Digital Imaging and Archaeometric Analysis of the Cascajal Block: Establishing Context and Authenticity for the Earliest Known Olmec Text (original) (raw)
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This study investigates worldview and ideology during the late Terminal Formative period (A.D. 100 -250) in the lower Río Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, through an analysis of iconography found on grayware ceramic serving vessels. The sample includes 457 vessels and sherds from 17 lower Verde sites obtained through excavations and surface collections between 1988 and 2009. Drawing upon theories of semiotics and style, this thesis identifies a suite of icons suggesting that ceramics were a medium for expressing regionally shared beliefs. Chatino potters carved common Formative period Mesoamerican themes into the walls of graywares, such as depictions of maize and climatic phenomena, which may have been part of a religious worldview rooted in the belief that humans and non-human deities shared a reciprocal relationship. People at Río Viejo, including elites, may have attempted to exploit this relationship, thought of as a -sacred covenant‖ or agreement between humans and deities, to create a more centralized political entity during the late Terminal Formative Chacahua phase. By using iconographic graywares in socially and politically significant ritual activities such as feasting and caching events, elites imbued graywares with a powerful essence that would have facilitated the spread of the coded messages they carried. Based on statistical analyses of the diversity of iconographic assemblages from various sites, I argue that the assemblage of icons at Río Viejo, a late Terminal Formative political center in the lower Verde, indicates ideas likely originated at or flowed through this site. iv For Steve v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the support of several institutions and wise, caring individuals. First, I would like to thank my tremendous committee members, all of whom provided meaningful constructive criticism and endless encouragement throughout the writing process. Stacy Barber-my advisor and committee chair-has had the greatest impact on my development as an archaeologist, writer, and scholar. She was the first to compel me to -see the light‖ and embrace the exciting world of Oaxacan archaeology, and I cannot thank her enough for doing so. Her tireless guidance has made me a better archaeologist in the field and molded my perspective as a scholar, and, above all, I deeply value her friendship. Arlen Chase was often the voice of reason in my ear as I developed my ideas, bringing this work back down to Earth when my own lofty expectations threatened to carry it away. His unrivaled knowledge of Mesoamerican archaeology, as well as his expertise as a ceramicist, has made this thesis infinitely better. Last, but certainly not least, John Walker provided valuable advice from a perspective rooted outside the geographic confines of Mesoamerica. His helpful assistance
Writing, Images, and Time-Space in Aztec Monuments and Books
Navarrete Linares, Federico, “Writing, Images, and Time-Space in Aztec Monuments and Books”, en Their Way of Writing: Scripts, Signs and Pictographies in Pre-Columbian America, E. Boone & G. Urton, eds., Cambridge, Dumbarton Oaks- Harvard University Press, 2011, pp. 175-196.
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Re-analysis of older, scientifically excavated collections using new methods offers a unique opportunity to extend the merits of past archaeological research. This study evaluates the potential for future research of the 1964 La Venta collection excavated by Robert J. Squier and curated by the Biodiversity Institute of the University of Kansas. It focuses on materials from Pit C-1964, one of four units, comprising over 7,500 ceramic and lithic artifacts including obsidian and ground stone. The four principal objectives were: 1) evaluating theoretical characterizations of Olmec culture, including identification the Olmec as the earliest and most influential complex society in Mesoamerica, 2) analyzing different categories of materials to answer specific research questions pertaining to each, 3) addressing the current state of Olmec archaeology and issues associated with collection preservation and management, and 4) making recommendations for future researchers. Methodologies included: 1) sourcing of obsidian artifacts, 2) radiocarbon dating, 3) organic residue analysis, and 4) sourcing of bitumen. This approach has resulted in new information with valuable implications for understanding Olmec culture. iv Acknowledgements I would like to first thank John Hoopes, my committee chair and advisor, for his guidance, advice and support during my career as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Kansas. I also thank Mary Adair and Sandra Olsen, my committee members, for their insight, guidance, and trust in me for the handling and care of the 1964 La Venta collection in the University of Kansas Archaeological Research Center. I would also like to thank Dr. Rebecca González Lauck and Dr. Mark Raab for their advice and guidance before traveling to Mexico, and their insight on proper procedures for archaeological research in a foreign country. I would also like to thank my family, friends and fellow graduate students who offered support and guidance as I progressed through my own research. This research was made possible through a grant provided by the Tinker Research Foundation, an award granted by the Carroll D. Clark Committee,
Diphrastic Kennings on the Cascajal Block and the Emergence of Mesoamerican Writing
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2015
This article examines a potential ‘throne–mat’ kenning in the Middle Formative period Olmec writing on the Cascajal Block, an incised serpentine slab dated to c. 900 bc. It is suggested that signs on the Cascajal Block are divorced from the Formative period representational canons in which they are usually contextualized. The organization of signs on the Cascajal Block thus de-emphasizes the connection between a depicted object and its iconographic frame of reference. Instead, the signs are recontextualized within a linguistic framework wherein they leverage their iconicity to denote a word, rather than functioning primarily as an iconographic element within a pictorial composition. It is argued that the throne–mat kenning explored here is one instance of such abstraction from ‘normative’ iconographic contexts and therefore offers potentially significant insights into the origin and development of writing in Mesoamerica.
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STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research
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