Excavations at the ancient Maya city of Holmul, Petén, have led to the discovery of a building decorated with an intricately carved and painted plaster frieze. The iconography of the frieze portrays seated lords, mountain spirits, feathered serpents, and gods of the underworld engaged in the apparent rebirth of rulers as sun gods. Large emblems carved on the side of the building identify the structure as a shrine for ancestor veneration. A dedicatory text carved along the bottom of the frieze contains a king list and references to the political and familial ties of the ruler who commissioned the temple. Together, the iconography and text of this structure provide evidence of function and meaning. They also shed new light on a century during Classic Maya history known as the Tikal “Hiatus,” for which a limited number of texts are available. The information derived from this monument also broadens our understanding of the nature of hegemonic relationships among Classic Maya states.

Fifty years ago, Heyerdahl and Skjølsvold (1956, 1990) collected material from five archaeological sites in the Galápagos Islands. They retained earthenwares of possible precolumbian origin and discarded ceramic, metal, and glass artifacts postdating the arrival of the Spanish in A.D. 1535. Consequently, they argued that each site was formed as the results of a series of discard events from unrelated short-term occupations extending from the precolumbian to the historical era, and that the earthenwares represented occasional visits by fishermen from precolumbian Peru and Ecuador. In 2005, we re-excavated the sites and collected all the excavated materials. Our results show that each class of material, irrespective of age or origin, was distributed spatially and stratigraphically in the same pattern, contradicting the former assumption of multiple, unrelated occupations. We reject the palimpsest model in favor of the null hypothesis of single-phase site occupation. Analysis of putatively precolumbian pottery using optically-stimulated luminescence dating indicates that it is mostly of historical age. Radiocarbon dating confirms that the archaeological sites are younger than the sixteenth century. Research on sedimentary cores shows probable anthropogenic impacts as restricted to the last 500 years. We conclude that there was no human occupation in the Galápagos Islands until the historical era.

Los recientes datos metalúrgicos y culturales provenientes de cuatro sitios en La Cuenca de Sayula, Jalisco, han permitido ampliar y plantear nuevos conocimientos acerca de la metalurgia prehispánica del Occidente de México. Por primera vez un conjunto amplio de datos contextualizados permite relacionar distintos complejos técnicos con tradiciones culturales específicas. En el conjunto de objetos se identificaron los dos complejos técnicos característicos de la metalurgia del Occidente de México (período 1 y 2). Estos complejos están asociados con cuatro tradiciones culturales diferentes (Aztatlán, Sur de Jalisco, Amacueca y Tarasca) en el marco de una secuencia que abarca unos siete siglos (800–1532 d.C.). Los nuevos datos aquí presentados muestran que ambos complejos fueron contemporáneos durante unos 200 años, en los sitios de La Peña y Caseta, evidenciando desarrollos tecnológicos paralelos. Además, el sitio de Caseta presenta una de las fechas más tempranas asociadas con aleaciones metálicas registradas hasta el momento en Mesoamérica (cal. 1040–1290 d.C.). Asimismo, el asentamiento evidencia un desarrollo pre-tarasco del complejo tecnológico del período 2, cuyas raíces podrían estar en el Sur de Jalisco y Colima, de acuerdo a la evidencia arqueológica.

Hunter-gatherer occupations of the forests of Patagonia are still not well understood compared to those of the open steppe and the coasts. The paucity of forest sites with a thorough chronological framework and the incomplete picture of climate-human dynamics in such environments pose a challenge to understanding the occupations of such habitats. This paper presents recent work at the Las Quemas rockshelter, an archaeological site located in the Andean forests of the Aisén region (44°38’ S) dating between 6100 and 2400 cal B.P. We examine the context of the site, its rock art, and the technological and functional dimensions of its lithic assemblage. By comparing these records with local environmental reconstructions that report forest area fluctuations after the Post-Glacial period, this study provides novel data for a comprehensive regional-scale model of human occupations in central Patagonian forests. Following an initial mid-Holocene occupation, recurring occupational events at the site coincide with a significant contraction of forested area in the region during the late Holocene. The results are discussed in regard to regional archaeological data and current models of forest occupation in Patagonia.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Eduard Seler identified the bats depicted on a ceramic vessel excavated by Erwin Dieseldorff at the site of Chama, Guatemala, as the camazotz, or death bat, from the K’iche’ Maya myth, the Popol Vuh. The attribution was never critically reviewed. Nevertheless, it became so deeply entrenched that virtually every image of a Maya bat is identified as a camazotz. We have located no ancient depictions of the Hero Twins in the chamber of the camazotz, which calls into question the salience of this scene for the ancient Maya. In iconography and ethnohistory, multiple figures with bat-like characteristics exist, both bats and anthropomorphic bat-men. Clearly, the situation is complex. We argue that bats appear principally in four roles. The first is as an emblematic symbol representing some group. The bat played a second role as a messenger, often paired on vessels with a bird. A third category relates to pollination, vegetation, and fertility, and here the bat may be paired with the hummingbird. The last and largest category is wahy beings, which most epigraphers now think were bestial forms of personified diseases. Included here are the many vessels depicting the fire-breathing bat, including Dieseldorff's Chama vessel. We argue that the identification with the camazotz should be dropped altogether and that the associations proposed by Seler need to be rethought.

The stirrup-spout bottle is one of the most representative forms in the Chimú (A.D. 900-1470) ceramic repertoire. I discuss the ceramic assemblage of this coastal culture and describes more precisely the various manufacturing processes of the stirrup-spout bottle. Although molds used to produce these complex vessels are known today, only little information has been published on the various stages involved in their manufacture. My purpose is to contribute to this research using medical imaging computed tomography (CT) scans of intact stirrup-spout vessels. Based on my findings, I propose that changes in the construction of these vessels correlated with a transition in ceramic production to a semi-industrial level during the time of the Chimú Empire.

This report describes recent low-intensity archaeological investigations conducted at three small sites in the northern Basin of Mexico. The sites are represented by surface artifact scatters and are located on the former shoreline of the now-drained Lake Xaltocan, originally one of the principal lakes in this region. Fieldwork included mapping surface concentrations and site dimensions, conducting test excavations, and recovering surface collections. The analysis of surface artifacts focused on determining site function and chronology. Based on fieldwork and analysis, we propose that Michpilco likely was a habitation site with a substantial occupation during the Classic period. The smaller Non-Grid 5 site was occupied during the Epiclassic period, and site Non-Grid 6 was occupied during the Late Postclassic to colonial periods. These sites reflect occupations in a lacustrine landscape throughout different periods. They also exemplify the rapid disappearance and threat of destruction that looting, infrastructural development, and agriculture pose to archaeological sites in the region.