Revealing Ancestral Central America - Smithsonian Latino Center ...

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Fig. 11. Central Caribbean/ Costa Rican Atlantic Watershed bowl, AD 800– AD 1500. Las Mercedes, Limón Province, Costa Rica. Pottery. Collected or excavated by Alanson B. Skinner, 1916–1917. Fig. 12. Plumbate jaguareffigy tripod vessel, AD 900–1200. Suchitoto, Cuscatlán Department, El Salvador. Pottery, clay slip. Collected or excavated by Samuel K. Lothrop, 1924. Fig. 11 Fig. 12 that when we look at plumbate pots from El Salvador and Honduras (Figure 12), we emphasize the unique forms and designs that show that makers (believed to be located in Soconusco) were catering to the taste of Central Americans, who were not passive consumers forced to take whatever came down the road (Joyce, 1986). Connecting also means we attend to the presence in distant places of items from Central America, like a cache of Honduran Las Vegas polychrome (Figure 13) pots (originally identified as Nicoya polychrome) found in a house at Tula, Hidalgo (Diehl, Lomas, and Wynn, 1974), or Panamanian gold objects recovered from the cenote at Chichén Itzá (Coggins, 1984). Connecting takes small Central American towns and makes them part of a large and extensive chain. Authority gives us a way of talking about Central American social life that introduces differences recognizable in material ways without subsuming them under political hierarchies. It allows us to notice that in most of the region, some people have greater wealth, and may have objects of distinctive materials, quality, and even form. But it makes us ask what kinds of authority people had, which opens the door to including people whose authority was based on connections with the sacred, as well as those whose authority was based on kinship, not just authority based on coercive or persuasive power. It is a way to ask the question whether, where, and when we see violence as a basis for claims of authority. It makes it possible to talk about the authority of women and men (Figures 14, 15), and the relative authority of elders and juniors. An Ulúa marble vase is an object of authority; so are the carved stone benches of Nicaragua and Costa Rica; so also are the polychrome cylinders of Maya noble houses. In each case, the nature of authority and the degree to which it is concentrated in a few hands needs to be established. Spirituality captures the domain we normally talk about as “ritual.” Spirituality allows us to talk about the broader principles that in many parts of Central America probably organized dwelling, connecting, and authority: the role of landscape, distance, and certain materials as charged with un-ordinary power, the place in existence of ancestors and supernatural beings (Figure 16). It makes sense of the abundance of products of skilled craft production, such as ceramic figurines and musical instruments, that were primarily of use in ceremonies, including ceremonies of dwelling. 17 SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY
Fig. 13. Post-Classic period Maya tripod bowl, AD 900–1200. Hospicio excavation near church of San Jacinto, San Salvador, San Salvador Department, El Salvador. Pottery, clay slip, paint. MAI purchase by Marshall H. Saville, 1920. Fig. 14. Classic period Maya whistle representing a seated woman, AD 600– 900. Quiché Department, Guatemala. Pottery, paint. MAI purchase from Julia M. Rodezno, 1923. Fig. 15. Ulúa River female figure, AD 250–900. Río Ulúa valley, Honduras. Pottery. Formerly in the collection of Marco Aurelio Soto; MAI purchase from an unknown source, 1917. Fig. 13 Fig. 14 Fig. 16. Greater Coclé (Macaracas style) footed plate with crocodile design, AD 950–1100. Río de Jesús, Veraguas Province, Panama. Pottery, clay slip, paint. MAI purchase from Eva M. Harte, 1966. Fig. 17. Chiriquí vessel, 1000–500 BC. Guacamayo, Chiriquí Province, Panama. Pottery, clay slip. Gift of Neville A. Harte and Eva M. Harte, 1963. Fig. 15 Fig. 16 Fig. 18. Greater Chiriquí tripod bowl, AD 800–1500. Valle del Diquís, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. Pottery, clay slip, paint. MAI purchase from William R. Hawker, 1961. Fig. 17 Fig. 18 18 REVEALING ANCESTRAL CENTRAL AMERICA
Page 1 and 2: Revealing Ancestral Central America
Page 4 and 5: w Revealing Ancestral Central Ameri
Page 6 and 7: 6 Foreword Kevin Gover and Eduardo
Page 8 and 9: governments and social systems, and
Page 10 and 11: this project since it began in 2009
Page 12 and 13: 11 ANCESTRAL CENTRAL AMERICA Ancest
Page 14 and 15: Surrounded by Beauty: Central Ameri
Page 16 and 17: into the shapes of fantastic animal
Page 20 and 21: Fig. 19. Central Caribbean/ Costa R
Page 22 and 23: 21 SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY Fig. 21
Page 24 and 25: Dwelling in the Ancestral Joya de C
Page 26 and 27: Fig. 29 problems. Each household pr
Page 28 and 29: Fig. 34. Sauna maintained by Househ
Page 30 and 31: Fig. 37. Salúa bowl with monkey de
Page 32 and 33: Unfortunately, that impoverished re
Page 34 and 35: Artisanry in Motion Christina Luke
Page 36 and 37: Fig. 45. Map, circulation of materi
Page 38 and 39: U.S. U.S. B A H A M A S Fig. 48 C U
Page 40 and 41: Fig. 53. Ulúa River vessel with vu
Page 42 and 43: heads strengthen the parallel to ma
Page 44 and 45: Fig. 59. Greater Nicoya bowl, AD 80
Page 46 and 47: Authority John W. Hoopes Authority
Page 48 and 49: Fig. 64. Greater Coclé (Conté sty
Page 50 and 51: Fig. 67. Greater Coclé Tradition o
Page 52 and 53: Fig. 71. Greater Coclé (Parita sty
Page 54 and 55: Fig. 74. Lacandon Maya “god pot,
Page 56 and 57: Fig. 76. Central Caribbean/ Costa R
Page 58 and 59: Fig. 80. Greater Coclé (Cubita sty
Page 60 and 61: Between Beliefs and Rituals: Materi
Page 62 and 63: Fig. 84. Guanacaste- Nicoya pendant
Page 64 and 65: Beliefs and Rituals Today, a rich s
Page 66 and 67: Fig. 97. Bribri ceremonial rattle,
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Fig. 102. Greater Nicoya vessel wit
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69 collectors and collecting Collec
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Fig. 104 donation of other grouping
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Fig. 107 While constructing Costa R
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Fig. 110. Stone columns in situ, pr
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Fig. 114 Others developed far more
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Dr. Jorge Lines followed in the foo
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Fig. 52. See page 36. Figure 11. Ce
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Figure 40. Salua tripod vessel, AD
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Figure 73. Greater Coclé (Conté s
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Figure 105. Classic period Maya bow
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Fig. 87. See page 59. Guevara, Marc
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Sheets, Payson, David Lentz, Dolore
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Smithsonian
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