Archaeology in the Lowland American Tropics: Current Analytical Methods and Applications

by Peter W. Stahl

Overview

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 including site discovery, excavation, the preservation of artifacts, and methods of analysis. This book will be welcomed by all archaeologists, ecologists and paleontologists working in the tropics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521027380
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/02/2006
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.65(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"...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

From the Publisher