Identifying a technological style in the making of lime plasters at Teopancazco (Teotihuacan,México)

The aim of this article is to focus on the technology of archeological plasters at Teotihuacan (Central Mexico), from the Classic Period (200–650 A.D.), focusing in the study of Teopancazco, a neighborhood center in the city. Petrographic and chemical analyses by OM, SEM-EDS, and LA-ICP-MS were conducted to characterize samples from different constructive phases and sectors of the neighborhood center, to determine the provenance of the raw materials employed in the manufacturing (e.g., volcanic glass shards) and to assess whether a shift occurred in the manufacturing of plasters and in the procurement strategies of raw materials during the different phases. The results of the analyses show that almost no changes occurred in the making of the plaster during more than four centuries and allow us to consider the presence of a technological style in their manufacture, which is characterized by the making of plaster by mixing lime with volcanic glass shards, which in the case of Teopancazco were derived from the Altotonga (Veracruz) magmatic system. The data at our disposal suggest that this style was developed in Teopancazco and later introduced throughout the city of Teotihuacan in the Early Xolalpan phase (A.D. 350), although we still do not know whether the provenance of the raw materials is the same. The wide distribution of this technological tradition could be due to the technological properties of the materials and/or the influence of the intermediate elite who ruled over Teopancazco. The paper confirms that the study of material culture and technology sheds light on broader cultural aspects of ancient societies.     

Characterization of concrete from Roman buildings for public spectacles in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Emerita Augusta</Emphasis> (Mérida,Spain)

The aim of this work is to characterize the original concrete from Roman buildings for public spectacles, theatre and amphitheatre, from Emerita Augusta, Mérida, Spain. An advanced knowledge of the Roman concrete composition is required for a reliable restoration and preservation of these ancient monuments. The concrete was studied through mineralogical (optical polarized microscopy and X-ray diffraction) and petrophysical (bulk and real density, open porosity to water and Hg, mechanical strength and ultrasonic velocity) analyses. With this work, it is possible to fill the gap that exists in this field and the characterization of the materials used in the Roman concrete from these two buildings, never previously studied, despite the significance of this archaeological ensemble, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. The results allowed us to determine the composition of the Roman concrete and to infer the provenance of the aggregates used in these monuments.     

Dental and oral nonmetric traits in a Coimbra reference sample: testing intrasample chronological and spatial variation

A reference sample of dental and oral nonmetric traits should represent its biological population from which it stems. The presence of individuals born at different times, different regions, and separate countries in the Coimbra-identified cranial collections provides the test of whether this sample reflects the biological continuity of this Portuguese sample among the late modern (early industrialization, nineteenth century) to early contemporary (early demographic transition, first half of the twentieth century) population of this region of central Portugal. The Coimbra collections were scored for 61 traits using methodology by Hauser and De Stefano (1989), Turner et al. (1991), Scott and Turner (1997), Irish (1998), and Marado and Silva (2016). The 600 individuals in the sample were divided by generation, region, and nationality. Their phenetic diversity was tested with principal component analysis and with the mean measure of divergence statistic. The proximity between the subsamples was generalized, and it mimicked previous genetic marker results. Some small subsamples hindered conclusions; nevertheless, this Coimbra sample is considered a reliable dental reference sample for the Portuguese late modern/early contemporary population.     

Chemical analyses of the earliest pigment residues from the uttermost part of the planet (Beagle Channel region,Tierra del Fuego,Southern South America)

This paper presents the results of chemical analyses of the organic and inorganic fractions of pigment residues found in three archaeological sites located in the Beagle Channel region, Tierra del Fuego, Southern South America. Twenty-one archaeological samples have been analysed through XRD, SEM–EDX, FT-IR and GC–MS in order to characterise their inorganic colouring components and to search for the presence of organic substances used as binders. Lipids found in some samples are considered as potential binders. These organic components are compared to those found in archaeological sediment samples from the same layers where the pigments have been found, in order to search for potential taphonomic contaminations of the latter by the former. Results show that such contaminations are unlikely, hence the lipid contents are deemed of anthropic origin. The pigment sample results are also compared to data from analyses of natural sediment samples collected in several localities of the Beagle Channel in order to search for potential natural pigment sources. Results show that organic and inorganic components of these sediments are not the same than those present in the archaeological pigment samples, hence the pigment raw material sources have not been yet located. All these data provide for the first time evidence of the existence of ancient activities of pigment sourcing and paint preparation with organic binders which range from 6000 BP to 1900 BP in the southernmost region of the planet.     

External Ties and the Reduction of Knowledge Asymmetries among Clusters within Global Value Chains: The Case of the Ceramic Tile District of Castellon

Classical industrial districts' literature is not focused on the role played by external ties but gives more importance to the local districts' endogenous development. Global value chains connect clusters to other external agents through external linkages and constitute a framework to analyse the complex inter-linkages between clusters and other external agents. In the field of the external ties and the global value chain approach Academia is primarily focused on the ties which link clusters in developing nations to global markets, although global value chains also consider connections between clusters in similar activities and even when both are located in developed nations. Thus, external linkages are mainly performed by multinational enterprise (MNE) affiliates which play fundamental role of knowledge diffusers and absorbers in the process of knowledge exchange throughout global value chains. The work examines the process of knowledge exchange between clusters through external ties using the global value chain approach. For this purpose, empirical work is conducted with 22 face-to-face interviews to provide a case study about a leading cluster in the global ceramic tile industry. Results show that the basic knowledge to successfully compete is locally originated, although it can be complemented with global knowledge learnt or generated in other territories. MNE affiliates bridge structural holes through external ties and reduce knowledge asymmetries within global value chains. External ties on network-based governance chains exist, matter and affect clusters allowing upgrading even between developed nations.     

The Historic Port of El Real de Salinas in Campeche, and the Role of Coastal Resources in the Emergence of Capitalism in Yucatán, México

The emergence of capitalism in the peninsula of Yucatán is generally presented as a process resulting from the capitalization of the agricultural sector and the export of products from its sugar, cotton, and henequén plantations in the nineteenth century. In addition to these products, the peninsula also had a dynamic coastal economy in which the harvesting of salt and the extraction of logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum), played a major role and contributed to the flow of goods to international markets. We present a preliminary archaeological survey and historical documentation of El Real de Salinas, a salt-producing port on the north coast of Campeche, which was also involved in the extraction of other coastal products and closely linked to the inland plantation system.

Writing on the edge: the poet,the printer,and the colonial frontier in Ercilla’s La Araucana (1569–1590)

It took Alonso de Ercilla (1533–1594) thirty years to finish La Araucana, a first-person narrative epic poem about the brutal war of Arauco, in southern Chile, and one of the most canonical texts of colonial Latin America. By focusing on a crucial episode of Ercilla's eyewitness account, this essay revisits a number of scholarly discussions that have been central for our understanding of the text. First, it takes into consideration previous scholarship overlooked by specialists, as well as hitherto unstudied copies of the poem, in order to offer a thorough reevaluation of the textual and editorial history of the poem. Moreover, it explores the frontier as a chronotope and as a locus of enunciation for colonial epic, a space that is also crucial for Ercilla's carefully crafted authorial persona. Finally, it interrogates the ways in which the discursive representations of colonial frontier spaces were mediated by the material practices of early modern book production, arguing for a more fruitful relation between ecdotics and poetics, between material bibliography and theories of authorship and textuality in our approaches to colonial texts.     

Macusani obsidian from southern Peru: A characterization of its elemental composition with a demonstration of its ancient use

Transparent obsidian artifacts have been reported for the northern Lake Titicaca Basin. Based on instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of these artifacts a distinct chemical group was identified. Yet, the location of the source of transparent obsidian in the southern Andes remained unreported in the archaeological literature. This paper reports on the chemical composition and geographic location of a source of transparent obsidian from the Macusani region of Peru. Through the use of INAA and portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) we demonstrate that Macusani obsidian or macusanite comprises (at least) two chemical groups. One of these groups was used for making artifacts during the Archaic Period. Artifacts made of this obsidian were found more than 120 km from the source and yet, one-third of the obsidian artifacts encountered at Macusani were from the non-local source of Chivay which is 215 km to the southwest.