Obsidian source distribution and mercantile hierarchies in Postclassic Aztatlán, West Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Daniel E. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Source Distribution ◽  
Costly Signaling ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
West Mexico

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In Precolumbian Mesoamerica, trade was central to social organization, the spread of ideas, and the widespread distribution of goods across the landscape. For the Aztatlán tradition of Postclassic (AD 900- 1350) West Mexico in particular, far-reaching trade networks were a defining characteristic. One important trade item spread throughout the region was obsidian. While West Mexico features a wide array of excellent quality obsidian sources, they were differentially used in particular ways. In this study, I have macroscopically and geochemically analyzed over 14,000 total obsidian artifacts from seven different Aztatlan sites: San Felipe Aztatán, Coamiles, Chacalilla, Amapa, Peñitas, Huistla, and Santiaguito. Through these analyses, I have identified differences in how various obsidian sources were utilized nonrandomly not only within sites, but also among them. Results indicate that while the source closest to the coastal plain was utilized for generalized reduction and expedient tool use, more distant and presumably more costly sources were likely imported as prepared cores and finished prismatic blades. These obsidian analyses are supplemented with a geospatial study in which I have proposed the most efficient trade routes from each site to the utilized obsidian sources using a GIS Least Cost Path. With this, I have also identified likely direct trade between the regional centers on the coastal plain and secondary sites in Western Jalisco As a result, I have argued that obsidian sources were utilized in a manner dictated by the ideological value of particular sources based largely upon exclusivity and cost. To explore this hypothesis, I have utilized tenets of Neo-Marxist archaeological theory and Costly Signaling theory. With these theoretical perspectives, I argue that the greater cost, in and of itself, would have incentivized individuals with more wealth and prestige to preferentially use more distant obsidians. This utilization may have served to bolster their elevated status within local communities through the demonstration of greater access to resources, allies, esoteric knowledge of foreign lands, and trade partners. In this way, obsidian provides a window into better understanding the sociopolitical organization of the Aztatlán tradition.

A REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OF OBSIDIAN USE IN THE POSTCLASSIC AZTATLAN TRADITION

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Large Study ◽  
Source Distribution ◽  
Regional Assessment ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Western Mexico ◽  
The Many ◽  
Regional Perspective

Abstract Of the many items that were traded throughout the Postclassic (A.D. 850/900–1350) Aztatlan network, obsidian was perhaps the most prevalent. In this study, large assemblages of obsidian from five Aztatlan centers on the coastal plain are discussed: San Felipe Aztatan, Chacalilla, Amapa, Coamiles, and Peñitas. In total, over 12,000 obsidian artifacts were analyzed macroscopically and through handheld portable X-ray fluorescence. The results of these analyses illustrate regional patterns of obsidian use that appear consistent across the coastal plain. Generally, only three obsidian sources were used with frequency. The most proximal source was utilized for generalized reduction and probably acquired directly, while more distant obsidians from the Jalisco highlands are commonly found in the form of prismatic blades. These trends in obsidian use indicate an increase in source diversity concurrent with the development of the Aztatlan trade networks despite the local availability of quality obsidians. Finally, synchronic patterns of source distribution further indicate that sources were unevenly distributed as certain individuals likely had greater access to imported blades. In conclusion, this large study provides a regional perspective of obsidian use in Western Mexico on the coastal plain and showcases the pervasiveness of the obsidian trade during the Postclassic.

Do my eyes deceive me?: “Acts of Sight” in Naomi Iizuka’s Polaroid Stories, Concerning Strange Devices From the Distant West, War of the Worlds, and Good Kids

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carrie Winship
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Concrete Element ◽  
Cultural Experience ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Linguistic Strategies ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Material Bodies ◽  
The University

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Do My Eyes Deceive Me?: Acts of Sight in Naomi Iizuka's Polaroid Stories, Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, War of the Worlds, and Good Kids explores the postdramatic and open aesthetic of contemporary playwright, Naomi Iizuka. Through critical and close reading, I identify and analyze Naomi Iizuka's repeated staging of "acts of sight" as a dramaturgical device in four of her plays and examine these stagings within the context of Iizuka's broader interest in writing plays that dismantle essentialist concepts of identity and authenticity. I define “acts of sight” as moments in Iizuka's narratives that call attention to the process of witness in her dramatic textsâ€"through the reference and use of visual media, direct discussion or theatricalization of sight as a physiological and cultural experience, or a number of discursive and linguistic strategies that focus on the editorializing nature of vision, observation, and sight. The plays explored in this study utilize “acts of sight” which explicitly and visually demonstrate a postmodern theoretical perspective that rejects concepts of being (where entities are defined by their static categorizations) and argue instead for concepts of becoming (where material bodies are in a constant state of flux and movement). Through the stagings of these “acts of sight,” Naomi Iizuka invites audiences to deconstruct commonly accepted concepts of identity, which are rooted in essentialist philosophies, as her formal techniques challenge assumptions of identity as a fixed, binary, or concrete element of one’s life. I argue that this particular dramaturgical device makes each of these plays worthy of consideration as embodied theoretical perspectives and texts that demonstrate Iizuka’s significance as an architect of anti-essentialist theory and artistry.

THE MAIN ‘MIDDLE BYZANTINE PRODUCTION’ AND POTTERY MANUFACTURE IN THEBES AND CHALCIS

2014 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 379-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.Y. Waksman ◽  
N.D. Kontogiannis ◽  
S.S. Skartsis ◽  
G. Vaxevanis
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Kiln Furniture ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Two Cities ◽  
Concentric Circles ◽  
The Impact

The article relates the results of archaeometric and archaeological investigations of the relationships between some well-known types of Byzantine table wares and pottery manufacture in Thebes and Chalcis, focusing on the period from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries ad.We currently accept that several twelfth–thirteenth century types, such as ‘Green and Brown Painted Ware’, ‘Fine Sgraffito Ware’ and ‘Aegean Ware’, form part of a single, main, long-lasting production of Byzantine ceramics, called here main ‘Middle Byzantine Production’ (MBP), which was distributed and diffused in the whole Mediterranean area, and especially in its eastern part. The discovery of kiln furniture and pottery wasters in rescue excavations in Thebes and Chalcis gave the opportunity to define chemical reference groups for the two cities, and to test the hypothesis of a potential origin of the MBP in Central Greece. The results point to Chalcis, then the harbour of wealthy Thebes with a strategic location on maritime trade routes, as the place of manufacture of the MBP. Chalcis, which is now seen as a main pottery production site, is envisaged within its historic context. The persistence of the MBP after the Frankish conquest, without noticeable morphological changes, questions the impact of this conquest on both trade networks and dining habits.The political fragmentation of the thirteenth century gradually changed the conditions that facilitated the predominance of the MBP, and led to the establishment of a number of regional workshops whose ceramics were mainly destined to cover local markets. While continuing earlier techniques, they introduced new types, prominent among which was the ‘Sgraffito with Concentric Circles’ (previously related to ‘Zeuxippus Ware’). Thebes was one of these new workshops probably appearing from the mid-thirteenth century and continuing at least to the early fourteenth century. Chalcis eventually followed the same course, and its production may have carried on well into the Ottoman period.

A Reconsideration of Wangara/Palolus, Island of Gold

1981 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Keech McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Niger Delta ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Urban Centre ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Niger Delta Region ◽  
Inland Niger Delta ◽  
Alternative Identification ◽  
Major Urban Centre

There is a general consensus among West African historians that the Island of Gold, known to Arab geographers as Wangara and to European cartographers as Palolus, refers to the Bambuk/Bure goldfields. This article examines the evidence for an alternative identification of the Island of Gold with the Inland Niger Delta, where the place name Wangara would be derived from Soninke long-distance traders (Wangara). Many of the details on the Island of Gold provided in the original sources can be shown to apply more convincingly to the Inland Niger Delta than to Bambuk/Bure. Until now, this hypothesis has not received serious consideration, partly because of the belief that the Inland Delta and its most important entrepot, Jenne, did not play a significant role in long-distance trade networks until the fourteenth century. This is contradicted by archaeological evidence for a major urban centre at Jenne-jeno by 900 a.d.The existence in the later first millennium a.d. of the Soninke town of Jenne-jeno, and the oral traditions which maintain that the western Inland Delta was the heartland of the Soninke trade diaspora, combine to indicate that commerce along the Middle Niger was substantial by the early second millennium. Indirect confirmation of this trading activity is found both in al-Bakri's discussion of riverine trade routes along the upper Niger Bend and in al-Idrisi's account of the Wangara along the Middle Niger. The continuing identification of the Inland Niger Delta region as the Island of Gold from the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries implies that part of this trade involved gold. A possible early gold source in Lobi is suggested.

scholarly journals The Makassar Malays: Adaptation and Identity, c. 1660-1790

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Social Alliances ◽  
Ethnic Classification

Extensive trade networks and Islam shaped Malay identity. The Dutch conquest of Makassar (1666-69) compelled the Malays there to redefine themselves, mastering new trade routes, political arenas and social alliances. During the eighteenth century they both evaded and exploited ethnic classification, as their enforced focus on regional commerce and integration into port society encouraged localisation.

scholarly journals Sequential Least-Cost Path Sailing Model for Early 17th Century South China Sea: Digitally Navigating the Selden Map of China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesa Pertola ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
South China ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Wind Data ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Time Periods

During the 17th century, Southeast Asia was a bustling hub of maritime commerce. The Selden Map of China depicts some of the trade routes in the area and is drawn in a way which allows their sailing durations to be measured. This information is used in the development of a sequential least-cost path sailing model that utilizes deterministic timeseries wind data. The model can be used to simulate the optimized routes and durations between any points A and B in the South China Sea. With minor modifications, the method is applicable to other time periods and geographical settings.

scholarly journals Digital Navigator on the Seas of the Selden Map of China: Sequential Least-Cost Path Analysis Using Dynamic Wind Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesa Perttola
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
East Asian Monsoon ◽  
Wind Data ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Least Cost Path Analysis

AbstractDuring the age of sail-powered ships, the maritime trade networks of Southeast Asia were highly cyclical in nature due to the biannually switching wind directions of the East Asian Monsoon. The Selden Map of China provides us with a glimpse of these connections in the early seventeenth century, and it is drawn in a unique way that allows the sailing durations between ports to be measured. In this paper, a novel method of simulating directed sail-powered voyages is developed. The method utilizes ArcGIS Pro’s functionality through Python macros, and unlike the previous least-cost path (LCP) sailing models, it is based on sequential LCP analysis using dynamic real-time series wind data. The optimized routes and sailing durations generated by the macros are then compared against the Selden map. In general, the model performs reasonably well in favourable winds, but is unable to simulate tacking properly in adverse conditions. The results allow the visualization of wind patterns in terms of time spent at sea and demonstrate the inherent natural rhythm of maritime movement and trade in the South China Sea region. The macros are freely available and can be modified to simulate directed sailing in other time periods, localities, and environmental settings.

Changes in Trade Networks of Geumgwan-Gaya Looked atThrough Iron ingots As Burial Goods During the 4th~6th Century

2020 ◽  
pp. 99-138
Author(s):  
Choon Sun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Iron Production ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Small Unit ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Strong Trend ◽  
Iron Smelting ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Political Structures

This study intended to look into changes in the trade networks of Geumgwan-Gaya by analysis of the iron ingots excavated as burial goods from the 4th ~ 6th century ancient tombs in the areas of Nakdonggang River the southeast coast, and identify the scope and aspects of the interactions in the Geumgwan-Gaya Federation through it. First, this study analyzed the iron ingots buried in the ancient tombs in the areas of the southern coast and the lower Nakdonggang River by the forms and organized the changes in the shape of the iron ingots divided into periods ofⅠ ~ Ⅸ stages through the relics excavated together. Next, this study organized the buried aspects of those iron ingots by the hierarchy through the size of the tombs, and the burial goods of ironware and earthenware. Taking over the form of the plate-shaped iron ax in the middle of the 3rd century, the iron ingots were buried like a rail in the tombs for the highest hierarchy starting from the end of the 3rd century in the areas of Daeseongdong, Gimhae and Bokcheon-dong, Busan, where were the center of Geumgwan- Gaya. Starting from the middle of the 4th century to the early of the 5th century it shows the strong trend in the shape of the iron ingots being standardized into the symmetrical arc from of 15~22cm(ⅢBc), which are buried in bundles concentratedly inside the middle of the tombs for the early and lower hierarchy, and the number of tombs with hierarchy is increasing even in the small and medium-sized ancient tombs as well. After the middle of the 5th century, the symmetrical ones in the 10~15cm with arc blade and narrow-width (ⅣBc) are increased, and the iron ingots are buried also in the tombs for the lower hierarchy out of the small and medium-sized tombs. Together with the iron ingots, it shows noticeable burial goods of iron smelting tools such as hammers, anvils and tongs, evidencing that the hierarchy of ironware making becomes diversified. This shows that the iron ingots, that had been buried as a wealth symbol in the large-sized tombs for the highest hierarchy since the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th century, were buried in the small and middle-sized tombs for the highest hierarchy who formed the craftman networks in iron production by small regional unit in the middle and latter half of the 4th century, and they took in charge of the production and distribution of the iron ingots for the highest hierarchy of the Daeseong-dong ancient tombs under the control of them. However, after the 5th century, it became possible of iron production function by towns & villages of political structures in small unit areas. Since then, Geumgwan-Gaya, which lost its foreign trade routes, was transformed into a form of trade & distribution between the political structures in the inland area of the Nakdonggang River and the ones in small areas through the southern coast. Thus, those political structures in the small unit areas of the lower Nakdonggang River and the southern coast continued to maintain as the regional political structures of Geumgwan-Gaya even after the southern conquest by Goguryeo Kingdom, while interacting on equally basis as the trade ports of the later Geumgwan-Gaya.

Changing Olmec trade routes understood through Least Cost Path analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 105146
Author(s):  
Robert M. Rosenswig ◽  
Antonio Martínez Tuñón
Keyword(s):  
Path Analysis ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Least Cost Path Analysis

Late Intermediate Period Funerary Traditions, Population Aggregation, and the Ayllu in the Sihuas Valley, Peru

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Justin Jennings ◽  
Willy Yépez Álvarez ◽  
Stefanie L. Bautista ◽  
Beth K. Scaffidi ◽  
Tiffiny A. Tung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
Population Movements ◽  
Late Intermediate Period ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
South Central ◽  
Population Aggregation

The Late Intermediate period in the south-central Andes is known for the widespread use of open sepulchres called chullpas by descent-based ayllus to claim rights to resources and express idealized notions of how society should be organized. Chullpas, however, were rarer on the coast, with the dead often buried individually in closed tombs. This article documents conditions under which these closed tombs were used at the site of Quilcapampa on the coastal plain of southern Peru, allowing an exploration into the ways that funerary traditions were employed to both reflect and generate community affiliation, ideals about sociopolitical organization, and land rights. After a long hiatus, the site was reoccupied and quickly expanded through local population aggregation and highland migrations. An ayllu organization that made ancestral claims to specific resources was poorly suited to these conditions, and the site's inhabitants instead seem to have organized themselves around the ruins of Quilcapampa's earlier occupation. In describing what happened in Quilcapampa, we highlight the need for a better understanding of the myriad ways that Andean peoples used mortuary customs to structure the lives of the living during a period of population movements and climate change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document