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(1 - 7 of 7)
- Title
- OBSIDIAN SOURCING ANALYSIS FROM CHIQUIUITAN, GUATEMALA.
- Creator
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Fertig, Sutherland X, Kovacevich, Brigitte, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The intent of this thesis is to analyze obsidian artifacts from Chiquiuitan, Guatemala to see if the samples can be traced to known obsidian sources in the Maya region based on their unique chemical elements. Another aspect of this analysis is to determine the accuracy and validity of the Handheld XRF instrument on small and irregular obsidian samples. Furthermore, sourcing analysis allows researchers to acquire information about trade, exchange, and acquisition patterns of the material and...
Show moreThe intent of this thesis is to analyze obsidian artifacts from Chiquiuitan, Guatemala to see if the samples can be traced to known obsidian sources in the Maya region based on their unique chemical elements. Another aspect of this analysis is to determine the accuracy and validity of the Handheld XRF instrument on small and irregular obsidian samples. Furthermore, sourcing analysis allows researchers to acquire information about trade, exchange, and acquisition patterns of the material and gives researchers indications to prehistoric, social, and economic features.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000298, ucf:45724
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000298
- Title
- Chemical Composition of Preclassic-Period Maya Slips: Analysis and Interpretation of Flores Waxy Ware and Paso Caballo Waxy Ware Sherds from Holtun, Guatemala Using pXRF Spectrometry.
- Creator
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Kebler, Anna, Callaghan, Michael, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Walker, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Slip, a fluid suspension of clay that is applied to the surface of a piece of ceramic, allows for increased control over the functional and aesthetic properties of a finished vessel. The potter can select a slip to provide a more appealing color, texture, and/or luster to the vessel's surface, while maintaining the favorable functional qualities of the paste. Though slip color has long been used as an attribute for classification in the Maya lowlands, only recently have the raw materials of...
Show moreSlip, a fluid suspension of clay that is applied to the surface of a piece of ceramic, allows for increased control over the functional and aesthetic properties of a finished vessel. The potter can select a slip to provide a more appealing color, texture, and/or luster to the vessel's surface, while maintaining the favorable functional qualities of the paste. Though slip color has long been used as an attribute for classification in the Maya lowlands, only recently have the raw materials of slips been used to inform studies of production and exchange, with much of this work using Late and Terminal Classic-period ceramics and analysis techniques that require taking small samples of each ceramic to be analyzed. Such studies present an incomplete picture of Maya slips, since they only include later ceramics and exclude vessels from which samples cannot be taken. This thesis broadens our understanding of Maya slips by 1) establishing portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry as a nondestructive analysis technique that can be used to chemically characterize slips on a wide range of sherd sizes and whole vessels, and 2) determining the chemical compositions of red, cream, and black slips on Middle and Late Preclassic-period ceramic sherds excavated in 2017 from Holtun, Guatemala. The data produced through pXRF spectrometry revealed that red slips were chemically distinct from the other two colors, while white and black slips were chemically indistinct. Iron, zinc, molybdenum, tin, and antimony concentrations were the principal determinants of compositional groups. These results indicate that these elements are of primary interest in sourcing the clays used to make the slips, and trends in the chemical composition of each color have the potential to reveal much about Maya potters' processes and standardization in slip production.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007475, ucf:52668
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007475
- Title
- Reflectance Transformation Imaging: Documenting Incised Graffiti in the Maya Lowlands.
- Creator
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Gill, Rachel, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Branting, Scott, Callaghan, Michael, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In the late 19th century, explorers identified graffiti etched in stucco walls of residences, palaces, and temples in the Maya Lowlands. By the mid-20th century, scholars acknowledged that the ancient Maya produced these incised images. Today, archaeologists struggle with documenting these instances of graffiti with precision and accuracy, often relying solely on to-scale line drawings to best represent the graffitied image they see before them. These images can be complex, multilayered, and...
Show moreIn the late 19th century, explorers identified graffiti etched in stucco walls of residences, palaces, and temples in the Maya Lowlands. By the mid-20th century, scholars acknowledged that the ancient Maya produced these incised images. Today, archaeologists struggle with documenting these instances of graffiti with precision and accuracy, often relying solely on to-scale line drawings to best represent the graffitied image they see before them. These images can be complex, multilayered, and difficult to see so identifying the sequence of creation of the incisions can be challenging. Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is a method that uses a moving light source and photography in order to visualize, interact with, and analyze a three-dimensional object in a two-dimensional image. Performed on a series of 20 unique graffiti from the Maya archaeological site of Holtun, RTI showed promise as a viable technique for documenting and preserving graffiti as cultural heritage and for providing new information about an enigmatic aspect of Maya archaeology. Additionally, RTI is compared to other common methods used to document incised graffiti in the Maya lowland area including to-scale line drawing, tracing, photogrammetry, and scanning to show the new and unique information and data that can be gathered from this method. Finally, RTI is a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative data-gathering method for highly remote archaeological projects where other technology is difficult to obtain and use in the field setting.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007005, ucf:52049
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007005
- Title
- Mirrors as Portals: Images of Mirrors on Ancient Maya Ceramics.
- Creator
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Rogers, Julie, Callaghan, Michael, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The Maya believed there were multiple worlds in addition to the human world. Portals connected these worlds and allowed active engagement between the Maya and their gods. Without portals and the ability to communicate between the worlds the Maya belief system could not function. Evidence suggests the Maya believed reflective surfaces (-) mirrors and water surfaces (-) were portals to spiritual worlds. In this thesis, I examine the portrayal of mirrors as portals in Maya art, focusing on...
Show moreThe Maya believed there were multiple worlds in addition to the human world. Portals connected these worlds and allowed active engagement between the Maya and their gods. Without portals and the ability to communicate between the worlds the Maya belief system could not function. Evidence suggests the Maya believed reflective surfaces (-) mirrors and water surfaces (-) were portals to spiritual worlds. In this thesis, I examine the portrayal of mirrors as portals in Maya art, focusing on mirrors in scenes painted on ceramics. Combining archaeological, iconographical, and linguistic data I argue that mirrors functioned in service to ritual as an essential gateway between humans and the gods and were two-way portals between earthly and spiritual worlds. I specifically examine fifty-one scenes on painted ceramic vessels involving mirrors to interpret and document their function as portals between worlds, how they were used in courtly life and what they may have meant to the people who used them. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Maya, their gods, and a particular aspect of material culture (-) mirrors (-) and how the elite used mirrors and their relationship with the gods as a source of power. I conclude that the gods are not omnipresent and that mirrors portals are always active and strategically placed for the gods to have the best view of the world of humans.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007857, ucf:52799
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007857
- Title
- Analyzing Pre-Inhumation Breakage Ceramics at Lamanai, Belize: A Conjunctive Approach.
- Creator
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Enger, Ryan, Callaghan, Michael, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Williams, Lana, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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During the Terminal Classic period (9th-10th centuries A.D.), the ancient Maya at Lamanai, Belize, began to practice pre-inhumation breakage of ceramics in mortuary contexts. Previously, the custom had been to bury whole vessels with the deceased. This conspicuous shift in behavior suggests important changes in beliefs regarding the role of ceramics in death and interment at a pivotal moment in ancient Maya culture history. Despite this significant change, there has been no published research...
Show moreDuring the Terminal Classic period (9th-10th centuries A.D.), the ancient Maya at Lamanai, Belize, began to practice pre-inhumation breakage of ceramics in mortuary contexts. Previously, the custom had been to bury whole vessels with the deceased. This conspicuous shift in behavior suggests important changes in beliefs regarding the role of ceramics in death and interment at a pivotal moment in ancient Maya culture history. Despite this significant change, there has been no published research conducted specifically on these vessels. In fact, there has been no clearly delineated set of characteristics for what qualifies as a pre-inhumation breakage vessel (PBV). This study offers a working definition for PBVs and converts the original Lamanai grave descriptions of those that contain PBVs to a classification system for ease of future comparative analyses. Finally, the sex and age of individuals buried with PBVs are considered. The result is a conjunctive analysis that provides data not only on PBV forms and quantities, grave types, and the sex and age of those interred with PBVs, but also several statistically significant correlations among these variables. I argue that the conjoined data suggest that one of the primary purposes for the pre-inhumation breakage of ceramics in mortuary contexts was a strategic one, a method selected by Lamanai leadership, and enacted community-wide, as a way to protect the community from potentially harmful energies and to maintain communal confidence at a time of great uncertainty in the southern Maya lowlands.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007801, ucf:52343
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007801
- Title
- Fashioning Society: The Use of Facial Adornments for Social Identification in Late Postclassic Tlaxcallan, Mexico.
- Creator
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Costa, Angelica, Barber, Sarah, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Callaghan, Michael, Fargher, Lane, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In pre-Hispanic Central Mexico, communities frequently practiced various forms of embodying social identity through the use of facial adornments. Ornaments were placed in the ears, nose, and lips to materialize aspects of both self and collective identity. Important characteristics, such as age, gender, status, kinship, and ethnicity can be better understood through analysis of facial ornaments recovered from archaeological sites. Recent research at the Late Postclassic (AD 1420-1521) city of...
Show moreIn pre-Hispanic Central Mexico, communities frequently practiced various forms of embodying social identity through the use of facial adornments. Ornaments were placed in the ears, nose, and lips to materialize aspects of both self and collective identity. Important characteristics, such as age, gender, status, kinship, and ethnicity can be better understood through analysis of facial ornaments recovered from archaeological sites. Recent research at the Late Postclassic (AD 1420-1521) city of Tlaxcallan has provided insight into how facial ornamentation varied within the central highlands of Mexico. Typological analysis of ornaments and figurines recovered at Tlaxcallan and comparative examinations between Tlaxcalteca and Aztec historical documents has provided evidence to support varying embodiment practices between these groups. Despite their shared Nahua identity and close proximity, the Tlaxcalteca and the Aztecs chose to emphasize significantly different aspects of identity within their own social hierarchies. The persistent conflict and varying political organization between these communities is reflected in their embodiment practices. Thus, these objects have the potential to reveal how larger sociopolitical interactions can affect local collective identities. Through this comparative analysis, I demonstrate how the Tlaxcalteca and the Aztecs identified aspects of social identity through analysis of facial ornamentation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007749, ucf:52401
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007749
- Title
- GIS Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts distribution at Holtun from the Preclassic through the Classic Periods.
- Creator
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Guzman Piedrasanta, Melvin, Kovacevich, Brigitte, Callaghan, Michael, Walker, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The nature of social organization at an archaeological site can be interpreted from many types of material remains. Exotic goods are particularly useful for making inferences about social organization because of their scarcity, utilitarian demand, and symbolic characteristics. Obsidian artifacts are some of the most abundant exotic goods among the Lowland Maya. The acquisition of these artifacts was the result of a wide net of commerce from the highlands of Guatemala and central Mexico into...
Show moreThe nature of social organization at an archaeological site can be interpreted from many types of material remains. Exotic goods are particularly useful for making inferences about social organization because of their scarcity, utilitarian demand, and symbolic characteristics. Obsidian artifacts are some of the most abundant exotic goods among the Lowland Maya. The acquisition of these artifacts was the result of a wide net of commerce from the highlands of Guatemala and central Mexico into the Maya lowlands. The patterns of consumption and distribution of obsidian artifacts vary according the time and location. This variation is seen as the result of complex dynamics of trade and social interactions among the ancient Maya. Therefore, I argue that there is variability perceptible in the patterns of consumption and local distribution of obsidian between the elite residential groups at the site of Holtun. This study presents a descriptive and comparative analysis of the patterns of obsidian consumption observed in the samples from the excavations performed by the Holtun Archaeological Project from 2011 through 2016. The analysis contributes to the understanding of local processes in association with regional socioeconomic and political dynamics in the Maya Lowlands.Previous research has suggested that obsidian distribution in some times and places was centralized and controlled by powerful Maya polities. In addition, research performed on obsidian artifacts reveals a change in the consumption of different obsidian sources at other sites in the Yaxh(&)#225; basin, the geographic location of Holtun. The data collected by Holtun Archaeological Project provide information that correlates with the broader trends of obsidian preferences in the area. Our findings suggest that during the Preclassic period (c. 600 BC to AD 250) the frequency of obsidian artifacts from San Martin Jilotepeque was higher than other sources and the artifacts from El Chayal were restricted to households especially associated with the first ritual and monumental construction at the site. Then, during the Classic Period (AD 250 to 950), the frequency of artifacts from San Martin Jilotepeque experienced a decrease in quantity and the artifacts from El Chayal were more accessible across the site. The process of excavation and mapping, and the subsequent laboratory analyses have allowed for the documentation of this variability in accessibility and consumption preferences within different elite residential groups. To facilitate these interpretations, a map of Holtun was created using Geographic Information Systems. It allows the inclusion of layers of information obtained during this research, constituting a point of reference for the understanding of socioeconomic and political changes experienced within the site during the intriguing transition from the Preclassic to the Classic period.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006945, ucf:51669
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006945
