Joshua Kwoka | Georgia State University (original) (raw)
Journal Articles and Book Chapters by Joshua Kwoka
Latin American Antiquity, 2019
The following report provides new data on a Sun Pyramid cache excavated by René Millon in 1959, i... more The following report provides new data on a Sun Pyramid cache excavated by René Millon in 1959, including confirmation that the cache was associated with a substructure. A technological analysis illustrates the anthropomorphic eccentric production sequence, and indicates that the miniature projectile points were produced from debitage from multiple reduction technologies. All obsidian artifacts were attributed to the Otumba source area via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). In addition to providing data on the production of obsidian implements for ritual deposits, we suggest that the cache may be a representation of scaffold sacrifice.
El siguiente informe proporciona nuevos datos sobre un escondite hallado en la Pirámide del Sol en una excavación realizada por René Millon en 1959. Se incluye la confirmación de que dicho escondite estaba asociado con una subestructura. El análisis tecnológico ilustra la secuencia de producción de un excéntrico antropomorfo e indica que las puntas de proyectil en miniatura se produjeron a partir de los desechos resultantes de múltiples tecnologías de reducción. Todos los artefactos de obsidiana se atribuyeron a la zona de origen de Otumba a través de fluorescencia de rayos X por energía dispersiva (EDXRF, por sus siglas en inglés). Además de proporcionar datos sobre la producción de herramientas de obsidiana para depósitos rituales, se sugiere que el escondite podría ser una representación de un sacrificio en cadalso. Palabras clave: Teotihuacan, Pirámide del Sol, simbolismo de la obsidian, EDXRF
Iroquoian speakers played the hoop and pole game, but there are no historic descriptions of Iroqu... more Iroquoian speakers played the hoop and pole game, but there are no historic descriptions of Iroquoians playing chunkey, a variant of hoop and pole in which a rolled stone disk is used instead of a hoop. Also, no distinctively shaped Cahokia style chunkey stones have been found on Iroquoian sites. This has led to the belief that chunkey was not played by Iroquoians. However, a symmetrical stone disk that rolled well across a carpeted surface was recovered from the Eaton site, a mid-sixteenth century Erie village. Other researchers provided examples of symmetrical stone disks from Neutral, Erie, Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, and Susquehannock sites. These specimens generally resemble the Bradley variant of chunkey stones from the Midwest. We argue that these Iroquoian stone disks were used to play chunkey. In addition to describing the physical characteristics of the specimens, we discuss possible symbolism and functions of the game among Iroquoians and likely reasons for its disappearance.
Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 2018
Northeast Anthropology, 2009
Eaton is a multicomponent site located in western New York. The major component consists of an Ir... more Eaton is a multicomponent site located in western New York. The major component consists of an Iroquoian village dating to the mid-sixteenth century. There is a high ratio of expedient lithic tools to debitage in the area of the palisade. We explore possible explanations for this distribution and discuss the implications for the construction and maintenance of a palisade.
Mexicon, 2016
Despite the expanding scope and increasing frequency of studies of Mesoamerican metallurgy, signi... more Despite the expanding scope and increasing frequency of studies of Mesoamerican metallurgy, significant gaps in knowledge remain. This article examines the consumption and discard practices of west Mexican metal objects within the Teotihuacan Valley. In 1957, René Millon recovered a metal needle from a small Late Aztec (A.D. 1350 – 1520) irrigation canal located in the lower Teotihuacan Valley. The author has identified the needle as belonging to Period 2 of the west Mexican tradition (ca. A.D. 1100 – conquest). This singular find contributes to our understanding of the distribution of west Mexican metal artifacts, Aztec-Tarascan mechanisms of exchange, and Aztec commoner access to west Mexican goods.
Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 2018
The following paper presents data from the excavation and analysis of materials from the Griswold... more The following paper presents data from the excavation and analysis of materials from the Griswold site (36Er62). a transitional late Middle Woodland-early Late Woodland site located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania. Multiple projects were conducted at the site prior to its destruction around 2011, though the content below primarily concerns excavations by William Engelbrecht and Edinboro University in the early 1970s. Using multiple lines of evidence, the authors present settlement and subsistence models for Griswold while also integrating the data into a broader discussion of the Middle to Late Woodland transition in the Northeast. Detailed ceramic and lithic analyses are presented. In doing so, the authors highlight issues associated with the temporal resolution of formal ceramic and lithic types. Additional contributions of this paper are the presentation of novel interpretations of the function of Jack's Reef projectile points and the relationship between ceramic bossing and gripability.
Dissertation by Joshua Kwoka
Latin American Antiquity, 2019
The following report provides new data on a Sun Pyramid cache excavated by René Millon in 1959, i... more The following report provides new data on a Sun Pyramid cache excavated by René Millon in 1959, including confirmation that the cache was associated with a substructure. A technological analysis illustrates the anthropomorphic eccentric production sequence, and indicates that the miniature projectile points were produced from debitage from multiple reduction technologies. All obsidian artifacts were attributed to the Otumba source area via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). In addition to providing data on the production of obsidian implements for ritual deposits, we suggest that the cache may be a representation of scaffold sacrifice.
El siguiente informe proporciona nuevos datos sobre un escondite hallado en la Pirámide del Sol en una excavación realizada por René Millon en 1959. Se incluye la confirmación de que dicho escondite estaba asociado con una subestructura. El análisis tecnológico ilustra la secuencia de producción de un excéntrico antropomorfo e indica que las puntas de proyectil en miniatura se produjeron a partir de los desechos resultantes de múltiples tecnologías de reducción. Todos los artefactos de obsidiana se atribuyeron a la zona de origen de Otumba a través de fluorescencia de rayos X por energía dispersiva (EDXRF, por sus siglas en inglés). Además de proporcionar datos sobre la producción de herramientas de obsidiana para depósitos rituales, se sugiere que el escondite podría ser una representación de un sacrificio en cadalso. Palabras clave: Teotihuacan, Pirámide del Sol, simbolismo de la obsidian, EDXRF
Iroquoian speakers played the hoop and pole game, but there are no historic descriptions of Iroqu... more Iroquoian speakers played the hoop and pole game, but there are no historic descriptions of Iroquoians playing chunkey, a variant of hoop and pole in which a rolled stone disk is used instead of a hoop. Also, no distinctively shaped Cahokia style chunkey stones have been found on Iroquoian sites. This has led to the belief that chunkey was not played by Iroquoians. However, a symmetrical stone disk that rolled well across a carpeted surface was recovered from the Eaton site, a mid-sixteenth century Erie village. Other researchers provided examples of symmetrical stone disks from Neutral, Erie, Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, and Susquehannock sites. These specimens generally resemble the Bradley variant of chunkey stones from the Midwest. We argue that these Iroquoian stone disks were used to play chunkey. In addition to describing the physical characteristics of the specimens, we discuss possible symbolism and functions of the game among Iroquoians and likely reasons for its disappearance.
Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 2018
Northeast Anthropology, 2009
Eaton is a multicomponent site located in western New York. The major component consists of an Ir... more Eaton is a multicomponent site located in western New York. The major component consists of an Iroquoian village dating to the mid-sixteenth century. There is a high ratio of expedient lithic tools to debitage in the area of the palisade. We explore possible explanations for this distribution and discuss the implications for the construction and maintenance of a palisade.
Mexicon, 2016
Despite the expanding scope and increasing frequency of studies of Mesoamerican metallurgy, signi... more Despite the expanding scope and increasing frequency of studies of Mesoamerican metallurgy, significant gaps in knowledge remain. This article examines the consumption and discard practices of west Mexican metal objects within the Teotihuacan Valley. In 1957, René Millon recovered a metal needle from a small Late Aztec (A.D. 1350 – 1520) irrigation canal located in the lower Teotihuacan Valley. The author has identified the needle as belonging to Period 2 of the west Mexican tradition (ca. A.D. 1100 – conquest). This singular find contributes to our understanding of the distribution of west Mexican metal artifacts, Aztec-Tarascan mechanisms of exchange, and Aztec commoner access to west Mexican goods.
Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 2018
The following paper presents data from the excavation and analysis of materials from the Griswold... more The following paper presents data from the excavation and analysis of materials from the Griswold site (36Er62). a transitional late Middle Woodland-early Late Woodland site located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania. Multiple projects were conducted at the site prior to its destruction around 2011, though the content below primarily concerns excavations by William Engelbrecht and Edinboro University in the early 1970s. Using multiple lines of evidence, the authors present settlement and subsistence models for Griswold while also integrating the data into a broader discussion of the Middle to Late Woodland transition in the Northeast. Detailed ceramic and lithic analyses are presented. In doing so, the authors highlight issues associated with the temporal resolution of formal ceramic and lithic types. Additional contributions of this paper are the presentation of novel interpretations of the function of Jack's Reef projectile points and the relationship between ceramic bossing and gripability.