Paleoethnobotany of the Lake Managua Region, Nicaragua
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1999 Paleoethnobotany of the Lake Managua region, Nicaragua Dickau, Ruth Dickau, R. (1999). Paleoethnobotany of the Lake Managua region, Nicaragua (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/18849 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/25457 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Paleoethnobotany of the Lake Managua Region, Nicaragua by Ruth Dickau A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE SmIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY CALGARY, ALBERTA MARCH 1999 O Ruth Dickau 1999 National Library Bibliotheque nationale I*m of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la foxme de microfichelfilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'autew qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts hmit Ni la these ni des extraits substantiek may be printed or otherwise de cele-ci ne doivent &re imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstract Flotation for macrobotanical remains was undertaken at three sites in the Lake Managua region of Nicaragua dating fiom prehistoric to historic periods. These sites were N-MA-36, Sc-J-A, and Le6n Viejo. Ethnohistorical accounts and artifactual evidence indicated that maize agriculture was an important part of the subsistence system of this area at the time of Spanish contact. Remains found fiom these sites show that maize was being cultivated, but that it did not dominate the diet. Coyol palm hit, Crotalaria, chenopods, amaranths were also found, and passionhit, squash, sweet potato, beans, Abutilon, and sapodilla were tentatively identified. This variety of species is interpreted to show that the past inhabitants of the region used a variety of subsistence systems to obtain their food and other resources, and were not completely reliant on agriculture. In addition, the recovery of archaeobotanical remains demonstrates that flotation is a viable paleoethnobotanical technique in this area. iii Acknowledgements A thesis is supposed to represent the research and work of one person in the attainment of a degree. In reality, nothing is farther fiom the truth. I am deeply indebted to many people for their help in bringing this thesis into hition. Funding for this research was provided by several generous sources: University of Calgary Thesis Research Grant, the Alcaldia of Managua, Nicaragua, the Direcci6n de Patrimonio Cultural, Nicaragua, and the Martha Biggar Anders Memorial Award. These institutions put their faith in me to complete this project, and provided the necessary fmancial support to get the job done. More than anyone, I am indebted to Dr. Frederick Lange, who provided me the opportunity to do research in Nicaragua. Dr. Lange invited me to participate in the 1997 Proyecto Arqueologia de la Zona Metropoiitma de Managua. His trust in my abilities, his insight, and his generosity are greatly appreciated. I also owe a great deal of gratitude to Deborah Comavaca, UCLA. She provided her flotation samples and data fiom the two sites she had excavated, as well as lent me her flotation equipment to process the samples fiom the sites we were excavating in Managua. Identifications were made with the help of Dr. David Lentz at the New York Botanical Gardens. Dr. Lentz generously allowed me to use his personal comparative collection, and the NYBG library, seed collection, and herbarium. As well, he provided lab space for me while I was in New York, and graciously assisted me with identifying many of the strange and unusual things I had found. Thank you as well to the rest staff of the NYBG who facilitated my research there, and to Camille Tipton and Mr. Wizard who kindly opened their home to me and provided a iiiendly place for me to stay in the foreign land of the Bronx. Prior to going to New York, Dr. Alwynne Beaudoin of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta helped with the preliminary identification of material. I would like to thank Norma Rodriguez Pivi and family for providing me a home away from home in Nicaragua. The students 1997 Managua field project helped me in many ways throughout the field season, most importantly by their friendship. I am grateful to Ed Fiedler for his mechanical assistance, and to Luvy Pichardo, Sarah Piziali, Martha Sanchez, Lionel Alvarez, and Matt Cunningham for their help in sorting the massive amounts of heavy fractions. A special thank you to Claudia Sanchez, Carol Wood, and my roommate Laurie Rinfiet for calming me down and restoring my perspective when things seemed at their worst in the field. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Peter Mathews for his advice, and his encouragement, even when the subject area in which I chose to work was slightly outside his expertise. I would also like to thank Dr. J. Scott Raymond for his advice over the course of this thesis, and for putting me in contact with Dr. Lange in the first place. And I would like to thank Dr. Denise Brown for agreeing to be on my committee. Finally, the support of my friends and family has made this possible. Becky Goyan assisted with the figures, and Rejane Boudreau retrieved some important information for me from the Nicaraguan archives. Faculty and peers at the Department of Archaeology have offered lots of support, encouragement, and advice. Tbanks especially to Trevor for all those late night slushie and hot chocolate runs. Without the love and support of my family I would have never made it this far. Look Mom and Dad, I did it! Dedication To my parents, for their continuing love and support, no matter where my journey takes me. Table of Contents .. Approval Page ........................................................................................................................11 Abstract ...............................................................................................................................111 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................. iv Dedication........................................................................................................................... vi.. Table Of Contents.............................................................................................................. vli List Of Tables...................................................................................................................... x List Of Figures ........................... xi ... ...................................................................................... .. List of Plates .................................................................................................................... xir CHAPTER PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 1 2 THEOFtETICAL PERSPECTIVE .................................................................. $9 PALAEOETHNOBOTANY: DEFINITIONS AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE .......................................................................................... 9 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF PALAEOETHNOBOTANY ................. 12 METHODS OF PALAEOETHNOBOTANY........................................... 14 FLOTATION ............................................................................................18 ARCHAEOLOGY OF NICARAGUA AND LOWER CENTRAL AMERICA: REVIEW OF LITERATURE.................................................... 22 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... -22 GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT OF WESTERN NICARAGUA .......................................................................................... 24 Cultural Geography........................................................................ 24 Agricultural Potential: Soils and Climate .................................... 27 Native Vegetation ......................................................................... 28 PLANT USE IN PREHISTORIC NICARAGUA ..................................... 30 Ethnohistorical Evidence ............................................................. 30 Artifactual Evidence...................................................................... 34 AGRICULTURE AND SUBSISTENCE................................................ 39 PREVIOUS PALEOETHNOBOTANTCAL STUDIES IN LOWER CENTRAL AMERICA ...........................................................................