Book

The pearl divers of Los Frailes: archaeological and ethnohistorical explorations of sumptuary good trade and cosmology in the north and central Andes

University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Michigan • Published In 1997 • Pages:

By: Mester, Ann Marie.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

This dissertation consists of two major parts. The first part presents '…an archaeological study of an early Manteño pearl shell workshop and related features, uncovered during excavations conducted at the Los Frailes Mound Complex on the southern coast of Manabi Province, Ecuador. Los Frailes has been identified as the ancient town of Tusco, one of four core towns in the contact-period Señorío de Salangome, a polity based on long-distance maritime trade in sumptuary goods. The dissertation establishes the role of specialized, single-product workshops in the Manteño trading organization. Detailed descriptions of the shell artifacts, the tools used to work the shell, and the techniques of bead and plaque manufacute are presented. Drawing on detailed interpretation of physical stratigraphy, as well as on modal analysis of ceramic attributes, the Los Frailes ceramic analysis presents a careful micro-chronology of the earliest part of the Manteño phase, making more clear its antecedents with the earlier Guangala phase' (p. iii). The remainder of the document discusses pertinent ehtnohistorical and ethnographic data relevant to the role of the pearl oyster in Andean cosmology.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Organization and analysis of results of research

Fauna

Prehistory

Bone, horn, and shell technology

Ceramic technology

External trade

Visual arts

traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Manteño

RegionThe area the document pertains to

South America

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Northwestern South America

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

Book

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Archaeologist

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

5: Excellent Primary Data

NotesAdditional notes

By Ann Marie Mester

UM 9026269

Includes bibliographical references (p. 534-556)

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Indians of South America--Ecuador--Antiquities