scholarly journals The T-shaped “axe” from Northeast Honduras: Observations on chronology and function of a pre Columbian stone tool

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Healy ◽  
Daniel Savage
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Central America ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Distinctive Type ◽  
University Museum ◽  
And Function ◽  
Bay Islands

This paper provides a description and analysis of a distinctive type of pre-Columbian stone tool, usually termed a T-shaped axe, found almost exclusively in Northeast Honduras, Central America. There have been very few detailed or technical studies of lithics from Honduras. Early archaeological research and the current understanding of the regional prehistory are included, with Northeast Honduras viewed as a frontier zone located between the Mesoamerican and Isthmo-Columbian culture areas. Our study examines, in particular, a collection of these tools curated today at the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (CUMAA). The 39 (whole and fragmentary) specimens were collected between 1937 and 1939, from the Bay Islands, Northeast Honduras, but have never been published. This paper classifies the collection specimens into five varieties, based on morphology, with sample statistics, form dimensions, and illustrations provided for each. Manufacturing technology is primarily percussion flaking. The tool type is compared with similar specimens excavated and described from the Bay Islands and adjacent Honduran mainland, and with similar appearing implements from elsewhere in Central America. Insights about the possible age and function of these unusual, and distinctive, lithics are included. Based on preliminary macroscopic and microscopic analyses, it is concluded that the tools may have been employed as agricultural implements (hoes or spades), primarily for digging activities, rather than as axes or weapons used for cutting and slicing. It is most likely that these implements first appeared about 800 CE, and continued in use until at least 1400 CE. The tool type is most probably a local (not imported) product. More functional analysis is encouraged.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating of the Temple of the Monkey—The Next Step Towards a Comprehensive Absolute Chronology of Pachacamac, Peru

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Michczyński ◽  
Peter Eeckhout ◽  
Anna Pazdur ◽  
Jacek Pawlyta
Keyword(s):  
General Framework ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Monumental Architecture ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Shed Light

The ongoing Ychsma Project aims to shed light on the chronology and function of the late Prehispanic period at the well-known archaeological site of Pachacamac, Peru, through extensive archaeological research. The Temple of the Monkey is a special building that has been cleared, mapped, and excavated within the general framework of the study of “pyramids with ramps,” the most common form of monumental architecture at the site. Through the application of radiocarbon measurements, it can be shown that the temple has been used for around 150 yr and therefore is quite different from other pyramids with ramps previously studied (see Michczyński et al. 2003). Details of the temple, 14C sample selection, and methodology, as well as results, are discussed in this paper. The research has allowed us to make significant advances in the current understanding of pyramids with ramps and the function of the site of Pachacamac as a whole.

Regaining Ground

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Herlihy ◽  
Matthew L. Fahrenbruch ◽  
Taylor A. Tappan
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
First Century ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Demographic Trends ◽  
New Strategies ◽  
Indigenous Land

This chapter describes the geographies of indigenous populations and their territories in Central America, past and present. A brief discussion of previous archaeological research provides a context for the region’s pre-Columbian populations and settlement distributions prior to an examination of the territorial and demographic collapse precipitated by European conquest. The chapter chronicles a twenty-first-century resurgence of indigenous populations and their territorial rights in Central America, including the emergence of geopolitical units that we call indigenous territorial jurisdictions (ITJs), the likes of which represent new strategies for accommodating indigenous land ownership and governance within the context of modern states. Archival and census research, in situ field experience, and geographic information system (GIS)-based land use and cadastral mapping inform the understanding of indigenous peoples’ past and contemporary demographic trends, settlement patterns, and territorial challenges.

scholarly journals Making History Possible: Logograph in China and Hieroglyph in Central America

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-80
Author(s):  
Yi Chen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
General Information ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
And Function ◽  
Chinese Writing ◽  
Written Materials ◽  
Compare And Contrast

In the following paper, I will compare and contrast the development of script in two different writing systems: the Mayan and the Chinese. This paper will demonstrate how each system employed writing to map language into a durable technology for communication. By doing so, I will provide the general information that introduces readers to the origin, purpose, and function of the two writing systems. Through analysis of the development of Mayan and Chinese writing systems, the paper also shows that significant aspects of culture were preserved and transmitted by written materials as they contribute to the continuation of the two civilizations. This approach also has the benefit of emphasizing the strong relationship between culture and writing. Studying the origins, development, and use of writing in these two cultures mitigates against the tendency to devalue certain cultures. A study of both Chinese and Mayan writing is especially important since both cultures developed scripts that did not borrow from the writing systems of other civilizations.

scholarly journals Functional Analysis in Embodiment Design - An Investigation of Embodiment Function Relations in Testing Activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1503-1512
Author(s):  
Patric Grauberger ◽  
Katharina Voß ◽  
Sven Matthiesen
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Embodiment Design ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
And Function ◽  
Data Acquisition And Processing

AbstractTesting contributes to success of engineering design as it plays an important role in gaining insights about the system in development. Literature indicates that for success in engineering design, gaining insights about relations of embodiment and function is crucial. In this contribution, an investigation of how insights about embodiment function relations are gained in testing, is conducted. For this, the testing documentation in a student development project is analysed. The results show a correlation of gaining insights about embodiment function relations to success in engineering design. Potential for improvement in data acquisition and processing is uncovered, which will be used in a succeeding study to investigate this issue in more detail.

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