Different Shades of Early Shamanism in the Upper Amazon

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-144
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Amazon Region ◽  
The Body ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
La Florida ◽  
East West ◽  
Important Site ◽  
Early Formative

Recent archaeological research in the upper Amazon region, on the frontier between Ecuador and Peru, has discovered a new pre-Columbian culture, now known as the Mayo Chinchipe-Marañón society. The most important site that has been studied until now is Santa Ana–La Florida (SALF), located in Palanda (Zamora Chinchipe province, Ecuador), where an Early Formative period ceremonial center has been studied for over a decade. This site has been occupied for over 5000 years. The ceremonial center has an architectural layout centered around a sunken plaza, with two platforms placed at each end on an east-west axis. The eastern platform served as the base of a round structure that contained evidence of ritual activities. Several tombs have been located in the body of the platform. One, however, stands out for its extraordinary paraphernalia, which suggests the presence of a very relevant individual: a shaman.

Architecture, Settlement, and Formative Developments in the Equatorial Andes: New Discoveries in the Department of Tumbes, Peru

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry D. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Additional Data ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Domestic Architecture ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
Southern Ecuador ◽  
Early Formative

AbstractThe cultural transformations associated with the Formative period are pivotal for understanding the prehistory of the Americas. Over the last five decades, investigations in southwestern Ecuador have provided an early and robust set of archaeological data relating to Archaic-to-Formative transformations as exemplified by the Las Vegas, Valdivia, Machalilla, and Chorrera archaeological traditions. However, recent archaeological research in adjacent zones of the equatorial Andes indicates that the transformations in southwestern Ecuador were paralleled by coeval but distinct developments. Recent (2006–2007) excavations in the Department of Tumbes, Peru, have documented previously unknown Formative transformations, including the development of substantial domestic architecture during the Archaic (ca. 4700–4330 B.C.E.) and early Formative (ca. 3500–3100 B.C.E.), the shift from elliptical pole-and-thatch dwellings to rectangular wattle-and-daub structures at ca. 900–500 B.C.E., and the construction of public architecture and the establishment of a two-tiered settlement system by ca. 1000–800 B.C.E. These recently discovered archaeological patterns from Tumbes and additional data from southern Ecuador provide the basis for revised comparative perspectives in which southwestern Ecuador is a significant—but no longer the only—vantage point for understanding the evolution of Formative societies in the equatorial Andes.

scholarly journals Reconsidering the Age and Typological Character of “Pox Pottery” from Guerrero, Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Kennett ◽  
Barbara Voorhies ◽  
Josue Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Isthmus Of Tehuantepec ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Formative Ceramics ◽  
Early Formative

We revisit the age and typological character of “Pox Pottery” that was reported in the 1960s by Charles Brush who considered it to be uniquely early (~2440 BC). Investigating the same two sites in coastal Guerrero where Brush excavated, we recovered Early Formative ceramics, some with the “pox” attribute. Here, we report potsherd frequencies for these deposits at both sites according to regional ceramic typologies, as well as AMS 14C dates used to establish a Bayesian stratigraphic chronology for each site to better constrain the age of these Early Formative period deposits. We argue that “Pox Pottery” is not a ceramic type per se and that the “pox” attribute occurs in multiple Early Formative period ceramic types. The earliest pottery is similar to other Red-on-Buff ceramic traditions from the Central Mexican Highlands and west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Our chronological work demonstrates that these ceramics date between 1820 and 1400 cal BC, consistent with other recent studies indicating an early age of Red-on-Buff ceramics and suggesting shared cultural traditions distinct from the contemporary Locona interaction sphere that emerged in parallel.

A SAN LORENZO PHASE HOUSEHOLD ASSEMBLAGE FROM EL REMOLINO, VERACRUZ

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Wendt
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Future Research ◽  
San Lorenzo ◽  
Preliminary Attempt ◽  
Gulf Coast Region ◽  
Coast Region ◽  
Early Formative

AbstractWhile scholars actively search for material and symbolic indications of Olmec influence outside the Gulf Coast, few have taken a close look at the variation and intricacies of Early Formative period material culture within the Gulf Coast region. The increasing body of data on houses in the Olmec heartland is beginning to allow comparisons and new kinds of analyses not previously possible in Olmec studies. Excavated materials from San Lorenzo phase (1200–900b.c., radiocarbon years; 1400–1000b.c.) households at El Remolino in the San Lorenzo region are analyzed in a preliminary attempt to evaluate the particulars of a San Lorenzo Olmec domestic assemblage in order to provide a baseline for future research. I compare quantities of different artifact classes, vessel forms, vessel orifice diameters, and pottery decoration to arrive at an understanding of a modest Olmec household inventory. Through this analysis, I argue that several of the San Lorenzo horizon markers cited as evidence of Olmec influence or migration elsewhere in Mesoamerica are quite rare in the Olmec heartland itself. Both Calzadas Carved and Limón Carved-Incised pottery decorations1occur only in minute quantities (<1%) in the Remolino (and San Lorenzo) assemblage, and hollow white-ware figurines are entirely absent at this nonelite context. Except for its location 5 km from San Lorenzo, El Remolino would not qualify as an Olmec site based on the lack of artifact markers emphasized by archaeologists working outside of the Gulf Coast. I argue that we need a better idea of the range of Gulf Coast Olmec variation before we delve too far into discussions of Gulf Coast influence.

Mental Illness, Psychiatry, and the South African State, 1800s to 2018

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Parle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
African State ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
National Network ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
New Treatments

Definitions of and explanations for mental illness differ between societies and have changed over time. Current use of the term arises from secular and materialist epistemologies of the body and mind, influential from the 18th century, which rejected the spiritual or supernatural as causes of illness. Since the 19th century, a specialist body of study, of law, practices, professionals, and institutions developed to investigate, define, diagnose, and treat disorders and illnesses of the mind. This was the emergence of psychiatry and of a professional psychiatric sector. With origins in the West, at a time of capitalism and imperialism, psychiatry was brought to South Africa through colonialism, and its development has been strongly influenced by the country’s economic, political, ideological, and medico-scientific histories. There have been significant continuities: the sector has always been small, underfunded, and prioritized white men. Black patients were largely neglected. Discrimination and segregation were constant features, but it is helpful to identify three broad phases of the history of the psychiatric sector in South Africa. First, its most formative period was during colonial rule, notably from the mid-1800s to c. 1918, with an institutional base in asylums. The second broad phase lasted from the 1920s to the 1990s. A national network of mental hospitals was created and changes in the ways in which mental illnesses were classified occurred at the beginning of this period. Some new treatments were introduced in the 1930s and 1950s. Law and the profession’s theoretical orientations also changed somewhat in the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s. Institutional practice remained largely unchanged, however. A third phase began in the 1980s when there were gradual shifts toward democratic governance and the progressive Mental Health Act of 2002, yet continued human rights violations in the case of the state duty of care toward the mentally ill and vulnerable.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Even as We Keep Trying: An Ethics of Interculturalism in Jérôme Bel's Pichet Klunchun and Myself

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
SanSan Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
The Body ◽  
Set Design ◽  
Art Making ◽  
Classical Dance ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
The World ◽  
Spatial Composition ◽  
Concert Dance ◽  
East West

In 2004, Singaporean presenter Tang Fu Kuen commissioned French avant-garde choreographer Jérôme Bel to create a work in collaboration with classical Thai dancer-choreographer Pichet Klunchun. The resulting piece is unlike most intercultural collaborations. In the world of concert dance, East–West interculturalism takes place in a variety of ways: in costuming or set design, in theme or subject matter, in choreographic structure, in stylings of the body, in energetic impetus, in spatial composition, in philosophical attitude toward art making. Bel's work, titled Pichet Klunchun and Myself, does not combine aesthetics in any of these ways. In fact, the piece may more accurately be described not as a dance but as two verbal interviews (first by Bel of Klunchun and then vice versa) performed for an audience and separated by an intermission. There is no actual intermingling of forms—Thai classical dance with European contemporary choreography—in this performance. The intercultural “choreography” here comprises a staged conversation between the artists and some isolated physical demonstrations by each.

scholarly journals Ancient DNA reveals the lost domestication history of South American camelids in Northern Chile and across the Andes

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Diaz-Maroto ◽  
Alba Rey-Iglesia ◽  
Isabel Cartajena ◽  
Lautaro Núñez ◽  
Michael V Westbury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
South American ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
South American Camelids ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Formative

The study of South American camelids and their domestication is a highly debated topic in zooarchaeology. Identifying the domestic species (alpaca and llama) in archaeological sites based solely on morphological data is challenging due to their similarity with respect to their wild ancestors. Using genetic methods also presents challenges due to the hybridization history of the domestic species, which are thought to have extensively hybridized following the Spanish conquest of South America that resulted in camelids slaughtered en masse. In this study, we generated mitochondrial genomes for 61 ancient South American camelids dated between 3,500 and 2,400 years before the present (Early Formative period) from two archaeological sites in Northern Chile (Tulán-54 and Tulán-85), as well as 66 modern camelid mitogenomes and 815 modern mitochondrial control region sequences from across South America. In addition, we performed osteometric analyses to differentiate big and small body size camelids. A comparative analysis of these data suggests that a substantial proportion of the ancient vicuña genetic variation has been lost since the Early Formative period, as it is not present in modern specimens. Moreover, we propose a domestication hypothesis that includes an ancient guanaco population that no longer exists. Finally, we find evidence that interbreeding practices were widespread during the domestication process by the early camelid herders in the Atacama during the Early Formative period and predating the Spanish conquest.

Cloth and the Rituals of Encounter in La Florida

2020 ◽  
pp. 396-413
Author(s):  
Laura Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
The Body ◽  
Early American ◽  
Touch Perception ◽  
Physical Form ◽  
American Southeast ◽  
La Florida ◽  
Physical Gestures ◽  
Almost All

Elaborate rituals, from the cleared space of encounter to physical gestures and gifts, developed over the course of the sixteenth century in La Florida as Native met European. Searching for a common symbolism between cultures is often limited to those items that both groups recognize and use in a similar fashion. Those are frequently reduced to lived experiences, or the material culture of the body: food, shelter, and clothes. Almost all early Florida encounter rituals involved the body: touch, perception, and presentation of physical form. As this code developed, clothes became one of the most common methods of achieving connections as individuals chose items of dress to do some of the work of cultural interpretation that resonated with their own experiences and parent cultures. Beginning with early Spanish Florida and moving chronologically as other European powers entered the region, this chapter explores how these metaphorical encoding and decoding sessions developed. In the discursive and physical worlds of the early American southeast, textiles were key metaphors for connection and recognition. By the end of the sixteenth century, many Native groups from Carolina to Florida had a working knowledge of European textiles and their metaphorical role in the rituals of encounter.

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