Comcaac Anthropology of Meaningful Places
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
And the Giants Keep Singing: Comcaac Anthropology of Meaningful Places Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Martínez-Tagüeña, Natalia Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 10/10/2021 12:03:05 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/581304 AND THE GIANTS KEEP SINGING: COMCAAC ANTHROPOLOGY OF MEANINGFUL PLACES by Natalia Martínez-Tagüeña _________________________________________ Copyright © Natalia Martínez-Tagüeña 2015 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF ANTHROLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2015 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Natalia Martínez-Tagüeña, titled And the Giants Keep Singing: Comcaac Anthropology of Meaningful Places and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _____________________________________________________Date: (April 22, 2015) Suzanne K. Fish _____________________________________________________Date: (April 22, 2015) Thomas E. Sheridan _____________________________________________________Date: (April 22, 2015) Mary C. Stiner _____________________________________________________Date: (April 22, 2015) M. Nieves Zedeño _____________________________________________________Date: (April 22, 2015) T.J. Ferguson Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: (April 22, 2015) Dissertation Director: Suzanne K. Fish ________________________________________________ Date: (April 22, 2015) Dissertation Director: Thomas E. Sheridan 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Natalia Martínez Tagüeña 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the result of a long time effort and it was only accomplished through support and collaboration. Any mistake or misrepresentation throughout the document is my responsibility. The quality of the work presented here was only possible thanks to my Co-Chairs Suzanne K. Fish and Thomas E. Sheridan, who not only believed in me and pressured me, but took the time to correct and revise in detail this work. It was also thanks to the rest of my committee members Mary C. Stiner, M. Nieves Zedeño and TJ Ferguson who patiently provided me their time and amazing ideas to improve this research. I am in forever gratitude for your teachings and all the knowledge I have gathered throughout the years. The type of anthropological endeavor that I seek to accomplish and promote comes from my committee members’s example of work, which I truly admire. I am grateful for having studied the graduate program at the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, and while I learned from every conversation and interaction I had with all of its members, I will mention some key people for my work: Diane Austin, Thomas McGuire, Jim Greenberg, Charles Adams, Steve Kuhn, Vance Holliday, Barbara Mills, Paul Fish, Jim Watson and Dale Brenneman. I also thank the many colleagues, teachers and friends that have contributed to my formation in particular Douglas Kennett, Barbara Voorhies, Gregory Pereira, Karen Adams, Jane Kelley, Jonathan Mabry, and Elisa Villalpando. To John Carpenter and Guadalupe Sanchez for their continuous love and support. I follow your steps. Specially, I thank Rodrigo Rentería who not only taught me about the Comcaac but also took me there for the first time and introduced me to his friends (compa, gracias por todas las interminables conversaciones, por compartir las pasiones por la comunidad Comcaac). This dissertation emanates from a collaborative effort with and for the Comcaac community. I am not the same person who first arrived there with curiosity. I have grown and learned. I have the privilege of knowing many Comcaac who have generously shared with me their knowledge and friendship. They trust me and for that I am forever in debt with them. I cannot mention everybody that has contributed and participated but I will mention some. Luz Torres and Imelda Morales have always been there for this project and for me. All the elders have been essential for this research in particular Lorenzo Herrera, Armando and Angelita Torres, Francisco Morales, Roberto Molina, Efrain Estrella, Maria Luisa, Amalia and Aurora Astorga, Jesus Rojo, Juanita Herrera, Adolfo Burgos, Antonio Robles, Carolina Felix, Adolfo Lopez, Cleotilde Morales, Francisco and Chapo Barnett, and Pancho Moreno. Other people that have always supported me are the members of the Hoeffer, Torres, Martínez and Astorga families. Also Samuel Monroy, Manuel Monroy, Oscar Perales, Miguel Estrella, Humberto Morales, Martin Barnett, Luis Miguel Lopez, Fernando Torres, and Benjamin Molina. Many young people participated in different activities like Tito, Isaac, Kevin, Cristian, Aaron, Esteban, Mayra, Beto, Terry, Cesar, Alejandra, Karelia, Yumeli, Diana, Otilia, Hilda, Ulises, Abraham, Poncho, Roxana, Cesar, Eliazar, and Jesus. My apologies in advance if I am forgetting someone. This research was possible thanks to the Comcaac. This study was supported by funding from various sources: CONACyT (Beca por convenio para estudios de posgrado), a research grant from William Self Associates Consultants in Archaeology and Historic Preservation, a research grant from Thompson Endowment Fund and various smaller grants provided by the School of Anthropology 4 Scholarship Committee. Guillermo Reitze provided lodging and support in Kino Bay while sharing my interest on the Comcaac. GIS and field mapping assistance was granted by Michael Brack and for the final map production support was received from the Centro de Investigación en Geografía y Geomática (CentroGeo, CONACyT), in particular Dr. José Ignacio Chapela, Dr. Javier Aldabe, Silvestre Zepeda Ferrer and Isidro Rangel. Last but not least, I thank Isaac for all your patience and love (maxoqueepe ctam caziim, ahora y siempre!). Also, I thank all my amazing friends that make it all worth it. Amy and Matt, I simply would not have survived graduate school without you. Deanne, Lucero, Danielle, Pete, Dana and Jacob, you set the example of good work and I follow. Maren, we love the same and I hope we always continue to share and grow together. Mike, Carlitta, Heather, Mark, Stacy, Sarahi and Mark, you make of Tucson my home. I am grateful and forever in debt with all my family, for each of them in their own special way make me a better person. Papá, mamá, Damián, Diana, Carmen, Encarnita and Inés (prima, tu compañía estos últimos meses ha sido básica). Maite, Javier, Ximena, Hernán and their families, you inspire me. Thank you for providing me with ample examples of success and above everything for loving me and accepting me the way I am. Maya and Andrés you are light in my life. Thanks, Gracias, Haxa tiipe! 5 DEDICATION A mis padres por hacer todo posible A Jade por lo que ya es y será A los Comcaac 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... 9 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. 9 ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 11 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 11 1.1.1 Deep time and vast landscapes .......................................................... 11 1.1.2 Agricultural villages and their mobile neighbors .............................. 15 1.1.3 Archaeological traditions and their social interactions ...................... 19 1.1.4 Comcaac bands .................................................................................. 21 1.1.5 The Comcaac today ........................................................................... 23 1.2 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................ 25 1.2.1 From ethnoarchaeology to anthropology ........................................... 25 1.2.2 Materiality framework and cultural landscape approach .................. 30 1.2.3 Space, time and place .......................................................................