Archaeology in the Lowland American Tropics
Current Analytical Methods and Applications

This volume explore problems faced by archaeologists in the difficult conditions of the lowland American tropics.

Peter W. Stahl (Edited by)

9780521027380, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 November 2006

332 pages, 64 b/w illus. 22 tables
24.5 x 17 x 2 cm, 0.536 kg

"...offers a much-needed window on some of the most innovative work now being done in the lowland American tropics." Neil Lancelot Whitehead, American Anthropologist

The lowland American tropics have posed great challenges for archaeologists. Working in awkward terrain, in humid conditions where preservation is difficult, modern scholars pioneered new methods that increasingly influence archaeological practice internationally. The contributors to this volume all have substantial experience in the region. Their essays explore problems of site discovery, excavation, the preservation of artifacts and osteological and botanical remains, and methods of analysis. Specific technical innovations are discussed in relation to particular excavations.

List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Introduction Peter W. Stahl
1. Archaeological survey and site discovery in the forested neotropics James A. Zeidler
2. The archaeology of community organization in the tropical lowlands: a case study from Puerto Rico Peter E. Siegel
3. Archaeological methods for the study of ancient landscapes of the Llanos de Mojos in the Bolivian Amazon Clark L. Erickson
4. Searching for environmental stress: climatic and anthropogenic influences on the landscape of Colombia Warwick Bray
5. 'Doing' paleoethnobotany in the tropical lowlands: adaptation and innovation in methodology Deborah M. Pearsall
6. Plant microfossils and their application in the New World tropics Dolores R. Piperno
7. Differential preservation histories affecting the mammalian zooarchaeological record from the forested neotropical lowlands Peter W. Stahl
8. Biological research with archaeologically recovered human remains from Ecuador: methodological issues Douglas H. Ubelaker
9. Interpreting dietary maize from bone stable isotopes in the American tropics: the state of the art Lynette Norr
10. From potsherds to pots: a first step in constructing cultural context from tropical forest archaeology J. Scott Raymond
11. Returning to Pueblo Viejo: history and archaeology of the Chachi (Ecuador) Warren R. Deboer
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD]