bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Underwater Archaeology, Salt Production, and Coastal Maya Trade at Stingray Lagoon, Belize
Authors: McKillop Heather
Published: April 2006

Ancient sources of salt have been revealed by underwater archaeology along the south coast of Belize. A relative rise in sea level of about 1 m at the end of the Classic period (ca. A. D. 900) submerged ancient Maya settlements and transformed the modern landscape by reducing the amount of available land and by changing the vegetation. The discovery of submerged archaeological sites and their dating by associated ceramics and radiocarbon date determination documents the sea level rise. Salt production by the salcocidaor boiling method at the underwater site of Stingray Lagoon and at other specialized salt production sites provided salt for coastal use and inland transport and diminished the need for long-distance import of this basic human requirement. This paper describes salt-making artifacts as well as salt production. The lack of animal bones at the Stingray Lagoon site where other organic material was preserved indicates that salt was not produced for salt-drying fish. Evidence that salt was obtained from the Belizean coast instead of from the northern Yucatán coast is in line with the view of ancient Maya economy in which basic subsistence resources were produced locally whereas long-distance trade was concentrated on elite or ceremonial resources and goods.
The Puquios of Nasca
Authors: Schreiber Katharina J. , Rojas Josué Lancho
Published: April 2006

The puquios of Nasca are a system of subterranean filtration galleries that provide water for irrigation and domestic uses in the middle portions of the Nasca, Taruga, and Las Trancas valleys of the Río Grande de Nasca drainage of the south coast of Peru. At present 36 puquios function in these three valleys; in the past their number may have exceeded 50. We discuss the formal characteristics and the construction of the puquios, and describe each of the extant puquios. The results of archaeological settlement surveys conducted in the three valleys indicate that the puquios did not yet exist in Early Nasca (Early Intermediate Period 2-4) times, but were almost certainly in use by the time of the Inka conquest of the region in the late fifteenth century. We suggest that the initial construction and use of the puquios may have occurred as early as Nasca 5 times, and probably not later than Late Nasca (Early Intermediate Period 6-7) times.
Domestic Life and Vertical Integration in the Tiwanaku Heartland
Authors: Bermann Marc
Published: April 2006

Recent research on the Tiwanaku state has documented the evolution of regional settlement patterns and agricultural systems, but little is known of changes at the subregional level outside the capital. Analysis of a sequence of domestic occupations excavated at Lukurmata, Bolivia, provides information on how individual households within the Tiwanaku core area were consolidated into the Tiwanaku polity. Changes in residential patterns and artifact assemblages suggest that Lukurmata households were initially connected to the Tiwanaku polity through exchange and religious ties. A new level of assimilation developed in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D. These changes, including agricultural intensification, illustrate the increasing integration of individual households into the Tiwanaku political economy and social order as the landscape developed. The nature and timing of these changes are consistent with current hypotheses of a transformation in Tiwanaku political and economic organization near the end of the Tiwanaku IV period (A.D. 400-800).
A Bibliography of Soviet Studies of the Ancient Cultures of Latin America
Authors: Bashilov V. A. , Gulyaev V. I.
Published: April 2006

The study in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the earliest history of native Latin Americans falls into two distinct periods. The first, associated with an interest in the ancient Mexican and Peruvian civilizations, can be divided into two stages: the 1920s to the early 1940s, when Soviet scholars first acquainted themselves with antiquities from the region and used them for historical parallels; and the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Soviet historians turned to an analysis of Latin American materials. The second period went through three stages: the first, from the early 1950s to the early 1960s, mainly was dominated by Yury Knorozov, who was engaged in deciphering the language of the Maya, and Rostislav Kinzhalov, who studied their art and culture. During the second stage, the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, more scholars and research institutions undertook studies of the early cultures of Latin America. The thematic range became wider as well, covering—besides Mesoamerica and the central Andean region—the Intermediate region and the Caribbean. The third stage, which started in the late 1970s and continues to the present day, witnesses ethnographers and archaeologists pooling their efforts in studying the region. There were several conferences in which specialists engaged in various fields of Latin American studies participated. Their contacts with foreign colleagues became wider; Soviet archaeologists and ethnologists took part in fieldwork in Latin America. The primary aims today are to introduce Soviet readers to archaeological materials from a number of cultural-historical regions (such as the southern fringes of Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the southern Andes, etc.), to detail Soviet studies of cultural complexes and historical processes in ancient America, and to compare them to the processes that took place in the Old World, with the aim of establishing shared historical “laws” and patterns.
La Pintura Occidental de Felino de Cerro Sechin: ¿Es Original o Falsa?
Authors: Bonavia Duccio
Published: April 2006

De las dos pinturas de un felino que adornan la entrada del edificio interior de Cerro Sechin, un sitio del período Inicial en la costa norte del Peru, la del lado oriental es auténtica, mientras que la del lado occidental se cree es una falsificación. Aunque un recien artículo y fotografía sugieren que el felino occidental fue repintado en 1971-1972 para mejorar la vista para el público, un estudio cuidadoso de la fotografía apoya la posición que el felino occidental es una obra moderna.
Spouted Vessels and Cacao Use among the Preclassic Maya
Authors: Powis Terry G. , Valdez Fred , Hester Thomas R. , Hurst W. Jeffrey , Tarka Stanley M.
Published: April 2006

Spouted vessels are diagnostic forms of Middle Preclassic (1000–400 B. C.) and Late Preclassic (400 B. C.-A. D. 250) Maya ceramic assemblages. Mayanists have traditionally called these vessels “chocolate pots,” but until recently there has been little direct evidence to support this interpretation. In fact, few studies have focused on the role these specialized forms played in the daily social and ritual activities of the ancient Maya. This paper provides a contextual and functional analysis of Preclassic spouted vessels found across the Maya lowlands and highlands. Additionally, the results of chemical analyses on residues collected from spouted vessels found in Middle and Late Preclassic burials at Colha, Belize are provided. Preliminary data reveal that some of the vessels from Colha contained substantial amounts of theobromine, a distinct marker for cacao or chocolate. The significance of the discovery of chocolate in Maya spouted vessels is discussed as well as its implications for the rest of Mesoamerica.
Genetic Evidence and the Origin of Maize
Authors: Bennetzen Jeff , Buckler Edward , Chandler Vicki , Doebley John , Dorweiler Jane , Gaut Brandon , Freeling Michael , Hake Sarah , Kellogg Elizabeth , Poethig R. Scott , Walbot Virginia , Wessler Susan
Published: April 2006

The origin of maize has been a topic of interest to both biologists and archaeologists. During the twentieth century, the view point that maize is a domesticated form of teosinte received convincing support from biological data and is now broadly accepted among biologists familiar with the issues and data. There is no support of any kind for an alternative view that maize is a hybrid of the grassesZea diploperennisandTripsacum.
A Comparative Evaluation of the Producer-Consumer Model for Lithic Exchange in Northern Belize, Central America
Authors: McSwain Rebecca
Published: April 2006

New lithic data from the early Maya site of Cuello in northern Belize provide a basis for examining a production-consumption model for intersite exchange of stone tools. Comparison of lithic evidence from Cuello, Pulltrouser Swamp, and Cerros, putative consumer communities, with evidence from Colhá, the production community, suggests that during the Late Preclassic two highly standardized formal tools were manufactured at Colhá and distributed to northern Belizean communities as a finished product. Those communities also obtained Colhá-like material in less-reduced form for local manufacture of other formal tools. The availability of a high-quality chert source in large nodules may have been an enabling factor in Late Preclassic regional developments, including agricultural intensification.
Obsidian Blades from La Blanca, a Changing Lithic Industry on the South Coast of Guatemala
Authors: Nance C. Roger , Kirk Katharine A.
Published: April 2006

In a study of Middle Preclassic (Conchas phase) ceramics from the site of La Blanca, Love (1989) derived a sequence of four subphases. Here, the focus is on 431 prismatic obsidian blades excavated from the same deposits in order to discern if patterns of change can be discovered in this lithic industry. For each blade, recorded attributes describe blade dimensions and edge wear, as observed through low-power microscopy. Chronological controls were set by ceramic associations. Through the sequence, blades became smaller and more fragmentary, due, we hypothesized, to an increasing scarcity of obsidian. As predicted from these trends, we found that wear patterns became more pronounced through time, and use of a bipolar technology became increasingly important for removing (rejuvenating) worn lateral edges. A definite obsidian-blade sequence emerged, which was investigated through linear discriminant-function analyses.
El Personaje del pie amputado en la cultura mochica del Peru: Un ensayo sobre la arqueologia del poder
Authors: Arsenault Daniel
Published: April 2006

El estudio de la iconografía escatológica producida por los mochicas de la costa norte del Perú prehispánico (ca. 50 A.C.-750 D.C.) coloca en evidencia la presencia de diversos personajes lisiados, y más precisamente figurantes masculinos con un pie o los dos pies faltantes. ¿Cuál fue el significado ideológico y político de este elemento simbólico y su importancia en la dinámica del poder mochica? En las escenas que ilustran el mundo de los vivos, estos lisiados forman parte de un grupo, que he llamado “los Intendentes,” puesto al servicio del dirigente mochica. En las escenas del mundo de los muertos, un lisiado de apariencia esquelética (“el Esqueleto con prótesis”) parece igualmente servir al dirigente fallecido. Poniendo en relación estas representaciones con descubrimientos arqueológicos pertinentes, un análisis contextual permite liberar una figura simbólica mayor de la imaginativa de los mochicas, metonimia del orden social y político, que he llamado el “Personaje del pie amputado.” Pareciera que esta figura pudo simbolizar, a la vez en la iconografía y a la ocasión de ciertas prácticas rituales y de sacrificio, la perennidad de la estructura de poder, especialmente a partir de la fase III y posteriormente. Este tipo de análisis contextual permite estudiar desde un nuevo ángulo los elementos constitutivos de la estructura de poder mochica y da nuevas perspectivas para la comprehensión de la dinámica del poder en las sociedades complejas.
A Cache of 48 Nasca Trophy Heads from Cerro Carapo, Peru
Authors: Browne David M. , Silverman Helaine , García Rubén
Published: April 2006

The recent discovery of a cache of 48 Nasca severed heads provides archaeologists with the largest-known associated and provenienced corpus of this material. Although recovery of the skulls was conducted as a salvage operation and the wider spatial context of the find is still unknown, preliminary physical anthropological analysis of the skeletal material, along with archaeological comparison of the cache, provide valuable information on the nature and role of head-hunting in ancient Nasca society of the south coast of Peru.
Worldview Materialized in Teotihuacan, Mexico
Authors: Sugiyama Saburo
Published: April 2006

Teotihuacán was probably laid out from its inception according to a master plan intended to express a specific worldview in material form. It is argued that a proposed measurement unit of 83 cm reveals mesoamerican calendrical numbers such as 52 (x 10), 73, 260, 584, and 819, when applied to city axes and major monuments. The channelized Río San Juan divides the central zone into two sections: the watery underworld to the south, especially represented at the Ciudadela, and to the north the earthly representation of the passage from the underworld to the heavens, where the Sun Pyramid at the center symbolizes a sacred time bundle in the 260-day ritual calendar. The sacrificial burial complex found at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid seems to have been a part of the city-foundation program, and the iconography of the pyramid apparently commemorated this dramatization of the creation of time and space.
Black-on-Orange Ceramic Production in the Aztec Empire's Heartland
Authors: Hodge Mary G. , Neff Hector , Blackman M. James , Minc Leah D.
Published: April 2006

Compositional and stylistic analyses of decorated ceramics have provided information about the regional organization of economic systems in the Aztec empire’s core zone, the Basin of Mexico. Late Aztec Black-on-orange ceramics (A. D. 1350–1520) are found at nearly all archaeological sites in the Basin of Mexico, but prior to this study their sources were not verified. This study has investigated whether Black-on-orange ceramics were produced in one or many areas in order to define in greater detail dependent communities’ economic relations with the Aztec empire’s capital. To identify production areas, paste compositions of 85 Late Aztec Black-on-orange ceramic samples were compared using neutron-activation analysis. The analysis distinguished three different production areas in the eastern and southern parts of the Basin of Mexico, indicating that Late Aztec Black-on-orange ceramics represent a style adopted by regional manufacturing centers, and are not products of a single center. Because a number of decorative motifs are exclusive to particular paste groups, the sources of some Black-on-orange vessels can now be identified visually.
House of the Sun: The Inka Temple of Vilcanota
Authors: Reinhard Johan
Published: April 2006

Although the ceremonial center of Vilcanota was called the third most important temple in the Inka empire in the sixteenth century, its exact location and meaning have remained matters of conjecture. In this article I examine historical and archaeological information which demonstrates that the temple was located at the pass of La Raya. Ecological and ethnographic data from the region support the conclusion that the temple was built at La Raya because of the area's association with sacred rivers and mountains which were in turn linked with fertility concepts, the birth of the sun, and an ecological/political boundary. Together these factors made the place of special significance in Inka religion.
A Late Archaic Period Burial from the South-Central Andean Coast
Authors: Wise Karen , Clark Niki R. , Williams Sloan R.
Published: April 2006

Recent excavations at the Late Archaic Period (ca. 3000-1000 B.C.) site of Kilometer 4 on the far south coast of Peru exposed a burial containing the remains of a 45-year-old male. The individual was buried with an unusual assemblage of artifacts that includes bone and shell implements and elaborate and distinctive cotton textiles, as well as a complex of paraphernalia of which some items were apparently associated with the use of hallucinogenic or other substances. Auditory exostoses indicate that the individual had engaged in maritime activities, including diving. Semi-flexed, single interment burials such as this are well known from the coast of northern Chile, but the use of cotton during the Archaic Period on the coast of the south-central Andes has not been well documented in the past.
An Initial Consideration of Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in Prehispanic Ecuador
Authors: Burger Richard L. , Asaro Frank , Michel Helen V. , Stross Fred H. , Salazar Ernesto
Published: April 2006

We have examined the role of long-distance trade in Prehispanic Ecuador using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron-activation analysis (NAA) of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological sites of El Inga, Chobshi Cave and Site OGSE-46 on the Santa Elena Peninsula. Results indicate that two geological sources east of Quito, Yanaurco-Quiscatola and Mullumica, were the principal source of raw obsidian at these sites. We situate our findings within a broader archaeological context through a review of the literature and a discussion of an earlier provenience study undertaken by us. We express concerns about recent attempts to apply ethnohistoric models to early periods of Ecuadorian prehistory, and argue that despite early exploitation of the principal obsidian sources, long-distance trade in obsidian was initiated at a relatively late date and remained at a surprisingly low level in southern Ecuador during most of prehistory.
Pacariqtambo and the Mythical Origins of the Inca
Authors: Bauer Brian S.
Published: April 2006

In this study the Pacariqtambo origin myth of the Inca, as described in a number of different Spanish chronicles, is analyzed through examining archaeological data from the Province of Paruro (Department of Cuzco, Peru). The findings suggest that the rock outcrop of Puma Orco, located in the District of Pacariqtambo, may represent the Tambotoco of the Pacariqtambo origin myth, and that the nearby Inca ruins of Maukallaqta may have contained an oracle of the first mythical Inca, Manco Capac. It is suggested that these ruins were built by the ruling elite of Cuzco to commemorate their mythical progenitor and to legitimate their sacred status within Inca society.
Cultural Responses to Environmental Catastrophes: Post-El Niño Subsistence on the Prehistoric North Coast of Peru
Authors: Moore Jerry D.
Published: April 2006

Recent debate about the development of complex societies on the north coast of Peru has turned on the relative importance of marine vs. terrestrial resources and the extent to which different resource zones are upset by El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. While ENSO events are cited frequently as having important consequences for Prehispanic Andean societies, in fact there are few archaeological data about the nature of cultural responses to a specific ENSO event. Archaeological data from two Chimu settlements in the Casma Valley, Peru—Quebrada Sta. Cristina and Manchan—document the occurrence of a fourteenth-century A.D. ENSO event and some of the cultural responses to that prehistoric El Niño.
Large-Site Archaeological Methods at Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico: Investigating Community Organization at a Prehispanic Maya Center
Authors: Smyth Michael P. , Dore Christopher D.
Published: April 2006

Past Maya communities were composed of a number of social, political, and economic components that were bound together in specific ways. Understanding how such components were organized at the scale of the entire community to form a single functioning entity is an important archaeological issue that is presently not well understood. To address this issue, large-scale research into community organization has been initiated at the Terminal Classic (A. D. 800-1000) Puuc center of Sayil. A program of broad-scale surface collections has systematically covered almost 1.5 km2of the site's mapped urban area (3.5 km2). Preliminary results from the 1990 field season are providing data related to important components of the community such as social differentiation, economic and subsistence specialization, and the spatial structure of political and religious organization. This study is contributing toward the development of new methods for exploring large archaeological sites and can be employed ultimately to address broader issues concerning societal transformations among the Prehispanic Maya.
The Productivity of Maguey Terrace Agriculture in Central Mexico during the Aztec Period
Authors: Evans Susan T.
Published: April 2006

Maguey cultivators in the Basin of Mexico during the Middle and Late Postclassic (A.D. 1150-1521) periods pioneered the more agriculturally marginal parts of the environment, such as the sloping piedmont zone around the alluvial plain. In their land-use strategy, terraced interplantings of maguey and grain formed the house gardens (calmilli) of their villages. These villages were established sometime around the twelfth century, and by the time of Spanish Conquest they covered the piedmont zones of the Teotihuacan Valley, Texcoco region, and similar areas of the Basin of Mexico. Archaeological and ethnographic evidence permit reconstruction of the caloric productivity of this interplanted terrace system, using modern maguey yields. This productivity is compared with the needs of the maguey cultivators by looking at a particular archaeological example, the Aztec period village of Cihuatecpan, in the Teotihuacan Valley.
A New Perspective on the Relationships among Cream Paste Ceramic Traditions of Southeastern Mesoamerica
Authors: Neff Hector , Cogswell James W. , Kosakowsky Laura J. , Belli Francisco Estrada , Bove Frederick J.
Published: April 2006

New ceramic compositional evidence has come to light that bears on the relationships among the cream paste ceramics of southeastern Mesoamerica. This evidence, which derives from instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and microprobe analysis, suggests that Ivory ware, a Late and Terminal Formative diagnostic found in southern Guatemala, is chemically similar not to other Guatemalan light firing pottery, but to Formative and Classic period cream paste wares from western El Salvador and Honduras. El Salvador is the clearest region of overlap between the Late Formative (Ivory Usulután) and Classic (Chilanga, Gualpopa, and Copador) representatives of this chemically homogeneous cream paste tradition, and therefore we argue that the source zone for all of them lies somewhere in western El Salvador and not in Honduras or Guatemala. This inference contradicts (1) our own earlier hypothesis that Ivory ware originated somewhere in the Guatemalan highlands and (2) the hypothesis that cream paste Copador originated in the Copán Valley. If this inference is correct, then (1) the importance of ceramic circulation in the Late and Terminal Formative Providencia and Miraflores interaction spheres has been underestimated and (2) during the Classic period, Copán absorbed the productive capacity of western El Salvador (represented in this case by cream paste polychrome pottery) to a greater extent than has been appreciated previously.
Los lobos marinos como recurso para cazadores-recolectores marinos: El caso de tierra del Fuego
Authors: Schiavini Adrián
Published: April 2006

Este artículo analiza el papel de los pinnípedos en la adaptación humana al litoral del archipiélago de Tierra del Fuego, que eventualmente desembocara en los conocidos canoeros magallánico-fueguinos yamana y alacalufe. Primero, se presenta el análisis de restos arqueofaunísticos recuperados en sitios de la costa norte del Canal Beagle, para determinar la importancia del consumo de pinnípedos en relación con su rendimiento energético. Se verifica que, a lo largo de la secuencia cultural de seis mil años de antigüedad descrita para esta región, los pinnípedos constituyeron el principal recurso energético en comparación con aves y guanacos. Segundo, se establece la importancia de los pinnípedos para suplir los requerimientos metabólicos de dietas pobres en carbohidratos y bajo condicionamientos ambientales subantárticos. Tercero, se confirma que el consumo de pinnípedos constituyó una fuente de energía importada al ecosistema humano del litoral, con base en la ecología trófica de estos animales que se alimentan en aguas externas al sistema litoral y la localización conocida de las loberías lejos del Canal Beagle. Las implicaciones de estos hallazgos son (a) el incremento de la capacidad de carga humana sobre el ambiente litoral debido a la importación de energía, (b) la independencia de las poblaciones de pinnípedos con respecto a la actividad humana, la que garantizó un suplemento estable de animales para la población del canal, y (c) una explicación para las altas densidades que estos pueblos alcanzaron y para su rápida extinción una vez que los stocks de pinnípedos fueron drásticamente reducidos por loberos europeos y norteamericanos en los siglos XVIII y XIX.
Social Complexity and Food Systems at Altun Ha, Belize: The Isotopic Evidence
Authors: White Christine D. , Pendergast David M. , Longstaffe Fred J. , Law Kimberley R.
Published: April 2006

This study reports stable carbon-isotope ratios for both bone collagen and apatite, and nitrogen-isotope ratios for bone collagen for 72 Maya skeletons from 9 zones representing contrasting status groups at Altun Ha, Belize. The sample spans the Preclassic to Postclassic periods, approximately 800 B. C. to after A. D. 950. Although Altun Ha has a maize-based (C-4) diet, it has a much stronger marine/reef component than any other Maya site studied so far. Two possible dedicatory burial groups are dietarily distinct. The source of protein appears to have been fairly stable throughout the site sequence, but a marked shift to reduced consumption of C4 foods seems to have occurred after the Early Classic period. A second similar decline probably occurred between the Late/Terminal Classic and the Postclassic periods. These apparent temporal trends may, however, be confounded by differences between zones. High status is marked by consumption of large quantities of C4 foods, possibly including C4-fed terrestrial animals. Males consumed more meat and C4 foods than did females. All δ-values and collagen-apatite spacings indicate that children were breastfed until at least the age of three or four.
An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Tool Design and Selection in an Andean Agro-Pastoral Context
Authors: Tomka Steve A.
Published: April 2006

Since its introduction, the study of artifact design has shed new light on the nature of variability in prehistoric technological organization. Few ethnoarchaeological studies exist exploring the interrelationships between subsistence risk, the costs of technological failures, and the design of artifacts. This ethnoarchaeological study investigates these relationships in a transhumant agro-pastoral case study from the southwestern Bolivian altiplano. Three aspects of tool design are explored to document variability in design characteristics between and within assemblages from agricultural and pastoral residences. These design features consist of the reliability of raw materials used in tool manufacture, the reliability of joints used in compound tools, and the maintainability of tools in case of partial or total failure. While time-budgeting constraints differ at pastoral and agricultural residences, the costs of production shortfalls are equally severe. In response, artifacts from both residences are designed to be highly reliable. However, depending on the likelihood of tool failure, artifacts are designed with different raw material and joint reliability to either minimize tool failure or maximize maintainability. Multiple backups and replacement components are accumulated and maintained to reduce subsistence risk caused by the failure of artifacts with high potential failure rates or low maintainability.
Late Paleo-Indian Coastal Foragers: Specialized Extractive Behavior at Quebrada Tacahuay, Peru
Authors: deFrance Susan D. , Keefer David K. , Richardson James B. , Alvarez Adán Umire
Published: April 2006

Quebrada Tacahuay, located on the south coast of Peru, is one of the oldest expressions of maritime adaptations in the Western Hemisphere. Excavations conducted in 1997 and 1998 indicate that humans focused their activities on the collection and butchering of marine birds, particularly cormorants and boobies, and other marine resources more than 10,290 years ago (uncalibrated radiocarbon years B. P.). In addition to abundant zooarchaeological remains, cultural material includes unifacial lithic tools and one worked marine mammal rib. We report on the use of marine resources at the site in conjunction with the taphonomic history of site formation. Geological data indicate that El Niño flood events initially occurred during the Pleistocene and at various times during the Holocence. The abundant use of seafood indicates that Quebrada Tacahuay represents a specialized coastal extraction station used by Late Paleo-Indian populations with a well-developed littoral adaptation.
More on the Mars Table in the Dresden Codex
Authors: Bricker Harvey M. , Bricker Victoria R.
Published: April 2006

The suggestion made early in this century that pages 43b to 45b of the Dresden Codex are concerned with the synodic cycle of the planet Mars was vigorously opposed in mid-century by J. Eric S. Thompson but supported during the last decade by other scholarship, including our own. Thompson’s interpretation, which Bruce Love has recently argued is correct, is certainly of historical interest and value, but it is no longer adequate in light of more recent advances in understanding codical instruments. In particular, it ignores the great importance to the authors of these instruments of the commensuration of calendrical and astronomical cycles. The Mars table is not just a Chac almanac dealing with weather and agriculture.
Feasting and Ancestor Veneration at Chinchawas, North Highlands of Ancash, Peru
Authors: Lau George F.
Published: April 2006

The present article considers evidence for ancestor veneration and feasting in the North Highlands (Department of Ancash), Peru between A. D. 500-900. The study draws upon ethnohistorical, iconographic, and archaeological comparisons to better understand different lines of data from the ancient Recuay community of Chinchawas (3,850 masl), including public and mortuary architecture, ceramics, faunal remains, and stone sculpture. Two major programs of religious activity can be discerned: one situated within local Recuay traditions (Kayán and Chinchawasi phases, A. D. 500-800), followed by a suite of intrusive patterns associated with Wari expansion (Warmi phase, after A. D. 800). The study argues that, by A. D. 500, special public ceremonies combined ancestor worship and feasting as part of community politics at the site. Chinchawasi practices included subterranean tombs, special architectural enclosures with monolithic sculptures, and evidence for large-scale consumption. Warmi practices appear smaller in scale, focusing on aboveground mausolea, different stone sculptural forms and iconography, and increasing evidence for interregional interaction. The diachronic patterns reflect: 1) flexible sociopolitical arrangements at Chinchawas that accommodated group and entrepreneurial interests, and 2) local sociocultural transformations associated with Wari expansion (ca. A. D. 750).
The Business of Narrative at Tula: An Analysis of the Vestibule Frieze, Trade, and Ritual
Authors: Kristan-Graham Cynthia
Published: April 2006

The so-called frieze of the Caciques at Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, is an 8-m-long bench with most of its original polychromed face intact. It formed part of a larger composition that once ran around the perimeter of the Vestibule, a colonnaded hall that served as a foyer for Pyramid B. The composition of profile males is adapted to look as if they are actually marching around the room toward the pyramid. Although Hugo Moedano Koer (1947) identified the figures as caciques or local chiefs, an analysis of architectural setting, subject matter, and ethnohistory suggests instead that the figures represent merchants engaged in rituals related to trade. This new reading demonstrates that Tula had decorative programs paralleling its development as an important center of long-distance exchange during the Early Postclassic period, and that merchants from Tula may have been a plausible prototype for Aztec pochteca.
Locating Maya Lowlands Spanish Colonial Towns: A Case Study from Belize
Authors: Pendergast David M. , Jones Grant D. , Graham Elizabeth
Published: April 2006

Recent excavations of the Spanish Colonial Maya communities of Lamanai and Tipu, Belize, combine with extensive ethnohistorical research to provide guidelines for the location of other Historic-period sites in the region. We present brief case studies of community-location data from the ethnohistorical record, followed by observations regarding survey expectations and approaches appropriate to identification of Spanish Colonial-period sites. Though rooted in Belize experience, the strategies outlined should prove applicable throughout the Maya Lowlands, and perhaps beyond the region's borders as well.
Cultivation Intensity and Residential Site Structure: An Ethnoarchaeological Examination of Peasant Agriculture in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico
Authors: Killion Thomas W.
Published: April 2006

Agricultural and residential space were integrated in prehistoric lowland Mesoamerica for productive and domestic activities to produce distinctive patterns of settlement and land use visible in the archaeological record. Ethnoarchaeological studies provide information on the behavioral component of site formation in such contexts. Contemporary residential refuse treatment and the use of infield agricultural land are examined here from a sample of farming households in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas of southern Veracruz, Mexico. A model of site structure (the House-Lot model) relates the maintenance of refuse-free (clear area) and refuse-laden (intermediate area) spaces within the house lot to household farming activities outside of the residential lot. Variation in the intensity of cultivation on infield plots is shown to correlate with variability in the size of areas within house lots. This research suggests that the distribution of prehistoric residential debris might be used to diagnose factors of ancient agriculture and settlement in contexts commonly encountered during archaeological excavation and survey.
Archaeofaunal Accumulation, Fragmented Forests, and Anthropogenic Landscape Mosaics in the Tropical Lowlands of Prehispanic Ecuador
Authors: Stahl Peter W.
Published: April 2006

This study examines archaeofaunal materials contained within a large bell-shaped prehistoric pit from the site of Pechichal (M3B4-011) in northern Manabí Province of lowland western Ecuador. This feature provides a high resolution archaeological context for understanding assemblage accumulation and deposition, and provides important data for inferring local environmental conditions. The archaeofaunal assemblage can be divided into two distinct groups based upon the vertical representation of its skeletal remains throughout the pit. One group, characterized by variable skeletal representation and vertical concentration, likely includes both culturally disposed and naturally entrapped taxa. The other group, characterized by a few isolated fragments, low skeletal completeness, and dispersion in vertical profile, is likely dominated by culturally disposed taxa. When the natural histories of the pit faunas are considered along with their distinct numerical representation, the entire pit assemblage makes ecological sense. The data suggest that the pit was located at the edge of a modified forest fragment.
A Dynastic Tomb from Campeche, Mexico: New Evidence on Jaguar Paw, a Ruler of Calakmul
Authors: Vargas Ramón Carrasco , Boucher Sylviane , González Paula Alvarez , Blos Vera Tiesler , Fabela Colonia Isidro , Vierna Valeria García , Moreno Renata García , Negrete Javier Vázquez
Published: April 2006

This paper reports the recent discovery of a royal tomb in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico. Buried in this chamber was an adult male. Among the abundant offerings that accompanied this personage was a polychrome plate bearing the heiroglyph, Yukom Yich’ak K’ak’ (Jaguar Paw), the name of the governor of Cakalmul during the second half of the seventh century. Previously, it was believed that Jaguar Paw was captured and sacrificed at Tikal in 695 A. D. However, new data suggest that this recently discovered tomb at Calakmul was his final resting place.
Styles and State Formations
Authors: Willey Gordon R.
Published: April 2006

The author's earlier thoughts about Mesoamerican and Peruvian horizon styles and regional stylistic diversity have been given new meaning by the concepts of “corporate” and “exclusionary” states as these have been formulated by R. E. Blanton and colleagues. Their synthesis should open the way for further dialogue concerning the processes of state formation as these can be observed in the archaeological record.
Central-Place Analyses in the la Entrada Region, Honduras: Implications for Understanding the Classic Maya Political and Economic Systems
Authors: Inomata Takeshi , Aoyama Kazuo
Published: April 2006

Analyses of archaeological data from the La Entrada region in northwestern Honduras demonstrate that central-place theory applies to the regional settlement system during the Late Classic period. The configuration of the regional central-place system appears to have been oriented to the local exchange of subsistence goods and to the minimization of energy expenditure in their movement. The distribution patterns of obsidian artifacts vary significantly among the hypothetical sustaining areas of centers, corroborating the reconstruction of a central-place system. This also suggests that political factors affected the circulation of certain materials and that basic economic spatial units in Classic Maya society were relatively small.
Sociopolitical Developments and Methodological Issues at Copan, Honduras: A Conjunctive Perspective
Authors: Fash William L. , Sharer Robert J.
Published: April 2006

Results of 16 years of archaeological research at Copán, Honduras, based on different methods and theoretical perspectives, can be used in combination to better understand the developmental trajectory of Classic period sociopolitical evolution in the Copán Valley. Although research continues, findings to date demonstrate the advantage of conjunctive research that applies archaeological, epigraphic, and iconographic data in a crosscutting, self-corrective strategy. While the use of any single data set may produce incomplete or inaccurate conclusions, as in the use of settlement data alone to reconstruct Middle Classic population size and assess the developmental status of the Copán polity, more complete conclusions can be reached by applying a fuller range of data from excavations in both the valley and Acropolis of Copán's urban core, along with epigraphic and iconographic evidence. These combined data show that from its beginning in the fifth century, the Classic Copán polity was ruled by powerful kings who controlled large populations and, quite likely, an extensive territory that may have included the site of Quiriguá in the Motagua Valley to the north.

At the other end of the developmental trajectory, the combination of research findings from the Acropolis and surrounding elite residential compounds and valley settlement data, has led to a redefinition of the Classic “collapse” at Copán, now seen as a long-enduring process involving the decentralization of political authority, the end of centralized dynastic rule, and gradual depopulation of the valley. This reconstruction, in combination with evidence for the end of the Classic period at other Lowland Maya sites, supports the long-standing conclusion that there was no single cause for the collapse, but rather that a complex and long-operating series of processes was responsible for the end of lowland Classic Maya civilization.
Nocardioform placentitis with isolation of Amycolatopsis spp in a Florida-bred mare
Authors: Christensen Bruce W. , Roberts John F. , Pozor Malgorzata A. , Giguere Steeve , Sells Stephen F. , Donahue James M.
Published: April 2006

Case Description—A 4-year-old Thoroughbred mare was evaluated because of placental abnormalities and a retained placental remnant.

Clinical Findings—Microbial culture of the placenta yielded pure growth of Amycolatopsis spp. Histologic examination of the placenta revealed a focally expanding chorionitis with intralesional gram-positive filamentous bacilli and multifocal allantoic adenomatous hyperplasia on the apposing allantoic surface.

Treatment and Outcome—Treatment with lavage and oxytocin resulted in expulsion of the placental remnant within hours of parturition. The mare did not become pregnant again despite multiple breedings. The foal appeared healthy but died of complications during an elective surgical procedure at 7 weeks of age.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—To the author's knowledge, all previously confirmed cases of nocardioform placentitis have been in mares bred in the central Kentucky region. Indications that the pathogen in the mare reported here is a different species than that isolated in Kentucky suggest that this is an emerging disease. Mares with nocardioform placentitis usually do not have the same clinical signs as mares with placentitis resulting from an ascending pathogen.
Presumptive fenbendazole toxicosis in North American porcupines
Authors: Weber Martha A. , Miller Michele A. , Neiffer Donald L. , Terrell Scott P.
Published: April 2006

Case Description—4 North American porcupines were evaluated because of diarrhea or neutropenia (or both) that developed after treatment with fenbendazole for intestinal parasites.

Clinical Findings—Complete blood cell count abnormalities included severe neutropenia in all affected porcupines and mild anemia in some of them. In 2 porcupines, postmortem findings included bone marrow hypoplasia and intestinal crypt cell necrosis.

Treatment and Outcome—Affected porcupines received supportive care including fluid supplementation and broad-spectrum antimicrobials. The 2 surviving animals recovered after 9 to 33 days of treatment.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Fenbendazole is an anthelminthic that may be used in an extralabel manner for the treatment of intestinal parasitism in wildlife species. The drug inhibits mitosis and can affect rapidly dividing cell lines, such as those in the bone marrow and intestinal crypt mucosa. Fenbendazole may not be an appropriate anthelminthic choice in North American porcupines.
Parameter estimation for reactive transport by a Monte‐Carlo approach
Authors: Aggarwal Mohit , Carrayrou Jérôme
Published: April 2006

The chemical parameters used in reactive transport models are not known accurately due to the complexity and the heterogeneous conditions of a real domain. The development of an efficient algorithm in order to estimate the chemical parameters using Monte‐Carlo method is presented. By fitting the results obtained from the model with the experimental curves obtained with various experimental conditions, the problem of parameters estimation is converted into a minimization problem. Monte‐Carlo methods are very robust for the optimization of the highly nonlinear mathematical model describing reactive transport. It involves generating random values of parameters and finding the best set. The focus is to develop an optimization algorithm which uses less number of realizations so as to reduce the CPU time. Reactive transport of TBT through natural quartz sand at seven different pHs is taken as the test case. Our algorithm will be used to estimate the chemical parameters of the sorption of TBT onto the natural quartz sand. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Crystallization kinetics of toughed poly(butylene terephthalate)/polycarbonate blends
Authors: Bai Huiyu , Zhang Yong , Zhang Yinxi , Zhang Xiangfu , Zhou Wen
Published: April 2006

The crystallization kinetics of pure poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and toughed modification PBT/polycarbonate (PC) blends with ethylene‐butylacrylate‐glycidyl methacrylate copolymer (PTW) and ethylene‐1‐octylene copolymer (POE) were studied. For nonisothermal crystallization process studies, the Ozawa theory and an equation combining the Avrami and Ozawa equation are used. It is found that the Ozawa analysis fails to provide an adequate description of the nonisothermal crystallization process in PBT, PBT/PC, and toughed PBT/PC blends, while the combination of the Avrami and Ozawa equations exhibit great advantages in treating the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics. The activation energies are determined by the Kissinger method for nonisothermal crystallization. The activation energy for PBT/PC/PTW/POE blend is greater than those of PBT/PC, and PBT/PC/POE blends. Isothermal crystallization processes were studied by the Avrami equation. The results show that the values of the Avrami exponent n for PBT, PBT/PC, and toughed PBT/PC blends are 3.8, 3.0, and 2.8–3.2, respectively. The Avrami rate constant K for PBT, PBT/PC, and toughed PBT/PC blends increase in following order: KPBT/PC < KPBT/PC/POE < KPBT/PC/PTW/POE < KPBT © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1295–1308, 2006
Structure and properties of a poly(amino ether) resin after reprocessing in the melt state
Authors: Granado A. , Eguiazábal J. I. , Nazábal J.
Published: April 2006

The effects of reprocessing by extrusion for up to five cycles, at both the usual (200°C) and an extreme (230°C) temperature, on the structure and mechanical properties of a poly(amino ether) (PAE) resin were studied. A slight darkening and viscosity increase was observed, mainly upon reprocessing at 230°C. The melt flow index and solubility analysis indicated that grafting and crosslinking reactions took place, respectively, after reprocessing at 200 and 230°C. The Young′s modulus and the yield stress of PAE increased slightly with successive extrusion cycles. This was attributed to the viscosity‐induced increase in orientation, and to a minor extent to the partially grafted/crosslinked nature of the samples. The decrease in the ductility was more noticeable in the samples reprocessed at 230°C, and was attributed to the reduced ability to elongate of partially grafted and partially crosslinked structures present after reprocessing, respectively, at 200 and 230°C. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1368–1373, 2006
RASSF1A hypermethylation and its inverse correlation with BRAF and/or KRAS mutations in MSI‐associated endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Kang Sokbom , Lee Jae Myun , Jeon Eun‐Sook , Lee Sun , Kim Hogeun , Kim Hy‐Sook , Seo Sang‐Soo , Park Sang‐Yoon , Sidransky David , Dong Seung Myung
Published: April 2006

Both hypermethylation of the tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A and activating mutations of the KRAS and/or BRAF gene have been reported in a variety of human cancers. To investigate these epigenetic and genetic alterations in endometrial carcinoma (EC), we examined their frequency in 4 uterine EC cell lines and in 75 sporadic primary ECs. Using methylation specific PCR, we found RASSF1A methylation in 25 of 75 (33.3%) ECs. RASSF1A methylation was significantly associated with microsatellite instability (MSI, p < 0.001) and also with hMLH1 methylation (p < 0.001). KRAS mutations were detected in 14 of 75 (18.7%) ECs. BRAF mutations were identified in only 3 of 75 (4.0%) ECs and were not found in ECs with KRAS mutations or RASSF1A methylation. RASSF1A methylation was more frequent in KRAS mutation‐negative ECs than in KRAS mutation‐positive ECs (37.7% vs 14.3%), but this inverse correlation is not statistically significant (p = 0.122). However, we observed that RASSF1A methylation was inversely correlated with KRAS and/or BRAF mutations (p = 0.028) in MSI‐negative ECs, while this inverse correlation disappeared in MSI‐positive ECs. Furthermore, in MSI‐positive ECs, 2 cases of concomitant RASSF1A methylation and KRAS mutation were found. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that, in EC tumorigenesis, RASSF1A promoter hypermethylation is as important as KRAS mutations in activating the RAS pathway. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.