Mi Museo y Vos

Granada, Nicaragua. June 2014 Year 8 No. 28

The Ancestral Wars

Mi Museo y Vos 1 Editor: Nora Zambrana Lacayo

Writers: Table of Contents Oscar Pavón Sánchez Geoffrey McCafferty Pat Werner Edgar Espinoza Pérez Carrie L. Dennett Martha Barahona The Ancestral Wars ...... 2

Recent Research in Nicaragua ...... 5

The investigation of San Jacinto: Two theories, orthodoxy, and the future of historical archaeology in Central America ...... 7

The White Slip Ceramic Horizon of Early Postclassic Mexico and Central America ...... 20

Design and diagramation: Nora Zambrana Lacayo Antique furniture of Mi Museo ...... 31

English translation: Visits to Mi Museo ...... 34 Linda Heatherly

Owner: Peder Kolind www.mimuseo.org [email protected] www.facebook.com/mimuseo.granada The Development of Conflict them carried bows and arrows (not poi- soned) and others carried rods to throw." The Ancestral Wars Declarations of war were made via mes- Military items like these were used sengers. The cacique did not accompany throughout Mexico and Central America. the army into battle, unless he was an exceptionally brave man. The council of “Their shields are made of tree bark or ancients named a man distinguished by light wood, covered with feathers and his courage to lead the army. If this man handiwork fashioned of feathers and died and the cacique was present, the ca- cotton; thus they are very lightweight, cique immediately named a new leader pretty, and strong ... the lances end in or took command himself. Otherwise the a flint point, or in sharpened bone. The army disbanded immediately and retrea- lances are also made of canes (of which skilled smiths. In second rank were the ted. The military chief’s obligations were there are many in the lake)”. people, that is: warriors, businessmen, to direct battle operations and encourage farmers, hunters, fishermen, artisans, his men “to kill as many enemies as they Pedro Martir says that the temples ser- prostitutes, and beggars; in third rank could, and cut off arms, heads and other ved as arsenals where they could keep Oscar Pavón Sánchez were the slaves, and in the fourth, cap- parts of their opponents, and not to flee”. large quantities of weapons ready. tives of war. (Oviedo, loc. cit.) Archaeologist, Mi Museo After the battle, the cacique, if he was The Origins of the Wars Commenting on some of the military not accompanying the troops, went out goods that the Chorotega and Nicararo to meet them. If they had won a victory, The peoples of Nicaragua were often at tribes used, Oviedo notes that the abo- he received them with great displays of he theme of the new exposition at war among themselves and military arts riginals “were protected by sleeveless elation, and some of the captives were Mi Museo is the ancestral wars. The were well-developed. Young men were vests or breastplates made of cotton and sacrificed on the spot. If the army had T main purpose is that the visitors who carefully trained and organized in com- exceedingly strong wood, and many of been defeated, the cacique cried in view turn to the museum for information will panies which were on guard regularly learn about the history of our ancestors, and always ready for battle. history which as a whole has been forgot- ten. The display shows several tools of According to Tomas Ayon, various indige- war which may have been used in con- nous people practiced the art of war. For flicts, and pottery with designs we can in- these people, war was sacred. The pri- terpret which relate to the practices of war. mary reasons for war were religious and territorial, related to their cosmovision, Social Structure traditions and culture.

According to historian Tomas Ayon, the Oviedo states that the primary causes of indigenous social structure had four le- war were territorial disputes (Book XLI I, vels. In first place came the nobles, inclu- Chapter III). However, probably the desi- Figure 1: Pottery with alluding decorations to military equipment, such as wooden bows and ding caciques, the council of elders, chief re to obtain slaves for sacrifice also pla- spears with flint points. Mi Museo Collection. captains, priests, market officials, and yed a role.

2 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 3 of the troops, and the chief captains went Through participation in conflicts, wa- to the mound dedicated to sacrificial use rriors improved their family's reputation and “wept very bitter tears”. and prospects. Recent Research in Nicaragua

The Gains to be earned The Punishments Geoffrey McCafferty

University of Calgary Courage was rewarded with promotion Disobedience in combat was punished to various warrior ranks. A man who had severely. The man who disobeyed was defeated an enemy in single combat stripped of his weapons. He could be exi- seen by the two armies was part of the led and his military leader could even kill icaragua has experienced an up- Jennifer Lapp - Proyecto La Flor. group known as the "tapaliguis". Descri- him. surge in archaeological research bing a tapaligui, Oviedo says, “He wears Nin recent years. This has included Sharisse McCafferty and Geoffrey his hair shaven, with hair ofthe crown on both international researchers from Ca- McCafferty - Monumentality at top as high as the space between the nada, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Sonzapote, Nicaragua. high midpoint of the index finger to the the United States as well as the profes- end of the same.” (Oviedo, Book. XLII, sionalization of Nicaraguan archaeolo- Larry Steinbrenner - Managua Chapter 1) gists through graduate training and co- Polychrome: The Missing Link to llaboration with large projects. In April Mesoamerica? Oviedo recounts that apparently the 2014 a symposium at the Society for warriors could raise their social stan- American Archaeology in Austin, Texas Carrie Dennett - Getting to Know ding, acquire wealth, and successfully brought together scholars from diverse You: Ceramics and Identity in Greater distinguish themselves as counselors. Figure 2: Biface flint, used for personal backgrounds to discuss recent research Nicoya. protection. Mi Museo Collection. results and new interpretations. Discus- sants then commented on longer term Kelsey Friesen and Geoffrey McCafferty trajectories and led discussion of future - Recent Research concerning the References directions. X-ray Diffraction of Nicaraguan Ceramic Composition. Ayón, Tomás Participants: 1956 Historia de Nicaragua. Escuela Profesional de Artes Gráficas. Madrid. Jessica Manion - Memory and Clifford Brown - Recent Investigations Manipulation in the Greater Nicoya. Lothrop, Samuel K. in the Department of Chinandega, 2000 Cerámica de Costa Rica y Nicaragua vol. I. Traducción de Gonzalo Meneses Nicaragua. Kendra Philmon - Bioarchaeological Ocón. Colección Cultural de Centro América, Managua. Analysis of Cusirisna Cave, Nicaragua. Justin Lowrie - Chiquilistagua Archaeology Project First Season Gina Carroll - Investigating Isotopic Findings. Inter- and Intra-Skeletal Variation in Lesionous and Non-Lesionous Tissues Alexander Geurds - The Cuapa Phase: in Pathological Specimens from Notes on the Last Prehispanic Ceramic Nicaragua. Period in Central Nicaragua.

4 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 5 Suzanne Baker - Enigmatic Pecked Features on Ometepe Island, The investigation of San Jacinto: Two Nicaragua. theories, orthodoxy, and the future of Katrina Kosyk - A Prelude: Aerophones from Pre-Columbian Greater Nicaragua. historical archaeology in Central America Adam Benfer - A Century in Stone: One Hundred Years of Lithic Analysis in Nicaragua.

Fred Lange - Discussant

Karen Olsen Bruhns – Discussant

In July many of these scholars will pre- sent their ideas in a conference to be held in Nicaragua, with details to be an- nounced. This conference will also inclu- de Nicaraguan archaeologists, and will be open to the public. Pat Werner* and Edgar Espinoza Pérez**

* Academic Dean. Keiser University Latín American Campus. **Member of the Academy of Geography and History of Nicaragua.

The battle of San Jacinto was chosen ntroduction because there are contemporary reports, I and the site is intact and very accesible. The anniversary of the Battle of San Ja- The investigation began with the as- cinto September 14, 1856, is a national sumption that in the end there could be holiday celebrated everywhere in the re- no difference between what really happe- public. After working on pre-Columbian ned and what is found in the ground and subjects, the two authors decided to the physical remains of the battle. There examine a historic event and use both are two sources of information: published historical and archaeological methods to histories and the battle remains still lo- investigate conclusively what happened. cated near the mansion of San Jacinto.

6 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 7 The basic published material is familiar to The Location of the Hacienda come from the part of the war carried out every student in school for the past six- by the leader of the troops stationed in ty years. Of the remains still at the site, Hacienda San Jacinto is about 45 kilome- the hacienda, Colonel Jose Dolores Es- nothing has been known. We thought ters from Managua, on the Panamerican trada, the report of William Walker that there were possibilities: the bullets in the Highway to the north, which connects was published in his magazine, El Nica- mansion walls and the common grave of the departments of Nicaraguan Segovia raguense, a week after the battle, the do- soldiers and filibusters who died in the and then turns about three kilometers to cuments of Francisco Ortega Arancibia, battle. We never found a common grave the east. It was constructed with adobe mayor of Masaya and soldier in the Na- but did indeed find bullets in the walls that walls and a pitched tile roof. The building tional War. Ortega Arancibia published were almost certainly discharged during is surrounded by roofed corridors and his book 50 years after the battle, and it the battle. divided into three domestic areas which contained a general history from 1838 to Figure 1: Architectural facade and current now house a museum dedicated to the 1878, but he was more involved in admi- condition of the Casa Hacienda San Jacinto The study found 68 bullets in the walls, National War. nistrative matters and was never on the (Taken from the book “ La Historia, La not more. Given that result, the resear- battlefields. Another important source for Arqueología y La Batalla de San Jacinto”). chers developed two models of the batt- The historic site was declared a Natio- understanding the battle of San Jacinto le. One model proposed that 250 filibus- nal Monument in 1960, that is, 103 years is the Complete Historic Works written ters attacked the mansion and garrison after the battle, a declaration which has by Jerónimo Pérez in 1865. Pérez was a much humidity to the atmosphere. When of Jose Dolores Estrada, with 151 men permitted its almost complete preser- Masaya politician, involved in all the Ni- it explodes, it leaves about 35-50% of its fighting for four hours. The filibusters had vation. The Nicaraguan goverment has caraguan political events between 1854 bulk in the weapon in the form of ash— 24 casualties and Estrada had 51 ca- provided maintenance and restoration and 1868. He married the sister of Tomás thick, greasy, and dirty—which gets into sualties. The weapons of the filibusters of the site, protecting at least 80% of the Martínez, hero of the National War and the mechanism of the weapon and stops were capable of dispatching between six building as it was orginally as well as its dictator from 1858 until 1868. Pérez was up its moving parts. This is different from and ten thousand bullets during the four surrounding area, which has not been a supporter of Martinez, but an eye wit- smokeless powder, which leaves next to hours. We found 68 bullets in the walls. affected by contemporary human acti- ness of many events of the National War. no ash. Also important was studying the The other model suggested 63 filibusters vities. Perhaps the only thing that has bullets themselves; the firearms of the attacking Estrada’s mansion and garrison changed is access to the property. In the Military technology of the National era used cartridges, not metal ones but of 151 men, and fighting for five minutes. 19th century, one reached the hacien- War instead cartridges made of paper or linen The filibusters suffered 24 casualties, da from the south through the Valley of saturated with saltpeter. Although it was Estrada, 51 casualties. The weapons of Ocotal, a large rocky plain of black earth To reconstruct the Battle of San Jacinto possible to reload the Colt without disas- the filibusters could fire 700 bullets within which in winter became impassible for it was necessary to understand the tech- sembling it, this was difficult. The fastest a five minute time span. We found 68 bu- carts and animals. Now one reaches the nology available to the groups in the con- way was to remove the cylinder, load six llets in the walls. The question is which site from the east side. flict. The absence of artillery in the Battle linen cartridges, open them at the back, of the models is the correct description of San Jacinto limits the investigation to replace the cylinders and barrel, place of the battle and how did various groups The idea of attempting to reconstruct the rifles and revolvers of the two armies. explosives behind each chamber, and of historians react to this analysis. This the Battle of San Jacinto first surfaced The black powder rifles used were the pull the trigger. is the first time that this type of analysis, in various conversations between the weapons used in the battle of the Natio- which includes written records and the authors of this article and Nicaraguan nal war. The primary component of black For the muskets, the process was to re- product of an archeaological analysis experts in the National War and the ma- powder is potassium nitrate, a salt which move the back part of the linen cartrid- about the same site or event, has been terials written by various participants in is very hygrosopic and rapidly causes ge with one’s teeth, use the ramrod to used in Nicaragua. the war. Basically the written materials severe rust on iron. Besides this, it adds force it into the barrel chamber, replace

8 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 9 the rod, put an explosive into the small The bullet was oblong and weighed 476 was the first Sharps model sold com- tube near the chamber, point the rifle and grams, with a hollow base, more or less mercially. Shortly after the National War press the trigger. With the flintlock mus- a copy of the Minie ball invented by the in 1859, the Sharps Company changed ket, it was more difficult; the shooter had French army in 1845. the design so that the breech rose and to bite the cartridge behind the bullet, fell vertically, not on a slant. Because of place a small amount of powder in the It carried a charge of 60 grams of pow- this, the firearm is rare (they manufac- snaplock before closing it, put the rest of der and left the gun barrel at 900 feet tured more or less one thousand, many the powder in the barrel, use the rod to per second. Its great advantage was that used in guerrilla warfare in Kansas in push the cartridge into the chamber, en- one could shoot and reload very rapidly, 1859; it was never sold internationally.) A gage the hammer, point the gun and pull despite the ash from the black powder, Sharps type rifle with slant breech found the trigger. which left a lot of dirt inside the barrel un- in Central America was probably used by til it became imposible to push another Walker’s army. This weapon was men- Figure 2: Sharps Model 1853, one of the The following at least can be identified as bullet through the opening of the barrel. tioned by Walker and was loaded behind weapons used by filibusters in the Battle of being among the firearms which Walker’s The bullet of this Minie rifle was slim and the barrel by means of a breech which San Jacinto. army had: went in easily. the shooter could rapidly lower, rechar- ge the chamber, elevate and close the US rifle, model 1841, known as the The gases from firing pushed on the chamber. Its barrel was 25 inches long termed it 44 caliber, with bullet diameter Mississippi Rifle, .54 caliber, grooved: base of the projectile, which opened to and it was 52 caliber, that is, its bullet of .451 inches. There were two types of Mentioned by Walker’s men. It was the engage the barrel rifling. This provided diameter was of .52 inches. The barrel bullets, one a ball of 145 grams, the other two-banded Mississippi type rifle, model stability and spin for accuracy. was grooved, but what type of bullet was bullet in an elongated form with a very 1841, caliber .54, with a discharge of 60 used is not known; however, the most sharp point, and weighing 141 grams. Its grams of powder, a round bullet and a British pattern Enfield carbine rifle, common was a elongated bullet. It was powder charge was up to 60 grams, the speed of 950 feet per second. The barrel caliber .577 with a 28 inch barrel and used by the American army in their civil usual charge for rifles. It was the most was grooved and the projectile weighed grooves for use of a Minie type ball: It war as a precision weapon for snipers. powerful revolver of the 19th century and about 280 grams. This musket was used used a load of 60 grams of black powder not exceded in firepower until the inven- in the American war with Mexico and and the ball weighed about 500 grams, Colt Revolver, First Model of the Walker tion of the .357 magnum in 1935. Its bu- could be aimed precisely. in an elongated form with a hollow base. Type “Whitneyville” (Cumpston, Fa- llet of 200 grams had a speed of 1100 dala, 1847, .44 caliber): Perhaps the feet per second. The Minie rifle: This rifle, model 1855, British pattern Enfield carbine rifle, revolvers mentioned by both Walker and was manufactured in Springfield, Mas- caliber .577 with 24 inch barrel and Francisco Ortega Arancibia were the This revolver was useful for the American sachusetts, at the government’s armory, grooves for use of a Minie type ball: most important. Ortega Arancibia obser- cavalry during their war with Mexico, and and was adopted by the American army These rifles were all loaded through the ved that each revolver had a barrel nine Walker’s troops had the most powerful in 1855. It was of .58 caliber, and had end of the barrel and had a very sure inches long. and dangerous revolver of the era. Its ba- three grooves, with a 72 inch spin in its firing system using mercury. The prope- rrel had chambers for six shots, but then barrel to stabilize the projectile. This the llant was black powder. The object was to make a revolver power- the shooter had to dismantle the revolver first weapon designed for the Minie ball ful enough to kill a rider or his horse with to recharge the barrel, not with cartridges in the United States. Sharps carbine model 1853 “slant a single shot, and this was successful. but with powder and a ball in front and an breech”: The fourth weapon used in the It weighed almost five pounds with the explosive behind each chamber to light Before this, the American rifles with battle was the Sharps carbine, model 1853, barrel empty and was nearly 18 inches the powder. grooves used bullets shaped like a ball. with slant breech, of .52 inch caliber. This long. It was of 45 caliber although they

10 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 11 The weaponry of the Nicaraguan army place on three flanks simultaneously. He know that the elongated shots are from Human remains is more difficult to identify, but certainly reports that his forces were a few yards the rifles and pistols used by the filibus- came from the Spanish rifles of the years from the corrals of the hacienda and ters. A Mine Lab metal detector model Three individuals were found buried in 1752, 1791 or 1803. had taken positions when they received ABN was used to locate all possible bu- the surroundings of Hacienda San Ja- heavy fire from the Nicaraguans which llets remaining in the walls; this detector cinto. They were young men between 19 It’s mentioned that President Carrera’s completely wiped out the leaders of the can identify both ferrous and non ferrous and 25 years old; only one showed signs government in Guatemala sent weapons foray. Estrada states that they had lost metals and thus both gold and lead. The of death in combat, having an entry bullet to the Nicaraguans. Other documents the left flank, that it was impossible to search of the house walls located at least wound in the back of his head and an exit speak of flintlock muskets, which lit up regain it frontally due to heavy fire, and 68 bullets. The main concentrations of hole in front. There were no other signs the area around the face of the shooter that he had an officer make a flanking shots were found in the northeast part of human remains and no arrowheads when discharged. movement and attack to retake the po- of the house; this being the area where were found at any time in the study. sition. Estrada’s strategy to contain the the largest concentrations of shots were The system of percussion ignition was advance was to shoot when the enemies found, the main door of the hacienda The question is whether to follow or- invented in 1814, using a small amount were close enough, mainly because of did not appear to have received a heavy thodox thinking in written history when of mercury explosive to light the pow- the poor range and effectiveness of his barrage of shots. What is indeed clear archaeological inquiry leads to different der, and most armies in Europe and the weapons; this caused the death of many is that there is no evidence of a strong results, or possibly in conflict with written Americas had converted their old rifles of his men, but the final result was a concentration of firepower on the entire histories. to this new system or had acquired new withering fire from the front and the left building. rifles around mid century. The great ad- flank. In the end the filibusters lost 27 of As an assumption, finally there can be no vvantage of this sytem of ignition through 63 men, while the Nicaraguans lost 55 The small number of shots into the walls, difference or conflict between the com- mercury explosive is that it worked more of 160. considering also the technology of the era, plete historical information and the com- surely and rapidly, and made training an does not support a scenario with 200 fili- plete archaeological information base. ill-educated soldier easier than the flint- Although Estrada’s merits are undenia- busters attacking for more than two hours The reason to apply both methodolo- lock system, which used a hammer and ble, it’s posible that based on the reports and shooting more than six thousand times. gies is that one can support the other, a with a flintstone to generate sparks on and the technique used in the assault, the and each can discover facts that can’t encountering the hammer to light the battle lasted minutes rather than the four be found by using only one of the two black powder. The disadvantage of the hours which historiography has allotted methodologies. Some years ago I trave- flintlock system was that the black pow- to it. To test these suppositions, excava- lled to various towns in the department of der easily fouled the firearm with dirt and tions and explorations were carried out Carazo, accompanied by the Costa Ri- might not light; it was also much affected and analyzed at the hacienda to determi- can archaeologist Doctor Silvia Salgado. by humidity, and might even not light only ne the scope of the battle. To make clear After listening to various stories of inha- because of humidity in the air. what happened but avoid damaging the bitants of the towns, who told all the fine site, non-intrusive methods were used to details of stories of each town over 2,000 The Battle according to documentary manage the materials resulting from the years, Doctor Salgado commented that sources: combat, that is, the ammunition of the it was not necessary to make an explo- combatants and the human remains from Figure 3: The author Pat Werner and his ration there because the people already Walker’s and Estrada’s reports are si- the fight. One advantage of the hacienda assistant Gerardo Blandon, looking bullets in knew it all. Obviously archaeology can milar enough; both report that the battle walls is that they are made of adobe, and the walls of La Casa Hacienda San Jacinto. contribute something. took place on the morning of September this material acts almost like a sponge, (Taken from the book “ La Historia, La 14. Walker describes the attack as taking absorbing all impacts; another is that we Arqueología y La Batalla de San Jacinto”).

12 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 13 In the case of the archaeological inves- Two notable examples are these: during his entire lifetime.Thompson died tigation of the San Jacinto site, we be- in 1975 and the ability to begin deciphe- gan, Edgar and I, with the intent to obtain 1. The case of Sir Eric S. Thompson’s ring the glyphs took on speed. Today, any information available and go where opinion and the inability to read the most of the glyphs have been interpreted, the information led us. And for each of Mayan glyphs: Champollon’s deciphe- comprising a written history of many pla- us the most important was the number ring of the Egyptian glyphs is an outstan- ces and ruins in Mayan territory in Mexi- of bullets in the mansion walls. We spent ding feat which should have suggested co, Guatemala, El Salvador and Hon- much time studying old photos of the how to decipher the Mayan glyphs. In the duras. The impact of orthodoxy greatly mansion, examining old maps and inter- 1840’s John Lloyd Stephens suggested delayed the study of glyphs and Mayan viewing the family that had lived there a process like that used by Jean Fran- languages. since the thirties of the past century. We cois Chapollion in Egypt would work. Figure 4: Remains of an individual found during also examined the exterior of the house the investigation. But the intellectual heritage of Athana- The advantage of having another sour- to see if changes had been made to the sius Kircher, and later that of Sir Eric S. ce of information is that it broadens our exterior walls. The two of us appeared in Thompson, had the effect of preventing knowledge of the past. On another oc- 2008 much as we do today, and the exte- The reaction of some historians of the understanding of the messages of the casion Sir Eric S. Thompson revived this rior of the mansion in 2008 was also little conservative party and also of the party ruins, Mayan writings, and ultimately of reasoning. Since the Classic period of changed or even unchanged in compa- of Caronel Jose Dolores Estrada, hero of Mayan history for an entire century, and the Maya ended shortly after 900 A.D. or rison with the exterior of the house on the battle, was one of indifference, even is a good example of the effect of the the year 300 of Islamic calculation, there September 14, 18561. to the point of belittling the researchers. orthodox thinking which slowed the de- were no histories of it created by the Spa- One person commented that one of the velopment of knowledge of the Mayan niards who conquered Mayan-speaking The reaction of the historians and inte- researchers was like William Walker be- language through its writing3. lands in the 16th and 17th centuries. The lletuals was of two very different kinds. cause his surname also begins with the information generated by archaeology, The majority of the Marxists concluded letter W2. Kircher suggested the idea that the directed by Thompson, covered the ca- that the investigation was a new deve- glyphs might represent ideas or sym- talogs of glyphs, maps of buildings, exa- lopment in Nicaraguan historiography. In a larger sense the problem some had bols not represented by a language, so- mination of human remains, treatments The head of the Sandinista voting group was that the true history of Nicaragua mething perhaps impossible. Thompson, of the pottery sequence, and work on the in the National Assembly wanted to read is being changed, that is to say, a pro- expert in calculating Mayan numbers handling and use of stones, among other it, so I gave him a copy and told him that cess of historical and archaeological in- and dates, never thought that the glyphs subjects. But this was not the history or if he didn’t like it, it would not be publis- vestigation was being confused with the represented sounds and Mayan words histories of the Mayas, nor of any city, hed. He wrote the preface. The owner of process of nationalism. And doubtless from a language existing at the time of nor of any king. The image of the Mayas the press also supported it, as well as the considerations of national feeling and the Mayas. Besides this, he attacked the as intellectuals calculating the move- chief cultural officer of the Mayoralty of personal opinions have made history a school of thought which argued that the ment of the stars, a non-violent people, Managua. fruitful activity and at times controversial. glyphs were a form of writing with its own was very similar to an ideal of behavior grammar and that they were written in the of academics of the 20th century; it was form of a Mayan language. The effect of the creation of various researchers who Thompson’s influence on Mayan studies worked without knowing the content of 1 Another alternative is that someone modified the exterior in order to fool 150 future historians. was that Mayan studies did not advance the inscriptions, writings and stories of 2 Another comment was that the results of the investigation were mere speculation. For some it is more doubtful that the filibusters could have fought for four hours at 30 meters distance from the mansion, shooting perhaps 600 times, and only leaving 68 bullets in the walls. Perhaps with very por aim. 3 See, eg, Michael D. Coe, Breaking the Maya Code, Thames & Hudson, New York, 1999.

14 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 15 the Mayas, which emerged only when a 2. In the case of the history of the United States was directed by God and There were battles where an elite formed new generation began to read the Mayan United States: the view of George proposed that the history of the forma- by yoiung men, such as José Santos Ze- glyphs and inscriptions, beginning in the Bancroft as orthdoxy and the work of tion of the Constitution in 1787 was gui- laya y Benjamín Zeledón, received the 1970’s. And a history and documentation Charles A. Beard, The Economic Inter- ded and directed by the economic and training they applied during the following of Maya culture began thanks to this new pretation of the United States Consti- political interests of the authors of the thirty years. And this movement ended source of information about the Mayas in tution (1913): In U.S. history, there is Constitution. That was a century ago, when Barrios received a bullet in the their own words. The Mayas emerge from another example of orthodoxy standing in and the battle continues. The history heart. But, do we know everything about their writings and inscriptions not as a the way of historicl research. Since 1789, of the U.S.Constitution follows various this movement? I believe that we do not. society of intellectuals, but as a dynamic many have written U.S. history in various paths, interpretations and doctrinal dis- And a detailed examination of all the do- culture involved in dynastic wars between ways. As if typical of histories written by putes in historic journals, conferences cuments, the battlefields and knowledge city-states, with wars, early imperalism, historians with nationalistic interest, the and in departments of history at docent of the firearms and their bullets could assassination of kings who had been first century of U.S. history reflects an of universities inside and outside the Uni- only enhance the complete knowledge of overthrown, and self-mutilation. Or as attitude defining the development of the ted States. There is only one constant: the history of the liberal movement and may be, a culture within Meso-American United States as the work of God and George Bancroft’s view of history, the the reactions of those who opposed it in traditions4. destiny. Perhaps the most well known most accepted in intellectual circles at Central America. historian was George Bancroft, author the end of the 19th century, the true or- Clearly, being able to understand the of several books on the U.S. and rela- thodoxy, today is rejected by all. Similarly Another example of archaeological in- Mayan writings and inscriptions opens ted histories. For example, he asked for the complete rejection of the intellectual quiry —the Battle of Namisigue. In 1907, a huge base of information not available many documents from President Cuadra stance of Sir Eric S. Thompson as to possibly because of resentment between when using only the information drawn on Nicaraguan colonial history. His prac- the impossibility of reading the Mayan President Zelaya and President Bonilla, from traditional archaeology. And one tice was to make an exhaustive survey of glyphs is another example of how the ac- the army and navy of Nicaragua attacked can note the usefulness of history in mo- a theme before writing about it5. cepted thinking of one point in time may Honduras and its ally, El Salvador. Santos difying the orthodox view of history and be rejected due to new information, new Zelaya’s attempt to establish a Prussian orthodox archaeology. It is information In his writings, he attributed the develop- historians and archaeologists. academy in Managua, the incorporation which is complete and different from other ment of the United States to four factors, of Prussian strategy in the use of Maxim sources, and provides information not ac- one being divine providence. In what pertains to Central American machine gunes and Krupp cannons, was cessible through other approaches. The history, the reverse is also true. There is complemented by the Honduras recour- reaction is to defend the orthodox when The accepted thinking about U.S. his- abundant written information about con- se to American mercenaries, General one can place other sources side by side, tory changed completely when progres- flicts. For El Salvador there is information Lee Christmas, Sam Dreben and Tra- which can provide information strongly sive historian Charles A. Beard rejected about General Gerardo Barrios, who was cy Richardson, like what Castellón and contradictory of orthodoxy. completely the idea that the history of the captured by President Martinez and sent Jerez had done with William Walker 60 to El Salvador, where they shot him. The years earlier. The rsult was decisive in historian of Martinez, Jerónimo Pérez, Namisigue when the Nicaraguan army fi- wrote that the execution was a big surpri- ring machine guns destroyed the armies 4 There is little evidence, but the possibility exists that the Maya were familiar with various psychotropic drugs such as Brugmansia se. Which I do not believe. Archaeology of Honduras and El Salvador. Little has suaveolens (floripón), Ipamoea violácea, and mushrooms, possibly Amanita muscaria. At least the Maya made drawings of toadstools possibly can help with the understanding been written in Nicaragua about the fo- or mushrooms very similar to the famous Amanita muscaria. It’s more difficult to say about cocaine, but the Nahuas in the area of the of what happened with General Barrios. reign policies of Santos Zelaya and this cacique Nicaragua described substances and effects of those substances very similar to the leaves of Erythroxolom coca. In 19th century history there were mo- battle, and even less has been written 5 It seems that Cuadra sent many documents to Bancroft, and they were never returned to Nicaragua. A Bancroft collection exists at a vements to forcibly unify Central Ameri- in Honduras and El Salvador about this California university. The documents sent by President Cuadra have not been identified as part of this collection. ca, led by General Justo Rufino Barrios. battle of great importance. Located not

16 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 17 far from San Marcos de Colon, the ba- which incorporates history and archaeo- 3. In 1532 Pedro de Alvarado stole ships ttl field of Namisigue is partly intact, as logy as two information sources each and sunk at least one in the bay of El was the battlefield of San Jacinto. The completing the other. These are sugges- Realejo. It’s worth a search, and Alvara- battle of Little Bighorn of Custer in 1876 ted paths to explore: do told about the area in which he sunk was only clarified after a study of where 1. In Nicaragua, the victory of the liberals it. the bullets landed and where the shells at the Cuesta de Plomo, 1893. It’s easy 4. In 1854, General Ponciano Corral of cartridges of the army and the native to detect the bullets of the protagonists. sunk a boat belonging to the liberals near Americans were left. All the army partici- And the place is clearly identified. Isla Zapatera and the Isla el Muerto. pant died, none of the victors could write. 2. The wars at the end of the regime of 5. The historian Alejandro Bolaños iden- The archaeologists, using a methodolo- José Santos Zelaya, the Mena war and tified one of the Vanderbilt boats, which gy independent from writing finally figu- the attack on Masaya by the Marines in had two wheels instead or one or two he- red out what happened in 19866. And October, 1912. lixes, on the beach near La Virgen Bay, the knowledge of how the British infan- 3. Several attacks on the cathedral of which should be studied. try of the Duke of Wellington defeated Leon in the 1820s and the Guerra de Es- Napoleon’s Old Guard was completed pina. Nicaraguan history and archaeology only in the 1960’s when they excavated 4. Determining how many buildings in form a single body of information about the site of the defeat to develop the con- Granada still have bullets in their walls, the country and can only support and cept of “bunching” or gathering together removing them and identifying the era complete each other. In the end, there when receiving much fatal fire and tropos they belong to, especially the former can be no contradiction between the two. had lost their ability to respond. No parti- Convento San Francisco. Each one is the other side of the other. cipant wrote about this phenomenon and 5. Seeing whether there are remains Because of this it’s worth the effort to ca- the store of written information is scanty; from attacks by indigenous people in the rry out both types of studies in order to 150 years later, archaeologists figured ruins of Santa Maria de Buena Esperan- finally describe what happened in Nica- out what had happened. Before June 18, za and later Nueva Segovia. ragua and Central America in the past. 1815, the Old Guard had never lost in an attack. The archaeologists explained In matters of marine archaeology, there why for the first time Wellington could de- are at least four that deserve attention: feat them and end the political career of 1. A boat on the other side of the El Dia- Napoleon Bonaparte. blo rapids, at the Castillo, Rio San Juan. It is easily seen. It warrants study. For the future 2. Admiral Fayssoux destroyed a Costa Rican warship near the bay of San Juan Having rejected the hallowed hagiogra- del Sur. With modern instruments pos- phy of a country’s history in its lifeless sibly one could find it by searching the form, one can think about a process bottom of the ocean.

6 See: Fox, Richard Allan Jr., Archaeology, History, and Custer´s Last Battle, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1992. and Keegan, John, The Face Of Battle, Guildford, Biddles, 1978, and Weller Jac, Wellington at Waterloo, Greenhill Books, London, 1992.

18 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 19 what has come to be called Isla de Sacri- The White Slip Ceramic Horizon of Early ficios White on Cream (Figure 1). These feature curvilinear painted decorations in Postclassic Mexico and Central America white (outlined in brown) on a cream back- ground, with the decorations occasionally outlined with fine-line incising. Similar pot- tery has been found at other sites in the Gulf Coast region of Veracruz, including Cerro Montoso, and it is traditionally dated to the Early Postclassic period (A.D. 900- 1200).

McCafferty became interested in the Gulf Coast-style whitewares during his dissertation research at Cholula (Pue- bla, Mexico). Whereas many of the later Postclassic Cholula polychromes were painted on an orange slip, a large per- centage of the polychromes from the Geoffrey McCafferty* and Carrie L. Dennett** Early Postclassic featured a white slip. *University of Calgary, Canadá. These corresponded to the polychrome type originally described by Eduardo No- **University of Calgary and the Denver Art Museum. guera (1954) as ‘policroma mate.’ As a result of the seriation analysis conducted during this research, it was discovered that the whiteware polychromes dated to wenty-five years ago McCafferty wares, especially relating to periform the Early Postclassic period (local Midd- Figure 1: Isla de Sacrificios White on Cream from Veracruz, Mexico. and John Hoopes began a collabo- vessels that were likely used for ritual le/Late Tlachichualtepetl phase) (A.D. Tration to investigate the apparent chocolate consumption. In this paper we 900-1200). Two distinctive types were relationship between central Mexico document where and when this complex identified: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome and the Greater Nicoya region of Cen- appears, followed by consideration of and Ocotlan Red Rim: Cristina variety tral America. This theme is the impe- possible cultural interactions. (Figure 2). tus behind recent research in Pacific Nicaragua, and is also the foundation In a recent publication, Leonardo López A secure dated context for these whi- of longstanding interest in highland/ Luján (2013) recounts what he claims may teware polychromes was found by Ser- lowland interaction during the Epiclassic be the first article published on Mesoame- gio Suárez Cruz in a sealed well from the and Early Postclassic of Cholula, Mexi- rican archaeology, dealing with the site of urban area of San Pedro Cholula (McCa- co. A material trait that links these two Isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz. The article fferty 1996). Mendable fragments of the Figure 2: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome and topics is the use of polychrome decora- included several lithographs of artifacts Ocotlan: Cristina variety were found with Ocotlan Red Rim: Cristina subtype from Cholula. tion painted over white-slipped serving encountered, including several vessels of mixed debris dating between A.D. 900

20 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 21 and 1000. These polychromes closely octopi, and at least one depicting a lord several languages were spoken at the resemble those discussed by López Lú- with an elaborate feathered headdress. time of the Spanish conquest. Lowland/ jan for Isla de Sacrificios in terms of pain- highland interaction may also relate to ted decoration, while others have Maya- southern Gulf Maya incursions into the like iconography but are made from local highlands beginning as early as A.D. clay sources (Figure 3). Another context 600. Whiteware polychromes are very excavated was a platform of the Great limited in their use, and are not present Pyramid that included actual Gulf imports in the more ‘Nahua’ parts of the central associated with the earliest polychromes highlands such as the Basin of Mexico in the sequence, supporting a suggestion or Morelos. At Tula, a few examples of originally made by H.B. Nicholson (1982) Figure 5: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome. whitewares were initially identified as Ni- that the earliest polychromes were likely coya polychromes from Central America related to Gulf influences. (Healan 1988; Figure 7), but recently Figure 4: Ocotlan Red Rim: Cristina subtype. have been more accurately identified as belonging to the Honduran Las Vegas polychrome tradition (contemporary with The second type of whiteware from Early Nicoya polychromes). Postclassic Cholula – Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome – has a less glossy, more Having demonstrated the development matte finish, and the patterns generally of whiteware ceramics in Mexico, we consist of a panel of geometric motifs turn now to the other major manifesta- (Figure 5). This type has a closer resem- tion of this whiteware horizon from the blance to the dominant Yanhuitlan Red- Greater Nicoya region of Central Ameri- Figure 3: Ocotlan Red Rim: Cristina subtype on-Cream polychrome type from the ca. Greater Nicoya is comprised of Pa- with Gulf motifs. Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca (Figure cific Nicaragua and northwestern Costa 6). Yanhuitlan Red-on-Cream also fea- Figure 6: Yanhuitlan Red on Cream from the Rica. It has long been considered as the tures a panel of geometric motifs over a Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca. southern frontier of greater Mesoame- Imported Isla de Sacrificios whitewares cream slip, and first appears in the Early rica (McCafferty et al. 2012), especially are easily distinguished by their very fine Postclassic and continues through the during the Postclassic period. Early Co- paste composition, lacking obvious inclu- Late Postclassic period. Whereas minor The whiteware horizon in central Mexi- lonial chroniclers recorded the dominant sions and having a white/cream color, in stylistic variations may distinguish diffe- co and the Gulf Coast remains enigma- languages of the region as dialects of contrast to Cholula paste that is a relati- rent Mixtec polities the overarching type tic. It is linked to the Early Postclassic, Nahuat (Nicarao) and Oto-Manguean vely coarse textured and light brown in is ubiquitous in the Mixteca Alta. It is not with the best dated remains coming from (Chorotega and Monimbo), and cultural color. Nevertheless, some of the painted found in the adjoining Mixteca Baja or Cholula. This is a time period associa- traits as well as migration myths clearly decoration found on locally produced in the Valley of Oaxaca. Notably the fa- ted with the Olmeca-Xicallanca occupa- linking the inhabitants with central and Ocotlan Cristina variety polychromes is mous ‘Mixtec polychrome’ is not introdu- tion of the city, a group who are belie- southern Mexico. In fact, these ‘mythsto- clearly reminiscent of the Gulf style (Fi- ced until the Late Postclassic period, so ved to have originated in the southern ries’ identify Cholula as a point of origin gure 4). Cholula variations, however, is not directly related to this Early Post- Gulf Coast region (McCafferty 2007). for migrating groups, and that the iden- also include more diverse patterns, in- classic manifestation of the whiteware They may have been ethnically Maya, tifying term Chorotega is actually a deri- cluding realistic representations of birds, horizon. but this was a multi-ethnic area where vation of the term ‘Choluteca.’ We note,

22 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 23 however, that these traditional connec- tions may not be as clear as originally assumed. While it is absolutely reaso- nable to accept this linguistic argument, there are certain other factors that can- not be overlooked or ignored. For exam- ple, Chorotega was also the name of a dominant chief at the time of Spanish conquest, and that the term Choluteca has its strongest connections (linguis- tic, ethnic, and geographical) in western Honduras, just north of the Greater Ni- coya region. Figure 8: Greater Nicoya whiteware polychromes. The Classic to Postclassic transition, locally known as the Bagaces to Sapoá migration to the region. This physical hu- transition, features a dramatic shift in man impact was likely coupled with the ceramic types from the use of a well- effects of protracted exchange and/or burnished red surface to the innovative Figure 7: ‘Nicoya’ polychromes from Tula, Hi- interaction between Greater Nicoya and use of white slip with polychrome deco- dalgo in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, the Mesoamerican southeast periphery ration. Recent excavations at the site of Mexico City. (Honduras and/or El Salvador). The result El Rayo provide a well-dated context for appears to represent a "ceramogenesis" this transition, while an additional 20 ra- that accompanies a developing "Chorote- diocarbon dates provide a solid basis for of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Art histo- ga ethnogenesis" occurring between A.D. a microchronology of whiteware ceramic rian Jane Day (1994) tied the Greater 600 and 800. development from A.D. 800 and 1250 Nicoya polychromes to the somewhat along the Isthmus of Rivas. Numerous ambiguous Mixteca-Puebla stylistic tra- In northwest Costa Rica, the develop- types and varieties of whiteware pottery dition, while noting that it may have be- ment of Galo Polychrome after A.D. 500 have been identified based on surface gun earlier in Central America than in (the first true polychrome of the region) treatment and decorative elements (Fi- central Mexico. is directly linked to contemporaneous gure 8). Vallejo Polychrome is generally developments in the Ulua Valley of Hon- credited with being the most ‘Mexican’ in Development of the whiteware tradition is duras. The relationship between Ulua terms of symbolic elements, especially typically viewed as the "arrival marker" of Polychrome: Nebla class, for example, in the use of feathered serpent motifs migrating foreign ethnic (Mexican) groups and Galo: Jaguar and Lagarto varie- (Manion and McCafferty 2013; Figure 9) into Pacific Nicaragua. Because these ties is undeniable; vessel forms, color whitewares have no antecedent in a ma- palettes and overall presentation are The association of Greater Nicoya whi- ture form coming from Mexico, however, inextricably linked (Figure 10). In fact, tewares with Mexican ceramics has long we are now more inclined to view this tra- Figure 9: Vallejo Polychromes with feathered the resemblances go beyond emulation been recognized, dating back to Samuel dition as the end result of intensive ethnic serpent imagery. Photo (a) courtesy of Mi or copying, and are likely the result of Museo, and (b) by G. McCafferty. Lothrop’s (1926) two-volume Ceramics mixing following (or during continuous) craftsperson exchange and/or training;

24 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 25 probably Greater Nico- ya potters being trained in Honduras, because the iconographic con- tent is truly 'indigenous' to Costa Rica. This ar- gument for connectivity does not rest on cera- mics alone. During this period we also witness Figure 11: Comparison of Momta Polychrome from Nicaragua and Copador Polychrome from Honduras. the appearance of Clas- sic period Maya iron ore mirrors and Ulua style next hundred years or so, including the Mesoamerican ceramics...and not ne- marble vases (elite ob- elite-political dissolution of the Maya cessarily those from Mexico (Figure 12). Figure 10: Comparison of (a) Galo Polychrome from Costa Rica southern lowlands. Taken together, the- There is sufficient material and icono- jects that are probably and (b) Ulua Polychrome from Honduras. the result of peer gifting se events likely served as the impetus graphic influence from Honduras and El and alliance formation) for a significant reconfiguration of exis- Salvador to account for these first mani- in archaeological con- schemes), however, seems to be more ting trade/exchange routes, as well as festations, especially with regard to ser- texts in Costa Rica (Dennett and Blai- aligned with contemporaneous (Classic the actual migration of human bodies pent and human imagery. Both Culebra ney 2014; Dennett et al. 2008), as well to Terminal/Epiclassic period) develop- out of the peripheral impact area. and Serpiente varieties are most closely as the height of post Olmec jade manu- ments in Copador wares from the Copán tied to types such as Ulua Polychrome, facture in Central America, with raw ma- Valley area. Whatever the mechanisms, by A.D. 800 Copador wares, and later Las Vegas terials sources believed to be from the Chorotega groups occupied the Greater Polychromes in the Terminal Classic. southeastern periphery. While some of these changes were Nicoya region and had developed the Feathery serpent imagery, in its earliest likely the result of developing ties bet- local whiteware tradition. We currently manifestation in Greater Nicoya appears In Pacific Nicaragua, the relationship ween distant groups in a broad inte- have no evidence of whitewares an- more closely tied with the Maya Vision with Honduras continues, but in a very raction sphere, we believe that these ywhere in Central America (or Mesoa- serpent and stylistic aspects of Copador different fashion than we see in Costa sudden changes, as well as the arrival merica) at an earlier date. Interestingly, wares, than the Postclassic idea of the Rica. Galo polychrome is being imitated of actual migrants rather than just ideas/ following on the heels of the "Papagayo feathered serpent as witnessed in later here, rather than evolving alongside the technologies, was spurred on by a very revolution" is the appearance of Las Ve- Vallejo Polychrome. This re-evaluation Guanacaste/Nicoya-Honduras relations- punctuated natural event – the devasta- gas polychromes in Honduras ca. A.D. of early ‘feathery’ serpent imagery, and hip seen so strongly in Costa Rica. The ting eruption of Volcan Ilopango ca. A.D. 950. Support for this argument can also a refocusing toward the Maya vision ser- development of local polychrome tradi- 536. This massive eruption had apo- be found in disseminated technological pent, is also taking place in central Mexi- tions is underway in Pacific Nicaragua calyptic impact in the local fallout region knowledge from Honduras, specifically can research (Jordan 2013). after A.D. 600, nonetheless, with both of El Salvador, with subsequent long- the production of mold-made figurines, Belo and Momta Polychromes (Figure term environmental impacts directed which also marks the beginning of the A clue to this connection may be found 11) being generated out of the Ayala site, toward the north. We cannot ignore the Sapoá period in different manifestations. in one of the diagnostic vessel forms of just southwest of modern day Granada timing of all these events concurrently, the whiteware tradition from throughout city (Salgado González 1996a, 1996b). and must also consider the impact of The earliest Papagayo varieties, Cule- this pan-Mesoamerican region. Tall drin- Their connection (in form and decorative other major events that followed in the bra and Serpiente, show affiliation with king vessels were among the whitewares

26 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 27 found at Isla de Sacrificios, Cholula, Tula, Referencias and throughout the Greater Nicoya region (Figure 13). We believe these were used Day, Jane Stevenson 1994 Central Mexican Imagery in Greater Nicoya. In Mixteca- for ceremonial consumption of cacao – Puebla: Discoveries and Research in Mesoamerican Art and Archaeology, edited residue analysis of contents from periform by H.B. Nicholson and E. Quiñones Keber, pp. 235-248. Labyrinthos Press, Culver vessels from the El Rayo cemetery is cu- City, CA. rrently underway to test this hypothesis. If the overarching pattern of cacao con- Dennett, Carrie L. y Marc G. Blainey 2014 Reflecting on Exchange: Maya Iron ore sumption is tied to the whiteware ceramic Mirrors beyond the Southeast Periphery. In Reflections of the Soul: Mirrors in the tradition, then the regions associated with Mesoamerican Realm, edited by Emiliano Gallaga and Marc Blainey. University the mythstorical migration – Soconosco, Press of Colorado, Boulder. In press. El Salvador, and Greater Nicoya – are all prime cacao growing areas. Perhaps part Figure 12: (a) Papagayo Polychrome: Dennett, Carrie L., Christina Luke, y Paul F. Healy 2008 Which Came First? The of the impetus was the economic control Serpiente variety. (b) Drawing of a detail Marble or the Clay?: Ulua-style Vase Production and Precolumbian. Documento of this valuable commodity. from Lintel 15 at the Classic Maya site of presentado en the Annual Meeting for the Society for American Archaeology, Yaxchilan showing a vision serpent (Wikimedia Vancouver, BC. Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ The whiteware ceramic complex of Early File:YaxchilanDivineSerpent.jpg#filelinks). Postclassic Mesoamerica and the Grea- Healan, Dan M. 1989 [ed.] Tula of the Toltecs: Excavations and Survey. Universidad ter Nicoya region of Central America is de Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. just that: complex. As researchers conti- contents of the vessels, whiteware cera- nue to clarify the relative chronologies of mics offer important insights into the cul- Jordan, Keith 2013 Serpents, Skeletons, and Ancestors?: The Tula Coatepantli these areas, and as detailed iconographic tural, ideological and exchange relations Revisted. Ancient Mesoamerica 24:243-274 analysis explores the dynamic symbolic linking all of these regions across time. López Luján, Leonardo 2013 La Isla de Sacrificios y la arqueología en los albores del México independiente. Arqueología Mexicana 124:80-87.

Lothrop, Samuel K. 1926 Ceramics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 2 vols. Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian Memoir 8, New York, New York.

Manion, Jessica L. y Geoffrey McCafferty 2013 Feathered Serpents of Pacific Nicaragua. Mi Museo y Vos 26: 19-24.

McCafferty, Geoffrey G. 1996 The Ceramics and Chronology of Cholula, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 7(2):299-323.

2007 So What Else is New? A Cholula-centric Perspective on Lowland/Highland Interaction in the Classic/ Postclassic Transition. En Twin Tollans: Chichén Itzá, Tula, and the Epiclassic to Early Postclassic Mesoamerican World, editado por Jeff Karl Kowalski and Cynthia Kristan-Graham, pp.449-481. Dumbarton Oaks Figure 13: Whiteware cacao vessels from the Gulf Coast, Cholula, Tula, and Nicaragua. Research Library and Collections, Washington, D.C.

28 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 29 McCafferty, Geoffrey G., Fabio Esteban Amador, Silvia Salgado González y Carrie L. Dennett 2012 Archaeology on Mesoamerica's Southern Frontier. En The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, editado por Deborah Nichols and Antique furniture of Mi Museo Christopher A. Pool, pp. 83-105. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

McCafferty, Geoffrey G. y Larry L. Steinbrenner 2005 The Meaning of the Mixteca- Puebla Stylistic Tradition on the Southern Periphery of Mesoamerica: The View from Nicaragua. En Art for Archaeology’s Sake: Material Culture and Style across the Disciplines Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Chacmool Conference, editado por Andrea Waters-Rist, Christine Cluny, Calla McNamee and Larry Steinbrenner. Pp.282-292 , The Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary, AB.

Nicholson, Henry B. 1982 The Mixteca-Puebla Concept Re-visited. En The Art and cabinets, chests, mirrors, showcases, Iconography of Late Post-Classic Central Mexico, editado por E.H. Boone, pp. 227- etc. Their designs are described by the 254. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. name of their style, such as Jacobin, Louis XV. The pieces date from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Noguera, Eduardo 1954 La Cerámica Arqueológica de Cholula. Editorial Guaranía, Martha Barahona México, D.F. century. Guide at Mi Museo Salgado González, Silvia 1996a Social Change in the Region of Granada, Pacific Cabinets are known to exist at least since Nicaragua (1000 B.C. - 1522 A.D.). Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New the Roman era. Initially, they were used York, Albany, NY. only to store weapons, as their name in urniture has existed since the remote Spanish (armario) suggests. Soon they 1996b The Ayala Site: A Bagaces Period Site Near Granada, Nicaragua. En past; there are no exact dates for its were used to keep all kinds of objects Paths to Central American Prehistory, edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp.191-220. F emergence. We only know that it da- safe. University Press of Colorado, Niwot, CO. tes from primitive times. Starting in the 18th century, cabinets and Ancient furnishings vary a great deal, book shelvesfor displaying objects under depending on the era of their creation. glass were built, as well as cupboards. There are many factors which explain These were suitable for use in a salon why so many styles of furnishings exist, (living room). such as the choices made by the artist who designed each piece, and what led You can see some of these kinds of the artist to innovate. cabinets in the corridors of Mi Museo. They may date from more than a century At Mi Museo, Peter Kolind has a collec- ago (Figure 1).They were used to store tion of antique furnishings which illustrate clothing and jewelry, and even had se- the work of architectural art. In them one cret compartments for documents and can see the evolution of decorative art money. Today the cabinets are used to applied to furniture such as armchairs, store various encyclopedias.

30 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 31 The antique furniture is made of the pre- cious tropical wood of Nicaragua, inclu- ding: royal cedar, oak, macuelizo, laurel, quachipilin, and mahogany. Thanks to the extraordinary abilities of our talented artisans it's possible to see and preserve these items of furniture, which are a true master work of Nicaraguan art.

The museum also has a collection of fur- niture imported from Denmark. Among the outstanding pieces are chairs and armchairs from great Danish designers, for example the Jacobsen Series 7 chairs Figure 3: Set of chairs, Model 3107, also in the meeting room. This is one of the known as Series 7; 1955 collection of the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. most famous Nordic chairs representing Scandinavian interior design worldwide. Figure 1: Antique cabinet at Mi Museo. Simply designed, with a wooden seat and metal structure, more chairs in this design A specialist in antique furniture who is have been sold than any other Nordic familiar with the history of these objects chair in history. There are also the arm- has visited the museum facilities. One of chairs made of Danish oak and leather, the pieces of furniture located on the first designed by Borge Morgensen, which are corridor of the museum drew his atten- located on one of the museum corridors tion. The design, decoration and finish of where visitors may rest while enjoying a the piece suggest that it's very old, pos- cup of organic coffee (Figure 4). sibly dating from the 19th century (Figure 2). He affirms that the armchair shows traces of bullet fire, perhaps because du- ring the epoch when Granada was invol- Figure 4: Armchairs made of Danish oak and leather; designed by Borge Mogensen, 1950 ved in a series of wars, the people used collection. many items of furniture as barricades.

The antique furnishings in Mi Museo seem to speak for themselves; they are as rich in design as in detail. Their Figure 2: Antique armchair at Mi Museo. handmade ornamentation and shapely legs are unusual. All these artistic details make them unique in their quality of craftsmanship.

32 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo y Vos 33 Visits to Mi Museo

n the second quarter of this year, from March 15 to June 15, Mi Museo received a total of 3048 visits, of which 2025 are foreign, 264 nationals and 559 students. We Iare happy to welcome visitors to the different places and have a follow tour of the facilities of the museum for free.

The following is detailed information about the countries whose citizens visited Mi Museo:

Nicaragua 725 New Zealand 12 E.E.U.U 694 Switzerland 10 Costa Rica 181 Hungary 8 United King 136 Paraguay 7 Francia 111 Japan 7 Canada 108 Poland 6 Germany 74 Austria 5 Spain 42 Ireland 5 Holland 38 Colombia 5 Denmark 32 Brazil 4 Italy 28 Luxembourg 3 Guatemala 25 Peru 3 Australia 25 India 3 Argentina 24 Russia 3 Venezuela 23 Israel 2 Puerto Rico 19 Greece 2 Honduras 19 Panama 2 Mexico 15 Portugal 1 Sweden 14 Barbados 1 El Salvador 14 Ecuador 1 Belgium13 China 1 Finland 13 South Korea 1 Chile 13 Czech Republic 1

34 Mi Museo y Vos Mi Museo, Street Atravesada 505, Front Bancentro. Granada, Nicaragua. Phone: (505) 2552-7614 E-mail: [email protected] Hours of operation: Monday-Sunday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Free admission www.mimuseo.org 36 Mi Museo y Vos www.facebook.com/mimuseo.granada