Strings of the Past: Revisiting the Lapidary Industry of Poverty Point | Shannon Torrens

The Poverty Point culture has long been recognized for the abundance and variety of stone beads that can be found at both large mound centers, like Poverty Point and Jaketown, and smaller sites, like Slate. Tubular, barrel, disc, and effigy beads that depict owls and other birds are found at Poverty Point affiliated sites throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, and even as far away as Florida. Beyond simple admiration for the artistry evidenced by the beads, a close examination of the manufacturing wear suggests makers utilized different toolkits and processes to achieve their results. By documenting variation in bead production and mapping the distribution of bead styles across the landscape, we can begin to gain insight into cultural identity, exchange, and interaction among communities of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast. 

Social Inequality and Cohesion through Rural-Urban Feasts at the Lowland Maya site of La Corona | Jocelyne Ponce

Lowland Maya feasts were critical for communal cohesion but also marked social distinctions among participants through differential display of status symbols and contributions. For these reasons they provide important insight on patterns of socioeconomic inequality and integration. In this paper I present material analyses data from Late Classic period (AD 250-900) feasting deposits to discern patterns of socioeconomic inequality across the settlement density continuum. I specifically discuss data from settlement clusters that likely represented neighborhoods in rural, peri-urban, and urban settlement density zones in the La Corona region in northwest Peten, Guatemala. While commensal events were critical in community formation and identity building, they also played a pivotal role in marking internal distinctions in neighborhoods. 

Compositional Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan using pXRF | Diego Matadamas-Gomora, Jason Nesbitt, Rodolfo Aguilar Tapia, Leonardo López Luján, julia Sjödahl, and Tatsuya Murakami

Compositional analyses are fundamental in modern archaeological research. Recently, the introduction of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) equipment has motivated an even greater interest in integrating chemical composition and provenance studies of raw materials as one of the primary objectives in archaeological projects. Obsidian is one of the most intriguing raw materials for provenance studies; its homogenous composition and ubiquity in the archaeological context make it perfect for studying procurement processes and technological innovation in complex societies. In the case of the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan (the capital of the Aztec Empire), there was no quantitative data about the different types of obsidian procured by this urban center. This study involves the analysis of 814 obsidian artifacts in two levels: a diachronic one, based on a sample that encompasses a long period of Aztec history (c. AD 1375-1502), and a contextual one, based on the type of context where the artifacts were found (offerings and constructive fill). The data collected shows the frequencies and variations for specific kinds of obsidian through time and the preference for particular colors and qualities for the production of ritual and non-ritual objects. 

M.A.R.I. Lunch Talks invite guest speakers to host seminars at MARI on a wide variety of topics related to the archaeology, history, and ethnography of Mesoamerica and other world areas. The events typically take place on Fridays around noon and can be delivered in English and Spanish.