January 22, 2024): 149–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.149-166.

Full text

Abstract:

The wealth of pre-Columbian gold, copper and guanín (an alloy consisting mainly of gold and copper; also tumbaga) artwork of Costa Rica suggests that exploitation of its abundant ore deposits goes back way before the Spanish conquest. The name of Costa Rica itself in fact alludes to the large numbers of golden metal objects worn by the indigenous peoples upon arrival of the conquistadors. Up to now, however, very little is known about pre-Columbian mining in the country or the raw material provenance of these artefacts.In a transdisciplinary project, we aim to reconstruct the metallurgical process chain by combining (mining) archaeological research with geochemical analysis of local ores and metal artefacts using a combination of different techniques. We identified four major gold and copper districts with different mineralisation types, which are the focus of our fieldwork-based research. They are surveyed for potential signs of pre-Columbian metal production and sampled for ores and their processing remains. On the other side of the process chain, we focus on the metal artefacts in museum collections. They are systematically registered in a database, which serves as a basis to identify correlations with the geochemical signatures of the artefacts, and to retrace potential links to possible areas of origin or different workshops. Once the necessary basic data have been collected, we will focus on economic and socio-cultural aspects of metal production and circulation. The results from Costa Rica will be put into perspective of New World early metallurgy and can provide a starting point for future research between Mesoamerica and the Isthmo-Colombian region.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

2

GÄNGER, STEFANIE. "DISJUNCTIVE CIRCLES: MODERN INTELLECTUAL CULTURE IN CUZCO AND THE JOURNEYS OF INCAN ANTIQUITIES, C.1877–1921." Modern Intellectual History 10, no. 2 (July 11, 2013): 399–414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1479244313000073.

Full text

Abstract:

This essay explores the journeys of Andean pre-Columbian antiquities across the Americas and the Atlantic during the late nineteenth century along the veins of intellectual networks, between Andean communities and European, North American and Creole collectors and museums. Centred on the studies and collection of José Lucas Caparó Muñíz, the essay focuses on the Creole and European practice of lifting pre-Columbian objects preserved or “still” in use in Andean communities out of their context and taking them to European and Creole private and public collections. Intellectual history has long paid scant attention to the many voices that its authors silenced, disfigured and suppressed. By looking at the journeys of Andean artefacts—at their owners, their brokers and their losers—this erssay traces the systemic hierarchies and the chasms of an expanding modern intellectual culture.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

3

Lazzari, Marisa. "Stones to Build a World: Circulation and Value of Materials in Pre-Columbian Northwestern Argentina." Cambridge Archaeological Journal 26, no. 1 (May 12, 2015): 1–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959774315000074.

Full text

Abstract:

This article presents a contextual analysis of stone materials from northwestern Argentina, produced at a time when sedentary life was unfolding throughout the region. It examines the circulation and use practices of everyday obsidian tools, as well as the technical and semantic relationships they established within the wider field of materials and artefacts that characterized the period. Arguing for a sensitive approach to the classificatory logic of past societies, it is proposed here that a particular hierarchy of stone artefacts of regional significance emerged during this period. After discussing anthropological value perspectives and their relevance to Andean archaeology, the article explores Andean conceptualizations of stone that can provide a culturally specific framework for understanding ancient stone materials. The final sections examine the technical and contextual practices involving with domestic stone tools, as well as how these were embedded in a wider landscape of physical and semantic relationships. It is hoped that this article will contribute to ongoing discussions on non-Western models of value and their relevance for understanding social interaction and complexity, both in the south-central Andes and beyond.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

4

Periferakis, Argyrios. "A Review of Obsidian Source Exploitation in pre-Columbian South America." Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece 55, no. 1 (October 15, 2019): 65. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.20997.

Full text

Abstract:

The focus of this paper is the obsidian quarries of the Pacific coast of pre-Columbian South America, which were exploited by the indigenous populations since ca. 11000 BC. The importance of obsidian in geoarchaeology and palaeoanthropology has already been demonstrated in sites from all around the world. In this paper, the presence of obsidian in correlation to tectonic activity and volcanism of South America is presented, along with the main sources in their regional geological context. Obsidian artefacts were the mainstay of everyday life of indigenous populations and obsidian was also used in manufacturing weapons. Despite advances in metallurgy, which were comparable with those of contemporary European states, obsidian was never supplanted by metal implements and weapons, until the Spanish conquest. Obsidian is as useful today, as it was to these civilisations, albeit in the different role, of discerning interactions between local societies, elucidating aspects of everyday life, and tracing palaeomobility and trade networks.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

5

Ammari, Faten, Nino Del-Solar-Velarde, Rémy Chapoulie, and Bruno Bousquet. "Chemometrics applied to cathodoluminescence images: a new approach to classify pre-Columbian artefacts from northern Peru." Environmental Science and Pollution Research 24, no. 3 (November 12, 2016): 2205–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7992-3.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

6

COOPER, J., and K. D. THOMAS. "CONSTRUCTING CARIBBEAN CHRONOLOGIES: COMPARATIVE RADIOCARBON DATING OF SHELL AND WOOD ARTEFACTS FROM PRE-COLUMBIAN SITES IN CUBA." Archaeometry 54, no. 2 (July 22, 2011): 401–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00622.x.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

7

Vieri, Jasmine, María Alicia Uribe-Villegas, and Marcos Martinón-Torres. "Of forming, gilding and intentionality in pre-Columbian goldwork: Analytical characterisation of artefacts from the Museo del Oro, Bogotá." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 34 (December 2020): 102626. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102626.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

8

Thuillard, Marc. "Analysis of the Worldwide Distribution of the ‘Man or Animal in the Moon’ Motifs." Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore 84 (December 2021): 127–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/fejf2021.84.thuillard.

Full text

Abstract:

For millennia, people have seen a man, an animal, or an object as they look at the moon. The motif of the ‘frog/toad in the Moon’ was recorded in writing in the Book of Changes (I Ching) over 2400 years ago. The ‘man in the Moon’ theme is found in old Norse literature in the Younger Edda. In Mesoamerica, the story of the ‘rabbit in the Moon’ is pre-Columbian. This study analyses the different versions by combining areal studies as well as structural and statistical analyses with information from ancient texts and archaeological artefacts. In particular, I compare the geographic distribution of the main motifs to the 2,278 motifs in Yuri Berezkin’s database. In this context, I report on the observed similarities between the geographic distribution of the ‘man or animal in the Moon’ motifs and the two of the most widespread earth creation myths.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

9

Maldonado, Blanca, Thilo Rehren, Ernst Pernicka, Lautaro Núñez, and Alexander Leibbrandt. "Early copper metallurgy in Northern Chile." Open Journal of Archaeometry 1, no. 1 (December 31, 2013): 26. http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/arc.2013.e26.

Full text

Abstract:

The Central Andean region of South America has a long tradition of mining and metallurgy. Such activities were fundamental to the economic, socio-political and ideological dynamics of the pre-Columbian cultures that inhabited this area. In spite of their importance, few archaeological investigations of metallurgy have been carried out in the Central Andes in general, and in current Chilean territory in particular. The present project investigates archaeometallurgical sites in northern Chile using scientific analysis, as a first step towards a large-scale map of prehistoric copper production and exchange across South America. This research involves documentation and sampling of already excavated archaeological materials from a number of copper-producing sites located in the Atacama District. Preliminary results of XRF analysis of artefacts from the collection of the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, San Pedro de Atacama, have been obtained and enabled us to characterise the different elements present in the metal objects. These results might provide information on the nature of the raw materials used.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

10

de Ágredos-Pascual, María Luisa Vázquez, Clodoaldo Roldán-García, Sonia Murcia-Mascarós, David Juanes Barber, María Gertrudis Jaén Sánchez, Brigitte Faugère, and Véronique Darras. "Multianalytical characterization of pigments from funerary artefacts belongs to the Chupicuaro Culture (Western Mexico): Oldest Maya blue and cinnabar identified in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica." Microchemical Journal 150 (November 2019): 104101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2019.104101.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

11

Źrałka, Jarosław, Christophe Helmke, Bernard Hermes, Wiesław Koszkul, Carmen Ting, Ronald Bishop, and Dorota Bojkowska. "POLITICAL ALLIANCES AND TRADE CONNECTIONS OBSERVED IN THE CERAMIC RECORD OF THE CLASSIC PERIOD: THE PERSPECTIVE FROM THE MAYA SITE OF NAKUM, GUATEMALA." Ancient Mesoamerica 31, no. 3 (2020): 461–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536120000152.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractRecent research carried out at the Maya site of Nakum, located in northeastern Guatemala, has brought about the discovery of a large collection of ceramic artefacts. This substantial assemblage, apart from monochrome ceramics, includes fragments of polychrome vessels that are decorated with elaborate iconographic scenes and painted hieroglyphic texts. Most of them date to the Late Classic period (ca. a.d. 600–800), which represents the peak of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. The style of these ceramics, their iconography and accompanying glyphic texts, supplemented in many cases by mineralogical and physicochemical analyses of the ceramic samples, indicate that Nakum was part of a broad and complex network of political and economic interactions between various sites and polities of the southern Maya lowlands in the Classic period. During the first part of the Late Classic period, Nakum seems to maintain close relations with Naranjo, probably serving as its vassal at least from the reign of its renowned king Aj Wosal. After the victory of Tikal over Naranjo in the first part of the eighth century, Nakum shows closer cultural and political connections with Tikal. Nevertheless, towards the end of the Classic era, when we observe the profound collapse of lowland Maya civilization, Nakum elites gain political independence from their former overlords.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

12

Cesareo, R., A. Bustamante, J. Fabian, C. Calza, M. Dos Anjos, R. T. Lopes, W. Alva, et al. "Portable equipment for a non-destructive analysis of pre-Columbian metal artefacts from the Royal Tombs of Sipán by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry." X-Ray Spectrometry 40, no. 1 (January 2011): 37–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/xrs.1289.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

13

Kaal, Joeri, María Martín Seijo, César Oliveira, Ewa Wagner-Wysiecka, Victoria E. McCoy, Mónica M. Solórzano Kraemer, Alexander Kerner, Philip Wenig, Carlos Mayo, and Julia Mayo. "Golden artefacts, resin figurines, body adhesives and tomb sediments from the pre-Columbian burial site El Caño (Gran Coclé, Panamá): Tracing organic contents using molecular archaeometry." Journal of Archaeological Science 113 (January 2020): 105045. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.105045.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

14

Sánchez P., Maureen, Sally P. Horn, and Chad Steven Lane. "Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of surface food residues in pre-Columbian ceramics from the southern Pacific of Costa Rica as evidence of prehistoric human diets." UNED Research Journal 11, no. 2 (February 26, 2019): 89–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.22458/urj.v11i2.2121.

Full text

Abstract:

Introduction: to understand and interpret the consumption of plants and animals by humans in the past requires the investigation of different lines of evidence. Identifiable macroscopic remains of plants and animals, for example seeds and bones, are frequently found at archaeological sites and provide key data on food resources. Their analysis is complemented by the study of pollen grains or phytoliths of cultivated plants within archaeological horizons or in sediment cores recovered from lakes and wetlands near archaeological sites. Another important source of information on human diets in the past consists of food residues preserved in or on artefacts excavated from archaeological sites. Objective: to examine food residues in archaeological pottery from coastal and interior sites in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. Methods: we focus on isotopic analysis of carbonized food residues preserved on the inner surfaces of ceramic pots, plates, and other ceramic pieces from archaeological excavations in the intermediate zone (elevations 500-1500m) and coastal zone of the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. Isotopic analysis of surface food residues on pottery relies on the fact that stable isotopes of carbon (12C and 13C) and nitrogen (14N and 15N) in foods differ based on the photosynthetic pathway of plants and on trophic level. Results: in our analysis of material from twelve sites we found evidence of diets with high amounts of C4 plants (likely maize), legumes, herbivores, and mixtures, but we did not find robust evidence of food residues with isotopic signatures characteristic of reef animals and mollusks, even though some sites are shell mounds. Conclusion: our research represents one of the first studies of surface food residues from Costa Rican pottery, and indicates the potential for studies of this type to strengthen understanding of indigenous subsistence patterns through time and across Costa Rican archaeological regions.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

15

Loyola, Rodrigo, Francisco Rivera, Patricio de Souza, Carlos Carrasco, Lautaro Núñez, Michael D. Glascock, Constanza Arecheta, et al. "Hunting and feasting in the pre-Columbian Andes: Exploring the nature and scale of early ceremonial aggregations in Tulan Ravine (5300 to 2400 yr cal. BP) through the circulation of obsidian artefacts." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 64 (December 2021): 101360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101360.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

16

O’Connell, Mark Joseph. "Traditional weaving cultures in a global market: The case of Zapotec weavers." International Journal of Fashion Studies 8, no. 1 (April 1, 2021): 85–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/infs_00038_1.

Full text

Abstract:

Carpets woven in Mexico today use design elements found at historical sites in the vicinity of their manufacture, and local Indigenous weaving techniques function within an unbroken line of traditional familial wisdom. The weaving culture of the Zapotec Nation of Oaxaca now exists at the juncture of multivalent competing visual, economic and cultural mediators, which makes for a compelling case study to examine the impacts of globalization, as well as the preservation of creative and cultural autonomy. This article describes site visits to Zapotec weaving ateliers, and also examines the history of Zapotec weaving traditions, and contemporary community engagement within these (now globalized) processes. The methodology employed is an object-based exploration of a Zapotec weaving. Fieldwork was conducted in the winter of 2019. It included an ethnographic observation of master Zapotec weavers within their ateliers; an observation of the original design inspirations at pre-Columbian architectural sites; artefact observation at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca; as well as practice-led natural dye research. Textile weaving is a natural site for the study of political agency and ‘cultural citizenship’, as it functions within a structure that safeguards traditional knowledge, as well as collectivizes local labourers within production flows.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

17

Carvajal Contreras, Diana Rocio. "LA PESCA Y LA RECOLECCIÓN DE MOLUSCOS EN LA COSTA DEL CARIBE COLOMBIANO: ALGUNOS COMENTARIOS CON BASE A INFORMACIÓN ETNOHISTÓRICA Y LA ARQUEOFAUNA DE CUATRO SITIOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS." Cadernos do LEPAARQ (UFPEL) 16, no. 32 (December 15, 2019): 76. http://dx.doi.org/10.15210/lepaarq.v16i32.16472.

Full text

Abstract:

Resumen: Este artículo revisa como la pesca y recolección de moluscos en tiempos precolombinos han contribuido a la subsistencia de las poblaciones del Caribe colombiano. A través de datos etnohistóricos, ambientales y arqueológicos sobre el uso de los recursos acuáticos se sugiere que las poblaciones humanas se han adaptado a distintos ambientes. Los recursos se obtenían en ambientes cercanos a la costa como manglares, fangos arenosos, playas arenosas de aguas turbias, aguas salobres y ciénagas. No se registran artefactos asociados a la pesca o recolección de moluscos. Por consiguiente, el uso de arqueofaunas junto con el mejoramiento de las colecciones de referencia permiten una mejor aproximación a las condiciones ambientales, climáticas y al estudio de la cultura de los grupos humanos que habitaron el Caribe colombiano desde hace 5000 años. Abstract: This article reviews existing information on the fishing and harvesting of molluscs in Pre-Columbian times in four sites on the Colombian Caribbean. Through ethnohistorical and archaeological data on the use of aquatic resources, it is suggested that human populations have adapted to different environments. The resources were obtained in environments near the coast such as mangroves, sandy mud, and sandy beaches of murky waters, brackish water and marshes. There are no artifacts associated with fishing or shellfish collection. Therefore, the use of archeofaunas together with the improvement of reference collections allow a better approximation to the environmental and climatic conditions and to the study of the culture of the human groups that inhabited the Colombian Caribe for 5000 years. Resumo: Este artigo revisões informações existentes sobre a pesca e a colheita de moluscos em épocas pré-colombianos em quatro locais no Caribe colombiano. Através de dados etno-históricos e arqueológicos sobre o uso de recursos aquáticos, sugere-se que as populações humanas se adaptaram a diferentes ambientes. Os recursos foram obtidos em ambientes próximos ao litoral, como manguezais, lama arenosa, praias arenosas com águas turvas, águas salobras e brejos. Não há artefatos associados à pesca ou coleta de moluscos. Portanto, o uso da arqueofauna aliado à melhoria das coleções de referência permite uma melhor aproximação às condições ambientais e climáticas e ao estudo da cultura dos grupos humanos que habitaram o Caribe colombiano por 5000 anos.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

18

Silva, Lucas C. R., Rodrigo Studart Corrêa, Jamie L. Wright, Barbara Bomfim, Lauren Hendricks, Daniel G. Gavin, Aleksander Westphal Muniz, et al. "A new hypothesis for the origin of Amazonian Dark Earths." Nature Communications 12, no. 1 (January 4, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20184-2.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractAmazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are unusually fertile soils characterised by elevated concentrations of microscopic charcoal particles, which confer their distinctive colouration. Frequent occurrences of pre-Columbian artefacts at ADE sites led to their ubiquitous classification as Anthrosols (soils of anthropic origin). However, it remains unclear how indigenous peoples created areas of high fertility in one of the most nutrient-impoverished environments on Earth. Here, we report new data from a well-studied ADE site in the Brazilian Amazon, which compel us to reconsider its anthropic origin. The amounts of phosphorus and calcium—two of the least abundant macronutrients in the region—are orders of magnitude higher in ADE profiles than in the surrounding soil. The elevated levels of phosphorus and calcium, which are often interpreted as evidence of human activity at other sites, correlate spatially with trace elements that indicate exogenous mineral sources rather than in situ deposition. Stable isotope ratios of neodymium, strontium, and radiocarbon activity of microcharcoal particles also indicate exogenous inputs from alluvial deposition of carbon and mineral elements to ADE profiles, beginning several thousands of years before the earliest evidence of soil management for plant cultivation in the region. Our data suggest that indigenous peoples harnessed natural processes of landscape formation, which led to the unique properties of ADEs, but were not responsible for their genesis. If corroborated elsewhere, this hypothesis would transform our understanding of human influence in Amazonia, opening new frontiers for the sustainable use of tropical landscapes going forward.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

19

Bentivenga, Emiliano, and Julieta Lynch. "Obsidian Lithic Technology, Chaîne Opératoire and Symbolic Meaning in the Northern Hualfín Valley (Northwest Argentina) during Late - Inka Period." Journal of Lithic Studies 10, no. 2 (May 18, 2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.2218/jls.7240.

Full text

Abstract:

The main objective of this research is to analyse the lithic technology applied to obsidian, a raw material popular amongst pre-Columbian populations from Northwestern Argentina (NWA) because of its social and symbolic value. The analysed assemblage comes from the archaeological site of Villavil 2 (VV2), located in the Hualfín Valley (Catamarca, Argentina) and distant ca. 100 - 200 kms from the nearest sources of this raw material. VV2 was discovered in 2015 by one of the authors and shows a particular presence of rock art which had not previously been registered in this area. The site was associated to the Late and Inka Period (ca. 10th - 16th centuries CE). So far, we suggest that this was a place of temporal, but periodical use that best fits with what we would call a ceremonial space. The assemblage comprises the totality of obsidian elements collected from both superficial and stratigraphic contexts. It was divided into three typological classes: tools (projectile points), flakes with natural sharp edges (FNSE) and waste products (WP). We did not identify the presence of cores. The analysis considered the following variables: knapping methods and techniques, size, amount of cortex, flake type and edge types. At VV2, points are the only retouched tools made of obsidian. They correspond to the triangular unstemmed concave-based type, very common during the Late-Inka Periods, and they were shaped using the perimetral bifacial pressure technique, possibly from flake blanks. FNSEs’ size is small, and they present scarce cortex. On the other hand, the abundance of very small-sized WPs is remarkable. They were found in the same stratigraphic context and attest a complete finish of the points (edge retouch). The results let us infer that the point-shaping tasks were carried out in situ. Moreover, the implemented technology involved both major production efforts and skills, that contrast with those involved in local raw material knapping. It is possible that this curated strategy was not related to the difficulty of accessing this allochthonous material. Instead, these choices could reflect social and symbolic meanings. According to linguistic and ethnohistoric information, the obsidian brightness and transparency are propitiatory to win the favour of the w'akas. Furthermore, in NWA the obsidian long-distance exchange is an ancient pre-Columbian tradition that lasted for a long time. Obtaining obsidian could display the ability of a social group to access distant resources and legitimize their political status. Nevertheless, we cannot forget that this raw material also was very important for making different artefacts for subsistence activities.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

20

Del-Solar-Velarde, Nino, Stan Kinis, Rémy Chapoulie, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, and Luis Jaime Castillo. "Characterization of pre-Columbian artefacts in situ through handheld portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry: the case of ceramics from the Mochica site of San José de Moro (Peru)." Heritage Science 4, no. 1 (November 17, 2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40494-016-0109-y.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

Journal articles on the topic 'Pre-Columbian artefacts'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles