University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Archaeology and Indigeneity, Past and Present: A View from the Island of Roatán, Honduras Whitney Annette Goodwin University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Goodwin, Whitney Annette, "Archaeology and Indigeneity, Past and Present: A View from the Island of Roatán, Honduras" (2011). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3123 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Archaeology and Indigeneity, Past and Present: A View from the Island of Roatán, Honduras by Whitney A. Goodwin A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Karla L. Davis-Salazar, Ph.D. E. Christian Wells, Ph.D. Antoinette T. Jackson, Ph.D. Date of Approval: July 12, 2011 Keywords: Central America, Mesoamerica, archaeology, affiliation, heritage tourism © Copyright 2011, Whitney A. Goodwin Dedication To my mother, my inspiration, and my husband, my motivation. Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank my committee members: Karla, for taking the time to make all of the detailed edits and comments on drafts of this thesis; Christian, for introducing me to Roatán and always being available whether it was in the field or encouraging me and helping me to disseminate my research, and; Dr. Jackson, for being the lifesaver that she always is for me. A special thanks to Dr. Pluckhahn as well for being so flexible and for providing helpful insights throughout the process. I am also grateful to University of South Florida‘s Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean for supporting two field seasons of my research on Roatán. Personally, I could not have gone through this whole process without Alejandro by my side. I am also forever grateful for the companionship of Lorena Mihok both in the field and in the lab. It was a great experience to work with all of the field school students in the 2009 season, and I could not have accomplished what I did without them. Thanks also to Melanie Coughlin for sharing some of her research experiences on the island. And, of course, Giovanni and Herman were invaluable as assistants in the field. Thanks to Kara Casto and Naheed Ahmed for always being great company during the long hours of thesis writing. Nicole Fabricant was also a source of strength and encouragement in general during this process. I owe so much to the Johnson family (Julie, Bill, Nick, Nate, Bella, Pup, Fat Cat, and even Little Cat) but mainly for keeping me grounded throughout my time at USF and, I am sure, many years into the future. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Where North becomes South (or vice versa): Northeast Honduras .........................3 The Study Area: Roatán and the Bay Islands ..........................................................6 Organization of the Thesis .......................................................................................9 Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................12 Recent Responses to Critiques of Political Economy ............................................12 Strategies of Power and Group Identity and Interaction ........................................22 Use of Style in Identity Expression .......................................................................30 Summary ................................................................................................................35 Chapter 3. Exploring the Prehispanic Identity of Indigenous Bay Islanders .....................37 Geographic Setting and Environment ....................................................................37 Routes to Discovering the Prehistory of the Bay Islanders ...................................39 Historical Accounts of the Islands .............................................................39 Archaeological Investigations on the Bay Islands .....................................47 Ethnographic Analogies .............................................................................53 Summary ................................................................................................................57 Chapter 4. Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating Affiliations on the Island of Roatán ......................................................................................................59 El Antigual and the Survey Area ...........................................................................60 Methods..................................................................................................................62 Survey ........................................................................................................63 Excavation..................................................................................................64 Laboratory ..................................................................................................67 Analysis......................................................................................................68 Summary ................................................................................................................69 Chapter 5. Archaeological Evidence for Inter- and Intraregional Interaction on the Bay Islands ..............................................................................................................70 Survey ....................................................................................................................71 i Excavation..............................................................................................................73 Operation 1.................................................................................................76 Operation 2.................................................................................................78 Operation 3.................................................................................................81 Operation 4.................................................................................................83 Summary ................................................................................................................84 Chapter 6. Ceramic Analyses .............................................................................................87 El Antigual Ceramics .............................................................................................87 Modal Analysis and Stylistic Comparisons ...........................................................90 Motifs .........................................................................................................91 Styles and Design Techniques ...................................................................97 Bases and Appendages .............................................................................110 Other Artifacts .....................................................................................................123 Summary ..............................................................................................................123 Chapter 7. Discussion ......................................................................................................125 Summary ..............................................................................................................140 Chapter 8. Current Context of Archaeological Investigations on the Bay Islands ..........142 Current Setting .....................................................................................................142 Heritage Tourism .................................................................................................143 Economic Inequalities ..........................................................................................149 Implications for Future Archaeological Investigation and Interpretation .......................................................................................................151 Chapter 9. Conclusions ....................................................................................................153 References Cited ..............................................................................................................157 ii List of Tables Table 7.1 Artifacts, materials, styles, and features identified by various projects on the Bay Islands in comparison to those found on the mainland ...............................................................................................131