Copyright by Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Material Culture Matters: A methodological approach to the study of shell artifacts from the southern Maya lowlands Committee: Fred Valdez Jr. Supervisor Palma Buttles, Co-Supervisor Darrell Creel Martha Menchaca Athanasios Papalexandrou Material Culture Matters: A methodological approach to the study of shell artifacts from the southern Maya lowlands by Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos, Ptychion; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2015 Dedication To Carlos, Eleni and Cheto, with love. Acknowledgements In order to take pride in completing this study I have to acknowledge the support of some wonderful individuals that surround me in. This dissertation happened because all of you believed that I could do it. Dr. Fred Valdez Jr. has been a driving force of this dissertation when all my plans for doctoral research have fallen out. He welcomed me back in the New World archaeology and the Maya, and advised a venture in the study shell artifact types. I thank him for being incredibly patient and for never allowing me to lose perspective during my graduate school years. Dr. Palma Buttles agreed to serve as a co-supervisor of this dissertation and she provided me with invaluable insights. Her dissertation stands as a model of a comprehensive analysis of material culture as well as an exemplary dissertation. I frankly followed the description of several types from her analysis of shell artifacts from Colha as model for the type descriptions I developed in this study. Dr. Nassos Papalexandrou has warmly agreed to serve on my committee with enthusiasm and I am truly grateful for his support. He provided me with sincere and thoughtful insights even if he called himself an “outsider” throughout the process of this study. Dr. Martha Menchaca was very supportive of this work and I owe her my original acquaintance with anthropology many years ago. She always has kind words to say and I appreciate that. v Dr. Darrell Creel has served on my dissertation and on my thesis committee. I am thankful for his support and advise, especially for his words of encouragement. I feel the need to remember the late Brian Stross, who served as a member of this dissertation committee from 2009 to 2014. He and his teachings will always have a special place in my heart. None of this writing would have been realized without the unconditional love and endless support of my family, foremost of my parents, who have been the driving force behind every productive stage of my life. My brother has always been available to hear my frustrations and to take pride of my accomplishments. I thank him for reminding me that on our life’s ventures it is the journey that matters in the end. My warmest note of appreciation is offered to the loves of my life: my husband Carlos has been my rock the past fifteen years; my children Eleni and Cheto light up my heart with their laughter daily. Without the three of them, I would have never appreciated what really matters in life. vi Material Culture Matters: A methodological approach to the study of shell artifacts from the southern Maya lowlands Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Fred Valdez, Jr. Co-supervisor: Palma Buttles This dissertation proposes a methodology for the formulation of a catalogue for shell artifacts that belong in a special category of portable material culture, most commonly referred to as “small finds” in Mesoamerican Maya research. To do so, this dissertation explores the methodology of the type-variety classification scheme as seen applied in Maya pottery and tests its applicability for defining types of shell artifacts. To date, there is no formal and systematic procedure for the classification of these finds as there is for Maya pottery. Instead, these “other” or “miscellaneous artifacts,” have been presented in a descriptive manner in publications as they pertain to southern Maya Lowland sites. A clear basis of classification generally has remained implicit. Its principles have not been specified and the criteria for a type definition have remained vii sufficiently flexible to accommodate collections encompassing a great diversity of size and material composition. A compilation of published descriptions of shell artifacts recovered from eight southern Lowland sites serves as data for this study. I propose a preliminary standard format for the presentation of these artifacts that aims to integrate the best aspects of each of these earlier publications in the Maya area, possibly add new descriptive categories, and hopefully combine them in an original and useful manner. The format for the presentation of shell artifacts as proposed in this study, if adopted widely, could serve three purposes: 1) operate as a guideline for the written presentation of artifacts’ specifics and would aid in bringing some form of uniformity to identifications of shell artifacts; 2) help to bring a greater body of artifacts into print by emphasizing the study and recording of individual artifact types and varieties; and 3) establish a common language that will support meaningful discussions between analysts. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ....................................................................................................... xiv List of Figures ........................................................................................................xv CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Material Culture: Definition and Analysis ......................................................1 ‘‘Small finds’’ considered: Shell artifacts ......................................................5 Classification of Artifacts and Cultural Phenomena .......................................6 Purpose of the present study ...........................................................................7 Organization of the present study ...................................................................8 CHAPTER 2 ..........................................................................................................11 BACKGROUND OF THIS STUDY .....................................................................11 Physiography and cultural history of the southern Maya lowlands ..............12 Geographical and Environmental Setting .....................................................14 Cultural History of the Maya Lowlands .......................................................15 Altar de Sacrificios ..............................................................................19 Seibal....................................................................................................20 Piedras Negras .....................................................................................21 Uaxactun ..............................................................................................21 Barton Ramie .......................................................................................22 Lubaantun ............................................................................................23 Cerros ...................................................................................................23 Colha ....................................................................................................24 Archaeological evidence of the use of shell by the ancient Maya ................25 Studies of shell artifacts in the Maya Lowlands ...........................................27 ix CHAPTER 3 ..........................................................................................................31 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .........................................................................31 Classification of Artifacts .............................................................................32 A Note on Terminology: Classification, Typology, and Taxonomy ...32 The Purpose of Classification ..............................................................34 Type-based Classification Methods and Maya Research .............................39 The Type-Variety system of pottery classification ..............................42 The type-variety method of classification in Mesoamerica research...46 Present study .................................................................................................54 Type-variety: what works and what doesn’t ........................................54 A type-based method of classification for shell artifacts ..............................58 CHAPTER 4 ..........................................................................................................71 SHELL ARTIFACTS ............................................................................................71 Raw material shell.........................................................................................72 Why was shell used to make artifacts? ................................................72 Shellfish terminology and shell structure ............................................73 Gastropoda ..................................................................................74