The potters' perspectives : a vibrant chronological narrative of ceramic manufacturing practices in the valley of Juigalpa, Chontales, Nicaragua (cal 300 CE-present) / Natalia R. Donner.
8.6. 1. Concluding remarks. 1.1. Goals -- 1.2. Research questions -- 1.3. Outline -- 1.4. From past to present -- 2. Narratives of place(s) and time(s) -- 2.1. Narratives of place(s) -- 2.1.1. Geography -- 2.1.2. Geology -- 2.1.3. Geomorphology -- 2.2. Narratives of the past and past narratives -- 2.2.1. Ceramic chronology of Pacific Nicaragua -- 2.2.2. Ceramic chronology of Caribbean Nicaragua -- 2.2.3. Archaeology and ceramic chronology of central Nicaragua -- 3. Just a matter of time? -- 3.1. Time, archaeology, and oblivion -- 3.2. How the present became the past: things as palimpsests -- 3.3. Incorporated histories -- 3.3.1. We matter -- 3.3.2. Style as the universe of what is possible -- 3.3.3. Step by step: operational sequence -- 3.4. Towards vibrant chronologies -- 4. Fieldwork methods -- 4.1. Sampling strategies in the field -- 4.1.1. Systematic surface survey -- 4.1.2. Methdology for mapping of mounded sites -- 4.1.3. Stratigraphic excavations -- 5. Spatiotemporal dataset -- 5.1. Surface survey results -- 5.2. Mound recording results -- 5.3. Excavated contexts -- 5.3.1. Aguas Buenas -- 5.3.2. Alberto Obando -- 5.3.3. LaAventura -- 5.3.4. Alcides Montiel -- 5.3.5. Barillas -- 5.3.6. Rosa Dolores Oporta -- 5.3.7. Oporta -- 5.3.8. Josefa Oc6n Robleto -- 5.4. Radiocarbon dates -- 6. Laboratory methods and techniques for ceramic analysis -- 6.1. Cleaning and storage of materials -- 6.2. Macrofabric grouping -- 6.2.1. Sampling for macrofabric grouping -- 6.2.2. Handling of samples -- 6.2.3. Attributes for macrofabric characterization -- 6.2.4. Analytical steps -- 6.3. Technological analysis of macroscopic traces -- 6.3.1. Sampling for technological grouping -- 6.3.2. Identifying technical gestures: analytical steps -- 6.4. Archaeometric analysis -- 6.4.1. Sampling for archaeometric analysis -- 6.4.2. Mineralogical characterization -- 6.5. Morpho-stylistic groups -- 6.5.1. Sampling for morpho-stylistic Groups -- 6.5.2. Analytical steps -- 6.6. Integration of approaches -- 6.7. Dating techniques -- 6.7.1. Absolute dating -- 6.7.2. Relative dating -- 7. Ceramic technologies in the valley of Juigalpa -- 7.1. Alberto Obando -- 7.1.1. Paste analysis -- 7.1.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.1.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.1.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.1.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at AO -- 7.2. Aguas Buenas -- 7.2.1. Paste analysis -- 7.2.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.2.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.2.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.2.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at AB -- 7.3. JOR -- 7.3.1. Paste analysis -- 7.3.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.3.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.3.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.3.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at JOR -- 7.4. Oporta -- 7.4.1. Paste analysis -- 7.4.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.4.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.4.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.4.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at Oporta -- 7.5. Barillas -- 7.5.1. Paste analysis -- 7.5.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.5.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.5.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.5.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at Barillas -- 7.6. Rosa Dolores Oporta -- 7.6.1. Paste analysis -- 7.6.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.6.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.6.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.6.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at RDO -- 7.7. La Aventura -- 7.7.1. Paste analysis -- 7.7.2. Macrotraces of manufacturing practices -- 7.7.3. Morphometric analysis -- 7.7.4. Decorating techniques -- 7.7.5. Ceramic manufacturing sequences at LA -- 7.8. Contemporary ceramic manufacturing practices -- 8. From traces on sherds to the vitality of human experience -- 8.1. Challenges of composing vibrant chronologies -- 8.2. The vitality of the valley of Juigalpa (cal 300 CE -- present) -- 8.2.1. Geometric worlds (cal 3 00 -- 900 CE) -- 8.2.2. Water worlds (cal 900 -- 1250 CE) -- 8.2.3. Distant neighbors (cal 1250 -- 1450 CE) -- 8.2.4. Micro-histories of violence, resilience, and resistance (cal 1650 -- 1900 CE) -- 8.2.5. The solitude of a seemingly disconnected present (cal 1900 CE -- today) -- 8.3. Shaking what was taken for granted -- 8.4. Thoughts regarding AMS dating in central Nicaragua -- 8.5. Future research: itineraries in context -- 8.6. Concluding remarks.
Summary:
The work of Fernand Braudel (1949) should have revolutionized the way archaeology conceptualizes temporal scales and builds chronological narratives. Even though Braudel's general views did impact archaeological theory deeply, his three different time-scales, together with insights into duration as the inner dialectic between different temporalities, remain neglected in archaeological practice. Nowadays, ceramic chronology building in archaeology still relies on two main variables: time-space and pottery styles. This book aims to challenge this paradigm and propose a new way for narrating vital chronologies. The point of departure for this endeavor consists of a longue duree geographical unit, the valley of Juigalpa, in central Nicaragua. Through a view of materials - and especially ceramics - as complex and embodied palimpsests, as the bundling of unfolding traces; a chronology including five different intervals based on ceramic technologies is presented, from the first traces of human practices in 300 CE through to the present. Natalia Donner (PhD, Leiden University) is an Argentinian-Mexican archaeologist, whose work questions the epistemological and colonial foundations of Archaeology. She is lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities (Leiden University) and co-director of the project Darien Profundo, (Panama) which explores the deep history of the land bridge of the Americas.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.