The Tronadora Complex: Early Formative Ceramics in Northwestern Costa Rica

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Hoopes
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Central American ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Tephra Stratigraphy ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Early Formative

The correlation of archaeological features with tephra stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates in the volcanic cordillera of northwestern Costa Rica has provided evidence for an Early to Middle Formative ceramic complex dating to at least 2000 B.C. Tronadora ceramics have been found in association with evidence for early horticulture and sedentism. Stylistic comparisons with other early pottery from Central America have helped with the refinement of our chronology for the earliest sedentary societies in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Differences between Tronadora pottery and the earliest complexes of Mesoamerica and southern Central America indicate a high degree of regionalization in ceramic styles during the Early Formative period. Similarities also indicate, however, the common participation of northwestern Costa Rica and southern Mesoamerica in broad interaction networks at this time. Tronadora pottery does not represent an incipient technology or the result of a diffusion of ceramic production from Mesoamerica or northwestern South America. Instead, it implies the existence of an earlier and still-undefined period of technological experimentation in the Central American isthmus.

Radiocarbon Evidence for Initial Early Formative Period Occupation in Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy David Hepp
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Early Formative

Seven AMS radiocarbon dates (1950–1525 cal BC) from controlled contexts demonstrate Early Formative period occupation in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. These dated elements from the site of La Consentida include hearths, occupational surfaces, carbon adhering to pottery from a midden, and human bone collagen processed with XAD purification. They were excavated from primary contexts and do not represent redeposited materials. An eighth sample, dated to the Middle Formative period, is considered postoccupational. The diversity of dated deposits and features, their distribution, and their overlapping calibrated ranges indicate settlement by an initial Early Formative period village.

Redefinition of the Swasey Phase at Cuello, Belize

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Wyllys Andrews ◽  
Norman Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Early Formative ◽  
Cultural Developments

Calibrated radiocarbon dates of 19 samples excavated since 1976 at the site of Cuello, in northern Belize, place the Swasey phase (11 dates) and Bladen phase (8 dates) in the Middle Formative period, rather than in the Early Formative, as 10 dates on charcoal excavated in 1975 and 1976 indicated. The post-1976 dates for both phases fall between about 1100 and 400 B.C., and the two sets do not appear to differ significantly. All except 3 of the 35 archaeologically acceptable dates from the later Lopez Mamom and Cocos Chicanel contexts fall within the conventionally accepted ranges for those phases. A mixture of old charcoal from the environment or from an unidentified pre-Swasey occupation with the 1975–1976 samples may explain their early radiocarbon ages, although why such mixing should have affected only the 1975–1976 samples is not known. This reassessment of the early Cuello sequence aligns it with comparable cultural developments elsewhere in the Maya area and suggests that the earliest farming communities of northern Belize perhaps derived from the highlands of Guatemala.

scholarly journals First record of Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida Swainson, 1832) (Aves: Emberizidae) in Costa Rica

Check List ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1592
Author(s):  
Steven Aguilar ◽  
Julio E. Sánchez ◽  
Daniel Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
First Record ◽  
Adult Bird ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Wintering Range

We present the first record of the Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida) in Costa Rica. An adult bird was recorded ca. 900 Km south of its common wintering range. This represents the first record of the species for the country and for southern Central America.

Description of three new species of Nymphistrini (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Haeteriinae) from Central America

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3500 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEXEY K. TISHECHKIN ◽  
ALIDA MERCADO CÁRDENAS
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Central American ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Identification Keys ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Central American Species

Three new species belonging to the tribe Nymphistrini of the obligate myrmeco- and termitophilous subfamily Haeteriinae (Coleoptera: Histeridae) are described from Central America: Nymphister rettenmeyeri sp. n. (Costa Rica and Panama), Trichoreninus carltoni sp. n. (Belize and Honduras) and T. neo sp. n. (Costa Rica and Panama).  Identification keys for the Central American species of both genera are prepared.  Available host records for N. rettenmeyeri confirm the symbiosis of the genus with Eciton army ants: the species has been found in colonies of E. burchelli (Westwood), E. hamatum (Fabricius) and E. mexicanum Roger.  Host records are not available for the new species of Trichoreninus as all known specimens were collected by flight intercept traps.

scholarly journals Archaeological Central American maize genomes suggest ancient gene flow from South America

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (52) ◽  
pp. 33124-33129
Author(s):  
Logan Kistler ◽  
Heather B. Thakar ◽  
Amber M. VanDerwarker ◽  
Alejandra Domic ◽  
Anders Bergström ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
South America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Central American ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Rock Shelter ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
American Maize ◽  
Modern Maize

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) domestication began in southwestern Mexico ∼9,000 calendar years before present (cal. BP) and humans dispersed this important grain to South America by at least 7,000 cal. BP as a partial domesticate. South America served as a secondary improvement center where the domestication syndrome became fixed and new lineages emerged in parallel with similar processes in Mesoamerica. Later, Indigenous cultivators carried a second major wave of maize southward from Mesoamerica, but it has been unclear until now whether the deeply divergent maize lineages underwent any subsequent gene flow between these regions. Here we report ancient maize genomes (2,300–1,900 cal. BP) from El Gigante rock shelter, Honduras, that are closely related to ancient and modern maize from South America. Our findings suggest that the second wave of maize brought into South America hybridized with long-established landraces from the first wave, and that some of the resulting newly admixed lineages were then reintroduced to Central America. Direct radiocarbon dates and cob morphological data from the rock shelter suggest that more productive maize varieties developed between 4,300 and 2,500 cal. BP. We hypothesize that the influx of maize from South America into Central America may have been an important source of genetic diversity as maize was becoming a staple grain in Central and Mesoamerica.

Context, Cult, and Early Formative Period Public Ritual in the Mixteca Alta

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Blomster
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Social Ranking ◽  
Mixteca Alta ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Early Formative

AbstractFrom the Early and Middle Formative periods, hollow ceramic-baby figurines in the Olmec style—representing a suite of shared symbols and iconography—appear at sites throughout Mesoamerica. Hollow babies are usually reported without provenience, which has prevented a context-based analysis. The recent discovery of a hollow-baby figurine in a bell-shaped pit in the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca provides the opportunity to examine the role and purported distribution of these objects across Mesoamenca. Based on consideration of the Etlatongo hollow-baby image, a semiotic analysis of contemporaneous solid figurines from Oaxaca, and the volume and nature of its bell-shaped-pit context, hollow babies are interpreted as ritual paraphernalia used in display and public ceremonies that reflect the emerging social ranking of this period. Moving beyond a socioeconomic interpretation, the interregional relationships expressed through hollow-baby figurines are suggested to evince participation in a regional cult.

Quaternary Glaciers and Climate on Cerro Chirripó, Costa Rica

2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Orvis ◽  
Sally P. Horn
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Central America ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Glacial Geomorphology ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Tropical Glaciers ◽  
The North ◽  
Organic Sediments ◽  
Lower Limits

Glacial lake sediments and glacial geomorphology in Valle de las Morrenas, a glacial trough on the north face of Cerro Chirripó, Costa Rica, provide evidence on high-altitude Pleistocene conditions in Central America. The most recent glacier in the valley (Chirripó stage I) receded very rapidly near the end of the Younger Dryas chronozone. Radiocarbon dates on basal organic sediments from lakes beneath upper, middle, and lower limits of that glacier fall close together, and two-sigma calibrated ages overlap for the period 9700–9600 cal yr B.P. Earliest datable transition sediments from the central lake date to 12,360–11,230 cal yr B.P. Larger, older moraines, and associated trimlines, allowed reconstruction of three paleoglaciers (Chirripó stages II, III, and IV). Computer analysis of hypsometry using published tropical-glacier vertical mass balance profiles yields ELAs of 3506–3523, 3515–3537, and 3418–3509 m, respectively; Chirripó II ELA-estimate positions applied to Chirripó I yield an ELA of 3538–3546 m. We infer minimal temperature depressions of 7.4–8.0°C for the Chirripó I–IV stages. Modeling the behavior of modern tropical glaciers yields basinwide net accumulation estimates of 440–620, 550–830, and 960–1760 mm yr−1 for the Chirripó II, III, and IV stages.

5.4 Swine production systems in Central America: limiting factors, prospects and research requirements

1981 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 279-289
Author(s):  
B. Quijandria
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Gross National Product ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Central American ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Swine Production ◽  
Active Population

The relative importance of agriculture in the Central American region (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) is beyond question. With close to 65% of its economically active population devoted to agriculture, with 95% of its exports based on agricultural products and with 30% of the Gross National Product (GNP) originated by agriculture, this area is particularly dependent on this activity for its development (SIECA and GAFICA, 1975).

scholarly journals The Challenge for the Central American Integration System (SICA): The Withdrawal of Costa Rica During the Cuban Migrant Crisis 2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Damaris Stein
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
National Level ◽  
Central American ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Integration System ◽  
Historical Aspects ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Migration Crisis

Central America has the longest experience with regional integration efforts apart from Europe and regional integration was on its rise with the establishment of the Central American Integration System (SICA). However, the organisation has been struggling to move the integration process further; experiencing a climax of fragmentation when Costa Rica left SICA during the Cuban migration crisis in 2015. This article focuses on the factors which contributed to the withdrawal of Costa Rica by looking at: (1) the institutional level of SICA; (2) Costa Rica’s policies that have hindered Central American integration; and (3) Costa Rica’s main reasons for its non-integrationist actions. This article argues that the cause can be found at both the institutional level and the national level. It further shows that SICA failed at deepening its integration due to its supranational ambitions installed in its institutional framework. Moreover, through qualitative research methods, it has been found that Costa Rica’s foreign policy is characterised by defying SICA’s organisational bodies. This article concludes by proposing four major reasons to explain Costa Rica’s non-integrationist actions which can be subsumed under (1) historical aspects, (2) no trade benefits from its membership, (3) immigration issues and lastly, (4) the legitimacy problem of SICA.

scholarly journals The Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of Central America

ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1024 ◽  
pp. 157-196
Author(s):  
Jorge Ismael Nestor-Arriola ◽  
Víctor Hugo Toledo-Hernández ◽  
Ángel Solís ◽  
Guillermo González ◽  
Jaroslav Větrovec
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Central America ◽  
Male Genitalia ◽  
New Records ◽  
Central American ◽  
Type Material ◽  
First Time ◽  
Central American Species

A revision of the Central American species of the genus Brachiacantha was undertaken to update the knowledge of the Central American species of the genus. Material of several collections was reviewed, using original descriptions and keys, and comparing with the type material. Twenty-five species of the genus Brachiacantha were found in Central American material, including nine new species: B. nubes Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. dentata Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. isthmena Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. aurantiapleura Nestor-Arriola, Solís and Toledo-Hernández, sp. nov., B. invertita Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. papiliona Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. tica Nestor-Arriola, Toledo-Hernández and Solís, sp. nov., B. hexaspina González, Větrovec and Nestor-Arriola, sp. nov., and B. mimica Nestor-Arriola and Toledo-Hernández, sp. nov. Nomenclatural changes include Brachiacantha gorhami (Weise), comb. nov., B. guatemalensis (Gorham), comb. nov., and Brachiacantha duodecimguttata Leng, syn. nov. for B. lepida Mulsant. The male genitalia of the species B. fenestrata Gorhan, B. octostigma Mulsant, B. aperta Weise, and B. cachensis Gorhan are described and illustrated for the first time. New records include B. indubitabilis Crotch and B. bipartita Mulsant (Costa Rica and Guatemala), B. gorhami (Weise) (El Salvador), and B. cachensis Gorham (Panamá). A key to the species is included.

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