Guzmán Mound: A Late Preclassic Salt works on south coast of Guatemala

Autor: C. Roger Nance
Rok vydání: 1992
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ancient Mesoamerica. 3:27-46
ISSN: 1469-1787
0956-5361
DOI: 10.1017/s0956536100002273
Popis: Salvage excavation of a small mound on the south coast of Guatemala revealed evidence of Late Preclassic salt production. Most potsherds are of a crude, thin-walled utility ware believed to have been used in evaporating salt water over fires. Level-by-level attribute analysis suggests evolution of a more efficient vessel form for this purpose. A typological study of fine ware and radiocarbon dating firmly position the mound chronologically. Charcoal was abundant; daub and elongated hearths probably figured in the technology. Also, the absence of edible plant remains and the scarcity of obsidian blades and animal bone add to the picture of a specialized, salt-producing locality. The represented salt-making technology is partially reconstructed using comparative ethnographic, ethnohistorical, and archaeological sources from southern Mesoamerica.
Databáze: OpenAIRE