El objetivo de este trabajo es discutir la relevancia de la localidad arqueológica Laguna de los Pampas en el estudio de las ocupaciones humanas del Campo de Dunas del Centro Pampeano (subregión Pampa Húmeda) durante el Holoceno. Un hallazgo relevante lo constituyen tres huevos de ñandú enteros y semienterrados, con perforaciones que sugieren su utilización como contenedor de líquido. Si bien la laguna fue habitada a lo largo del todo el Holoceno, las dataciones radiocarbónicas del sector excavado ubican a las ocupaciones humanas en el Holoceno medio (entre ca. 7000 y 5800 aP). Para este lapso se determinó que la explotación faunística estuvo orientada al consumo del guanaco, pero con un fuerte complemento de otros taxones como ñandú, venado de las Pampas y especies de menor tamaño. Se registró una tecnología ósea estandarizada sobre huesos de guanaco. Las rocas proceden principalmente del sistema serrano de Tandilia, aunque se identifican materias primas de otras áreas como el oeste pampeano. Las similitudes en las estrategias de producción y usos de los instrumentos con otros sitios de la subregión Pampa Húmeda sugieren el empleo de una misma concepción tecnológica a escala regional durante el Holoceno medio y la interacción con grupos cazadores-recolectores que ocupaban los pastizales pampeanos.

This study examines variability in size, staple crop production, and wealth among households in the community of K'axob, Belize, from the ninth century B.C. until the ninth century A.D. Staple crop consumption and production are reconstructed from stable bone isotopes of 25 adults from 21 households. The formation of larger corporate households is documented from the spatial layout of 62 residences. Wealth differentiation is reconstructed by comparing architectural and ritual elements from 69 households. The formation of larger corporate households, the diversification of staple crop production, and the emergence of interhousehold wealth differentiation beginning in the fourth century B.C. coincided with the emergence of regional elites. However, changes in household size and staple crop production should be understood in terms of the high degree of continuity in the local agrarian economy. These findings suggest that elite political strategies had repercussions for the ways farming households managed staple crop production but that elites did not directly control production. The study also expands on current models of complex society that question the degree to which political elites directly managed the agrarian economy.

Intervals of 260 days are recorded by architectural orientations at a number of Maya sites, a pattern that may have developed early at sites such as Nakbe. The 260-day calendar, emphasizing sets of 13 and 20 days, dates back to the Middle Preclassic, when early E-Groups in the Maya area were used for solar observations. These observations were probably linked with a maize cycle spanning 260 days. By the end of the Late Preclassic, however, most E-Groups were abandoned or modified for a different function, serving as a stage for rituals performed by rulers at a time when the Long Count calendar was being developed. The changing role of E-Groups relates to the rise of royal rituals associated with the detailed historical records documented in Maya Long Count inscriptions.

In premodern economic systems where the social embedding of exchange provided actors with the ability to control or monopolize trade, including the goods that enter and leave a marketplace, “restricted markets” formed. These markets produced external revenues that could be used to achieve political goals. Conversely, commercialized systems required investment in public goods that incentivize the development of market cooperation and “open markets,” where buyers and sellers from across social sectors and diverse communities could engage in exchange as economic equals within marketplaces. In this article, we compare market development at the Late Postclassic sites of Chetumal, Belize, and Tlaxcallan, Mexico. We identified a restricted market at Chetumal, using the distribution of exotic goods, particularly militarily and ritually charged obsidian projectile points; in contrast, an open market was built at Tlaxcallan. Collective action theory provides a useful framework to understand these differences in market development. We argue that Tlaxcaltecan political architects adopted more collective strategies, in which open markets figured, to encourage cooperation among an ethnically diverse population.

We discuss Chinchorro mortuary practices during the Middle Archaic (7000-5000 B.P.) as demonstrated by 12 funerary contexts excavated at the site of Maestranza Chinchorro, northern Chile. First we describe each of the funerary contexts. Then we discuss the variability of mortuary practices, the configuration of multiple burials, the mortuary treatment of human fetuses, lifestyle, and paleopathology. We conclude that mortuary practices are heterogeneous and that not all subjects received elaborate treatment. Mortuary ritual focused on the seven infants in the group, which included two fetuses of a few months' gestation, something fairly unusual in human prehistory. Treatment consisted in the removal of all soft tissue and the use of sticks to reinforce the skeletons, upon which abundant gray clay was mounted in order to model the human figure. In contrast to the infants, just one young adult woman received complex mortuary treatment. Finally, based on the spatial distribution of contemporary burial sites, we propose that Middle Archaic communities in coastal Arica comprised small groups, including adults and children of different sexes, that settled around key resources like watering holes, rivers, wetlands, and hunting and fishing areas. This resulted in fierce intergroup competition and highly territorial behavior.

Archaeological evidence suggests that early farmers in the Sonoran Desert practiced a mixed subsistence strategy that likely involved logistical foraging by a segment of the population to supplement agricultural investments on the floodplains. Patterned differences in labor investments in archaeological populations can often be extrapolated by comparing cross-sectional geometry in long bones, which can vary as a result of repetitive behaviors. We compare cross-sectional geometry (dimensions) of the femur between site location, archaeological phase, and by sex (males vs. females) in a series of skeletal samples from the Early Agricultural period (2100 B.C.—A.D. 50) to test the hypothesis that males exhibit greater anterior-posterior dimensions of the femur midshaft compared to females. We found that the cross-sectional geometry of the femur is significantly different between the sexes, indicating that males participated in foraging forays more frequently than females, and we suggest that these early farmers employed a gendered logistic mobility strategy. These differences reflect a continued investment in foraged resources (subsistence and materials) during the Early Agricultural period in the Sonoran Desert and have important implications for the division of labor and the construction of gender roles among these communities.

The morphological study of architectural features, the building arrangement within urban spaces, and multiscalar variation are critical for understanding urbanism as a process. Building types and architectural typologies form the foundational blocks of urban morphology and are essential for identifying architectural patterning. We use a process-typological approach to present an architectural typology from the ancient Purépecha (Tarascan) city of Angamuco, located in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Michoacán, Mexico. Using archaeological survey, lidar analysis, and excavation, we analyze building foundations from houses and public structures; storage facilities; monumental architecture such as pyramids, altars, and public buildings; and landscape features such as plazas, roads, terraces, and raised roadways locally known as huatziri. Our typology enhances understanding of the dense urban environment of this important prehispanic city during and after the formation of the Purépecha Empire.

The archaeological site at Raqchi is best known for the large Inka building identified by colonial sources as the “temple of Viracocha.” The site also has an enclosure with 152 circular buildings that have previously been interpreted as Inka state storage: collcas. Although Inka pottery was found within some structures, the utilitarian pottery, carbonized plant remains, and hearths found on the floors of the buildings at Raqchi date their construction to the Middle Horizon. These results have caused a significant reinterpretation of the site and highlight a distinction between the political economies of the two largest Andean states. We suggest this sector of the site functioned as a Wari compound for seasonal work groups, similar to those at Pikillacta and Azángaro, suggesting a potential coercive aspect within Wari colonization. This prompts a reevaluation of the Viracocha cult during the Inka period, its reclaiming of Tiwanaku and Wari state sites, and the role of public ceremony within Inka state policy.

Demographers use mathematical projections to estimate both future and past population in areas where they lack quality data. Such projections may be very useful in archaeological situations. In this analysis, we mathematically project population growth rates from Classic Maya settlement in the Copán Valley, Honduras, from A.D. 650-800 backward to A.D. 450 to estimate valley population levels during the Middle Classic. Projections based on the growth rate (r = .0098) that best describes Late Classic growth yield population estimates that are from 40 to 100 percent higher than the unsmoothed estimates for the Middle Classic calculated by Webster et al. (1992:189). However, they still indicate that Middle Classic Copán was a relatively small polity, with a population of approximately 2,400 by A.D. 550 and 6,400 by A.D. 650. The fact that population growth at Copán from the period A.D. 400-800 conforms well to exponential growth indicates that population growth in the valley was relatively unaffected by episodic events. Each of the three growth rates considered would have been sustainable in a preindustrial agrarian society.

The Las Cuevas Canyon at Los Toldos locality (Santa Cruz, Argentina) has played a prominent and controversial role in the debate about the peopling of America. In spite of the high concentration of paintings in Los Toldos, its rock art has not been included as a significant variable in the discussion. This work introduces original information from the systematic study of six archaeological sites at the Las Cuevas Canyon with the aim of laying the foundations for a comparative study at local and regional scales. For this purpose, aspects such as the distribution of motifs, the superimpositions, and the size of the hand stencils are evaluated. The results shed light on the practices of different social actors in the canyon, and allow us to propose a sequence of rock art production. The discussion is contextualized within the regional archaeological scholarship of southern Patagonia.

Se presentan los resultados del análisis arqueofaunístico del sitio arqueológico Agua de la Cueva (sector sur), en el lapso temporal comprendido entre ca. 11,000 y 5000 a.P. Los materiales analizados indican una escasa diversidad de taxa, con un fuerte predominio de Lama guanicoe en todos los componentes. Las diferencias principales entre las ocupaciones pertenecientes al Pleistoceno Final-Holoceno Temprano en relación a las del Holoceno Medio se vinculan principalmente a la disminución significativa en la tasa de especímenes óseos a lo largo del tiempo y la ausencia de Vicugna vicugna a partir de ca. 9000 años a.P. En relación a esto último, los análisis osteométricos y morfológicos descartan la posibilidad de que los especímenes pertenecientes a esta especie correspondan a la denominada subespecie extinta Lama (Vicugna) gracilis. Por el contrario, los mismos parecen corresponder a la actual Vicugna vicugna, cuya dispersión tiene su límite sur unos 600 km al norte del sitio estudiado. Por último, los datos aquí presentados permiten discutir aspectos de la subsistencia humana en el centro-oeste del continente sudamericano durante las primeras etapas de ocupación de la región y cómo los hombres reaccionaron a los principales cambios ambientales ocurridos durante la primera mitad del Holoceno.

El registro de Canis familiaris en contextos arqueológicos resulta cada vez más frecuente en Sudamérica. En este escenario, este trabajo discute su rol económico y social dentro de las sociedades indígenas prehispánicas. Se presentan nuevos hallazgos de perros procedentes de cinco sitios arqueológicos del Noreste argentino. La muestra estudiada incluye siete especímenes craneales y uno poscraneal correspondientes a individuos jóvenes y adultos, de tamaños medianos (13-23 kg). Algunos de los especímenes presentan huellas de corte y marcas de carnívoros. Tres nuevas fechas taxón ubican a la muestra entre aproximadamente 2500 y 900 cal aP. Se concluye que C. familiaris presenta edades y tamaños ligeramente mayores a los registrados previamente. Asimismo, la evidencia antrópica indica procesamiento y consumo de esta especie. Las dataciones extienden el rango cronológico conocido previamente para este taxón en Argentina, Brasil y Uruguay. Su presencia se vincula a cazadores-recolectores-pescadores y horticultores, con una marcada adaptación fluvial durante el Holoceno tardío.

Application of a neuropsychological model, developed in the laboratory, to the graffiti of Tikal reveals that the great majority of the latter are products of altered states of consciousness, depictions of visions seen by people in states of trance in relatively private settings. Beneath this art's apparent surface disorder and haphazard arrangement lies a definite neuropsychological order. Consideration of the provenances of graffiti suggests that the practice of trancing was widespread in Classic times, at least among the elite class and upper stratum of commoners.

En materiales arcaicos de Arica se descubre la existencia de distintas costumbres vinculadas con la deformación artificial de la cabeza. Dichos materiales pertenecen a los sitios Morro 1, Morro 1/6 y Morro de Arica (Uhle). Una vez realizado el diagnóstico morfoscópico se obtuvieron una serie de mediciones en 101 cráneos que fueron procesadas estadísticamente para poner a prueba las diferencias entre cráneos deformados de distintos tipo y no deformados. Se siguió un diseño tipo análisis de la varianza (ANOVA) para una vía, empleando como covariantes sexo, edad y grupo. Los resultados obtenidos permiten confirmar alteraciones en la forma del cráneo comptibles con lo que cabría esperar a partir de la aplicación de las técnicas deformatorias circular erecta, circular oblicua y tabular erecta. Con respecto a esta última se hacen consideraciones sobre la importancia de este hallazgo y sobre la antigüedad de dicha práctica cultural en el área andina.

Ulúa-style marble vases played important social, political, economic, and religious roles in southern Mesoamerica during the seventh through eleventh centuries A.D. However, most such vessels known to archaeologists are part of looted collections or else were unearthed before the advent of modern archaeological practices. As a result, little is known about the context, use, and chronology of these objects. Recent investigations at the site of Palos Blancos in northwest Honduras discovered an Ulúa-style marble vase in an undisturbed mortuary context. Excavation of the burial context, along with bioarchaeological and stable isotope analysis of the human remains, suggests that the vase was placed as an offering, possibly to an ancestor of the residential group. Phosphate and pollen studies indicate that the vase once held a corn-based beverage . Radiocarbon dating of four charcoal samples from immediately below and adjacent to the vase yielded a range of dates from the beginning of the Late Classic period, ca.A.D. 600-800. Through analyses of the context and contents of the vase, this research contributes to a more holistic understanding of the use and meaning of Ulúa-style marble vases in southern Mesoamerica.

Fieldwork at the Moche (A .D. 250–900) site of Licapa II in the Chicama Valley, Peru, has resulted in a more nuanced history of the changing sociopolitical relationships among Moche centers. The distinct archaeological signatures of Moche society, namely ceramics and huacas (monumental structures), have been interpreted as emblematic of an ethnic and political reality and as evidence for a state. Nonetheless, scholars are now disentangling these assumptions, arguing that Moche society was a complex mosaic of interacting settlements. My research at Licapa II combined surface collection, geophysical surveys, excavation, and chronometric analysis to better understand this site within the context of broader Moche sociopolitical dynamics. Ceramic and architectural evidence from Licapa II indicates that a shift in ideological organization occurred around A.D. 650. This shift reflects changes seen throughout the Moche world. Licapa II is located on the border of the northern and southern regions of Moche cultural development, and ceramic styles indicate that many of the interactions between these regions could have occurred here. By comparing these findings to evidence of sociopolitical reorganization seen elsewhere, research from Licapa II contributes to a non-state and decentralized view of the sociopolitical structure of Moche society.

Agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions that comprise much of present-day Peru, Bolivia, and Northern Chile is heavily dependent on irrigation; however, obtaining a dependable water supply in these areas is often difficult. The precolumbian peoples of Andean South America adapted to this situation by devising many strategies for transporting, storing, and retrieving water to insure consistent supply. I propose that the “elaborated springs” found at several Inka sites near Cuzco, Peru, are the visible expression of a simple and effective system of groundwater control and storage. I call this system “geologic water storage” because the water is stored in the pore spaces of sands, soils, and other near-surface geologic materials. I present two examples of sites in the Cuzco area that use this technology (Tambomachay and Tipón) and discuss the potential for identification of similar systems developed by other ancient Latin American cultures.

This study reports on type: variety-mode classification, digital stereomicroscopy, petrography, neutron activation analysis, and previously published reports and characterizes production and distribution of Mars Orange Paste Ware in the Middle Preclassic-period Maya Lowlands. The sample consists of 2028 sherds of Mars Orange Paste Ware from Holtun, Guatemala, and 4105 sherds reported from sites in Central Belize and Peten Guatemala. The combined data suggest Mars Orange Paste Ware was a “short-distance” trade ware produced in the northeastern Maya Lowlands and distributed from Central Belize to the west.

Recent INAH excavations and reanalysis of data from the Carnegie Institution archaeological project document the survival and revival of Classic and Terminal Classic traditions at Postclassic Mayapán, the last Maya capital in Mexico. The survival of some Terminal Classic ceramic types and architectural forms at Mayapán around A.D. 1100–1200 reflects a pattern of continuity. A revival of earlier traditions is notable in the erection of stelae marking the katun endings and in Postclassic architecture that incorporates iconographie elements from Terminal Classic Puuc sites and the city of Chichén Itzá. The rulers and priests of Mayapán displayed their connection with the Terminal Classic Maya heritage to assert political power. The Puuc revival at Mayapán is linked with the Xiu priests, whereas the revival of the Itzá heritage of Chichén Itzá is affiliated with the Cocom rulers. Between A.D. 1250 and 1400, revival-style architecture at Mayapán was inspired by local traditions in the area of Yucatán. After A.D. 1400, trade contact with the East Coast inspired new art forms linked with the international style associated with Mixteca-Puebla art.

The 2011 investigations of the Caves Branch Archaeological Survey at the large and recently documented Maya site of Tipan Chen Uitz resulted in the discovery of the site's first monument with a glyphic inscription. Prior to this discovery, the site's glyphic corpus was limited to a small collection of texts rendered on fragmentary ceramics. In this paper, we describe these sherds as well as the monument (Monument 1), report on their archaeological contexts, provide an epigraphic analysis of the texts, and consider these written sources relative to our growing understanding of Tipan and its place in the ancient political landscape. The discovery of Monument 1 is important, for it stands to contribute to sociopolitical reconstructions in this part of the central Maya Lowlands and has significant implications for the possible presence of other, as yet undiscovered, Late Classic period (A.D. 550-830) monuments at Tipan.