Barbara Voorhies
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 120616 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Barbara Voorhies |
| NOMBRES | Barbara |
| APELLIDO | Voorhies |
| FIRMA | VOORHIES B |
| AFILIACIONES | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8380-6218 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 34 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 252 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 34 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1971 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2024 |
| ÍNDICE H | 8 |
The ancient Maya and limestone
This article posits that the ancient Maya were uniquely advantaged by the limestone bedrock of their homeland, the Yucatán Peninsula. This happenstance was unintentional, but limestone provided a resource that helped promote Maya society to become a civilization. The most significant innovation was the elevation of one cultivated plant, maize, to the role of a dietary staple, which was made possible by nixtamalization, an innovative processing te…
Feasting at coastal shellmounds in Guerrero, Mexico
Three shellmounds, positioned on the inland margin of the Coyuca Lagoon in Guerrero, Mexico, consist of molluskan shells from taxa that live in lagoonal environments. Co-occurring ceramics are typical of local pottery dating to the Classic Period but are significantly restricted in diversity compared to pottery found at nearby coeval residential sites. Throughout the shellmounds potsherds from large, coarse-tempered cooking vessels occur with she…
Ritual schedule and worshippers’ origin at an ancient Maya ritual cave site, Las Cuevas, Belize
Reconsidering the Age and Typological Character of "Pox Pottery" from Guerrero, Mexico
We revisit the age and typological character of "Pox Pottery" that was reported in the 1960s by Charles Brush who considered it to be uniquely early (~2440 BC). Investigating the same two sites in coastal Guerrero where Brush excavated, we recovered Early Formative ceramics, some with the "pox" attribute. Here, we report potsherd frequencies for these deposits at both sites according to regional ceramic typologies, as well as AMS 14C dates used t…
Meat food preferences during the Late Archaic Period at Puerto Marqués, Guerrero, Mexico
We investigate animal food preferences of the Ostiones people, the occupants of the coastal site of Puerto Marqués, one of the few Late Archaic Period sites located along the Pacific coast of Mexico (4600 and 2000 cal BCE). Our data are based upon recovered faunal remains at the site, which consist of vertebrate bones and molluskan shells identified to the lowest possible taxon. Habitat information for the animals allows a reconstruction of the O…
Prehistoric Games of North American Indians
Economic growth in Mesoamerica
Clamming Up
A vibrant artisanal fishery of the brackish water marsh clam (Polymesoda acuta) is located in the lower Río Tempisque, Costa Rica. Fishermen harvest clams from shoals according to tidal and lunar cycles. They take most clams directly to riverside processing stations to be cooked and sold as salted meat, although some cooked clams are dried, and others sold live. Processing activities result in the formation of shellmounds that share significant s…
Classic-Period Ritual Ceramics From the Coast of Chiapas, Mexico
In 1947 Philip Drucker excavated an unusually dense concentration of artifacts from the plaza of a small Late Classic site on the inner coastal plain of Chiapas, Mexico that he proposed was a possible end-of-cycle ceremonial dump. Although the deposit contained both utilitarian and ritual items, only some of the latter have survived for present day investigation. Here we describe Drucker's excavations and the surviving ritual items, neither of wh…
The Deep Prehistory of Indian Gaming
Ten or more features, each consisting originally of an open circle formed by a series of small holes, are present on two Late Archaic superimposed prepared floors at a shellmound on the outer coast of Chiapas, Mexico. These puzzling features bear a strong resemblance to ethnographic and ethnohistoric scoreboards used in indigenous dice games. Accordingly, the approximately 5,000 year-old features also were most likely game boards. Archaeologists …
Early Formative Pottery Production, Mobility, and Exchange on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico
In this article we report ceramic stylistic and compositional (Instrumental Neutron Activation-INAA) data from two Early Formative Period (3,400–2,800 cal yrs. BP) coastal sites from the Acapetahua region of southern Mexico, datasets potentially sensitive to the study of the exchange of ideas and materials. Gourd-shaped vessels (tecomates) with red slips dominate the earliest ceramic assemblages at the two sites. The compositional comparison of t…
Bayesian Analysis of High-Precision AMS 14 C Dates from a Prehistoric Mexican Shellmound
We establish a precision accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology for the Archaic period Tlacuachero shellmound (Chiapas, Mexico) within a Bayesian statistical framework. Carbonized twig samples were sequentially selected from well-defined stratigraphic contexts based on iterative improvements to a probabilistic chronological model. Analytical error for these measurements is ±15 to 20 14 C yr. This greater precision and the abse…
Pre-pottery farmers on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico
Prehistoric Sea Turtle Hunting on the Pacific Coast of Mexico
Archaeological sites on the west coast of Mexico provide long-term records of human predation on sea turtle populations. These large reptiles, valuable for their meat, eggs, shell, oil, and skin, a
The Late Archaic across the Borderlands
Los Cerritos
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Archaeological Shells to Detect Seasonal Use of Wetlands on the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico
Buried Sites on the Soconusco Coastal Plain, Chiapas, Mexico
A systematic survey was conducted of all river systems along a 100 km segment of the coastal plain of Chiapas, Mexico, in order to find buried archaeological sites. The survey was undertaken because the only known sites of the Late Archaic Period were highly obtrusive shell heaps situated in the littoral wetlands, but they seemed to have been formed by itinerant people; no coeval sites, presumed to have been left by the same group, had been found…
Middle Holocene Periodicities in Rainfall Inferred From Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Fluctuations in Prehistoric Tropical Estuarine Mollusc Shells
Stable oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios in modern and archaeological estuarine mollusc shells, Polymesoda radiata, change in accordance with seasonal salinity fluctuations in the Acapetahua estuary located on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. This region receives −3000 mm of precipitation annually, most during a wet season between April and October. The changing flux of fresh water and organic detritus into the estuary causes large changes i…
Radiocarbon Chronology for the Late Archaic and Formative Periods on the Pacific Coast of Southeastern Mesoamerica
Archaeological excavations carried out during the past five years along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador have recovered 79 new14C dates for the Late Archaic and Early to Middle Formative periods. We analyze these new dates along with 25 previously published dates to refine a sequence of 10 archaeological phases spanning almost three and a half millennia, from ca. 4000 to 650 B.C. The phases are summarized with a brief descr…
Archeology
Prehistoric Subsistence in the Soconusco Region
Albert C. Spaulding, 1914-1990
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button
Ancient Trade and Tribute
Buried Sites on the Soconusco Coastal Plain, Chiapas, Mexico
Prehistoric Subsistence in the Soconusco Region
Ancient Trade and Tribute
Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Archaeological Shells to Detect Seasonal Use of Wetlands on the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico
Radiocarbon Chronology for the Late Archaic and Formative Periods on the Pacific Coast of Southeastern Mesoamerica
Archaeological excavations carried out during the past five years along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador have recovered 79 new14C dates for the Late Archaic and Early to Middle Formative periods. We analyze these new dates along with 25 previously published dates to refine a sequence of 10 archaeological phases spanning almost three and a half millennia, from ca. 4000 to 650 B.C. The phases are summarized with a brief descr…
Pre-pottery farmers on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico
Bayesian Analysis of High-Precision AMS 14 C Dates from a Prehistoric Mexican Shellmound
We establish a precision accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology for the Archaic period Tlacuachero shellmound (Chiapas, Mexico) within a Bayesian statistical framework. Carbonized twig samples were sequentially selected from well-defined stratigraphic contexts based on iterative improvements to a probabilistic chronological model. Analytical error for these measurements is ±15 to 20 14 C yr. This greater precision and the abse…
Buried Sites on the Soconusco Coastal Plain, Chiapas, Mexico
A systematic survey was conducted of all river systems along a 100 km segment of the coastal plain of Chiapas, Mexico, in order to find buried archaeological sites. The survey was undertaken because the only known sites of the Late Archaic Period were highly obtrusive shell heaps situated in the littoral wetlands, but they seemed to have been formed by itinerant people; no coeval sites, presumed to have been left by the same group, had been found…
Trace Element Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from Three Shell Midden Sites in the Littoral Zone, Chiapas, Mexico
Forty-two obsidian artifacts from the Chantuto Zone, Chiapas, Mexico, have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis, and fifteen artifacts were reanalyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. These artifacts date to the Chantuto phase (3000-2000 B.C.), late in the Archaic period, and to a later period or periods. These analyses have made it possible to compare the two methods of analysis and also have made it possible to assign an obsidian …
The Deep Prehistory of Indian Gaming
Ten or more features, each consisting originally of an open circle formed by a series of small holes, are present on two Late Archaic superimposed prepared floors at a shellmound on the outer coast of Chiapas, Mexico. These puzzling features bear a strong resemblance to ethnographic and ethnohistoric scoreboards used in indigenous dice games. Accordingly, the approximately 5,000 year-old features also were most likely game boards. Archaeologists …
Prehistoric Sea Turtle Hunting on the Pacific Coast of Mexico
Archaeological sites on the west coast of Mexico provide long-term records of human predation on sea turtle populations. These large reptiles, valuable for their meat, eggs, shell, oil, and skin, a
Middle Holocene Periodicities in Rainfall Inferred From Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Fluctuations in Prehistoric Tropical Estuarine Mollusc Shells
Stable oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios in modern and archaeological estuarine mollusc shells, Polymesoda radiata, change in accordance with seasonal salinity fluctuations in the Acapetahua estuary located on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. This region receives −3000 mm of precipitation annually, most during a wet season between April and October. The changing flux of fresh water and organic detritus into the estuary causes large changes i…
Early Formative Pottery Production, Mobility, and Exchange on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico
In this article we report ceramic stylistic and compositional (Instrumental Neutron Activation-INAA) data from two Early Formative Period (3,400–2,800 cal yrs. BP) coastal sites from the Acapetahua region of southern Mexico, datasets potentially sensitive to the study of the exchange of ideas and materials. Gourd-shaped vessels (tecomates) with red slips dominate the earliest ceramic assemblages at the two sites. The compositional comparison of t…
Los Cerritos
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Clamming Up
A vibrant artisanal fishery of the brackish water marsh clam (Polymesoda acuta) is located in the lower Río Tempisque, Costa Rica. Fishermen harvest clams from shoals according to tidal and lunar cycles. They take most clams directly to riverside processing stations to be cooked and sold as salted meat, although some cooked clams are dried, and others sold live. Processing activities result in the formation of shellmounds that share significant s…
Possible Social Factors in the Exchange System of the Prehistoric Maya
Previous discussions of the exchange system of the prehistoric Maya have been based on the assumption that their uniform environment prevented inter-group exchange of local resources. The validity of this assumption is questioned and the stability of primitive exchange systems is examined
Reconsidering the Age and Typological Character of "Pox Pottery" from Guerrero, Mexico
We revisit the age and typological character of "Pox Pottery" that was reported in the 1960s by Charles Brush who considered it to be uniquely early (~2440 BC). Investigating the same two sites in coastal Guerrero where Brush excavated, we recovered Early Formative ceramics, some with the "pox" attribute. Here, we report potsherd frequencies for these deposits at both sites according to regional ceramic typologies, as well as AMS 14C dates used t…
Archeology
Settlement Patterns in Two Regions of the Southern Maya Lowlands
The Izabal zone is a physiographic region located near the southeastern frontier of the southern Maya lowlands. Its environment is compared with that of northeast Peten, a second region of the same culture area. Prehistoric settlement patterns of the 2 regions are compared and differences in distribution of settlements, estimated population densities and types of settlements are noted. These differences are related to various environmental and cu…
Comment on the Review of Man in Prehistory
Settlement Patterns in Two Regions of the Southern Maya Lowlands
The Izabal zone is a physiographic region located near the southeastern frontier of the southern Maya lowlands. Its environment is compared with that of northeast Peten, a second region of the same culture area. Prehistoric settlement patterns of the 2 regions are compared and differences in distribution of settlements, estimated population densities and types of settlements are noted. These differences are related to various environmental and cu…
Possible Social Factors in the Exchange System of the Prehistoric Maya
Previous discussions of the exchange system of the prehistoric Maya have been based on the assumption that their uniform environment prevented inter-group exchange of local resources. The validity of this assumption is questioned and the stability of primitive exchange systems is examined
Female of the Species
Female of the Species is an attempt to use the approach of traditional anthropology in the examination of the position of women at the species level. While Martin and Voorhies recognize that there are fundamental differences between men and women that stem from basic biological differences, they are committed to the proposition that culture rather than biology plays the more critical role in determining those features of behavior which ultimately…
Previous Research on Nearshore Coastal Adaptations in Middle America
Future Research Directions
Prehistoric coastal adaptations
Trace Element Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from Three Shell Midden Sites in the Littoral Zone, Chiapas, Mexico
Forty-two obsidian artifacts from the Chantuto Zone, Chiapas, Mexico, have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis, and fifteen artifacts were reanalyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. These artifacts date to the Chantuto phase (3000-2000 B.C.), late in the Archaic period, and to a later period or periods. These analyses have made it possible to compare the two methods of analysis and also have made it possible to assign an obsidian …
Archeology
Ancient Trade and Tribute
Archeology
Prehistoric Subsistence in the Soconusco Region
Albert C. Spaulding, 1914-1990
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button
Buried Sites on the Soconusco Coastal Plain, Chiapas, Mexico
A systematic survey was conducted of all river systems along a 100 km segment of the coastal plain of Chiapas, Mexico, in order to find buried archaeological sites. The survey was undertaken because the only known sites of the Late Archaic Period were highly obtrusive shell heaps situated in the littoral wetlands, but they seemed to have been formed by itinerant people; no coeval sites, presumed to have been left by the same group, had been found…
Middle Holocene Periodicities in Rainfall Inferred From Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Fluctuations in Prehistoric Tropical Estuarine Mollusc Shells
Stable oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios in modern and archaeological estuarine mollusc shells, Polymesoda radiata, change in accordance with seasonal salinity fluctuations in the Acapetahua estuary located on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. This region receives −3000 mm of precipitation annually, most during a wet season between April and October. The changing flux of fresh water and organic detritus into the estuary causes large changes i…
Radiocarbon Chronology for the Late Archaic and Formative Periods on the Pacific Coast of Southeastern Mesoamerica
Archaeological excavations carried out during the past five years along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador have recovered 79 new14C dates for the Late Archaic and Early to Middle Formative periods. We analyze these new dates along with 25 previously published dates to refine a sequence of 10 archaeological phases spanning almost three and a half millennia, from ca. 4000 to 650 B.C. The phases are summarized with a brief descr…
Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Archaeological Shells to Detect Seasonal Use of Wetlands on the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico
Los Cerritos
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Late Archaic across the Borderlands
Prehistoric Sea Turtle Hunting on the Pacific Coast of Mexico
Archaeological sites on the west coast of Mexico provide long-term records of human predation on sea turtle populations. These large reptiles, valuable for their meat, eggs, shell, oil, and skin, a
Pre-pottery farmers on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico
Early Formative Pottery Production, Mobility, and Exchange on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico
In this article we report ceramic stylistic and compositional (Instrumental Neutron Activation-INAA) data from two Early Formative Period (3,400–2,800 cal yrs. BP) coastal sites from the Acapetahua region of southern Mexico, datasets potentially sensitive to the study of the exchange of ideas and materials. Gourd-shaped vessels (tecomates) with red slips dominate the earliest ceramic assemblages at the two sites. The compositional comparison of t…
Bayesian Analysis of High-Precision AMS 14 C Dates from a Prehistoric Mexican Shellmound
We establish a precision accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology for the Archaic period Tlacuachero shellmound (Chiapas, Mexico) within a Bayesian statistical framework. Carbonized twig samples were sequentially selected from well-defined stratigraphic contexts based on iterative improvements to a probabilistic chronological model. Analytical error for these measurements is ±15 to 20 14 C yr. This greater precision and the abse…
The Deep Prehistory of Indian Gaming
Ten or more features, each consisting originally of an open circle formed by a series of small holes, are present on two Late Archaic superimposed prepared floors at a shellmound on the outer coast of Chiapas, Mexico. These puzzling features bear a strong resemblance to ethnographic and ethnohistoric scoreboards used in indigenous dice games. Accordingly, the approximately 5,000 year-old features also were most likely game boards. Archaeologists …
Economic growth in Mesoamerica
Geography (27 obras) · Archaeology (26 obras) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (21 obras) · Geology (13 obras) · History (13 obras) · Biology (11 obras) · Oceanography (9 obras) · Prehistory (8 obras) · Sociology (8 obras) · Ancient history (7 obras)