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.
Abstract
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.
- Region
- South America
- Sub Region
- Northwestern South America
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Notes
- By Ann Marie Mester
- UM 9026269
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 534-556)
- Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990
- LCSH
- Indians of South America--Ecuador--Antiquities