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Household Archaeology at Cerén, El Salvador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Payson D. Sheets ,
Harriet F. Beaubien ,
Marilyn Beaudry ,
Andrea Gerstle ,
Brian McKee ,
C. Dan Miller ,
Hartmut Spetzler  and
David B. Tucker
Payson D. Sheets
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80204, USA
Harriet F. Beaubien
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Institution Analytic Laboratory
Marilyn Beaudry
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles
Andrea Gerstle
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Western Michigan University
Brian McKee
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80204, USA
C. Dan Miller
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, Washington
Hartmut Spetzler
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Colorado, Boulder
David B. Tucker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80204, USA
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Abstract

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In the summer of 1989, major discoveries were made at the site of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador, where sudden depositions of volcanic ash in a.d. 600 resulted in unusually favorable conditions of preservation. The theoretical framework for the research is household archaeology, the study of prehistoric household groups. Household archaeology, as applied to Cerén can take advantage of the extraordinary preservation to study households in terms of their key activities of (a) production, including food, implements, vessels, and structures; (b) “pooling,” including storage, distribution, maintenance, and curation activities; (c) transmission of knowledge and material goods including access to resources; (d) reproduction in both the biological and sociocultural senses; and (e) co-residence/membership in the functioning residential group. One of the major finds was a possible codex or Precolumbian manuscript.

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , Spring 1990 , pp. 81 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

REFERENCES

Black, Kevin D. 1983 The Zapotitan Valley Archaeological Survey. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 62–97. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. (editor) 1983 Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. (editor) 1989 Summary and Conclusions. Preliminary Report, Excavations at Cerén, El Salvador, 1989, edited by Sheets, Payson D.. Museo Nacional “David Guzmán,” San Salvador, in press.Google Scholar
Zier, Christian J. 1983 The Cerén Site: A Classic Period Maya Residence and Agricultural Field in the Zapotitan Valley. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 119–143. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar