Abstract: Tres Zapotes is an important site in the broader discussion of Olmec cultural continuity and formative period political economy with an archaeological record that spans the two millennia between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1000. It is a key site for understanding the emergence of Classic period civilization from ancient Olmec roots in Mexico’s southern Gulf Coast lowlands. The occupational history and archaeological record at Tres Zapotes challenges the previous notion that Olmec culture and traditions “collapsed” with the decline of La Venta around 400 B.C. and recent work has argued that a shift from a centralized political structure to a more decentralized/collective one can be attributed to the fluorescence of Tres Zapotes when other polities fell. To expand upon this work, I utilize paleoethnobotanical data from Tres Zapotes to examine what patterns in foodways (practices surrounding food production, consumption, storage and disposal) can reveal regarding sociopolitical transformations over Tres Zapotes’ long culture sequence. Comparative analyses across elite and non-elite contexts through time reveals changes in provisioning and processing strategies providing insight into the role of food, especially maize, throughout Tres Zapotes’ continuous occupation and the changes in political-strategies therein.

Bio: Victoria Newhall is a third year archaeology graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. Her research explores emergent social inequality and the development of socio-political complexity in Formative Mesoamerica through the lens of foodways utilizing paleoethnobotanical methods. She is also interested in social identity and issues of equity and diversity as they relate to the discipline of archeology. Victoria is a non-traditional student who transferred from Santa Barbara City College to UCSB for her undergraduate degree. She is dedicated to mentoring students who are navigating similar pathways in higher education.

Abstract: For at least 2,000 years before Spanish arrival in 1502, the province of Bocas del Toro, Panama, sustained numerous vibrant cultures. However, little archaeological research has been done in this area. For decades, this area has been considered a ‘cultural backwater’ with only simple, small-scale settlements. Dr. Tom Wake’s excavations at Sitio Abuelitas and Sitio Drago on Isla Colon, the largest island in Bocas del Toro, have altered this picture as burials, house mounds, and artifacts from across Central America have been found. Carly Pope’s research focuses on the ceramics from these sites, including locally-made wares as well as foreign imports, and the potential they hold to elucidate both interregional systems of cultural interaction and community-level organization. From July to December 2022, examinations focused on collecting frequency data, selecting samples, and preparing for future research.

Bio: Carly Pope was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She earned her BA in art and archaeology from Princeton University in 2016 and her senior thesis focused on the emergence of early pottery in different parts of Latin America. She continued her education at the University College London, where she obtained a MA in archaeology. For her master’s thesis she analyzed pottery used in salt processing by the Maya of coastal Belize. While her research focuses on Central America, Carly has also excavated at a Roman port in Thrace, Greece; a Basketmaker II site in Cortez, Colorado; a Medieval pilgrims’ cemetery in the Basque area of Spain; a Middle Kingdom amethyst mine near Aswan, Egypt; and a Maya town site in Yucatan, Mexico. She has presented at a variety of academic and professional conferences, including the International Congress on the Anthropology of Salt and the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting.

Abstract and Bio: Dr. Sarah A Lacy is a paleoanthropologist and associate professor at California State University Dominguez Hills. Her work on Neanderthals and early modern humans has explored differential oral and respiratory health to understand why we're the only living taxonomic group of humans on the planet today. She is now working with a team in North Macedonia to excavate the site of Uzun Mera, a newly discovered Middle Paleolithic stone tool manufacturing workshop, as well as look for additional sites across the country. This project is also a field school, so that archaeologists in training of all types can participate in a wide variety of excavation and survey methods in a country whose Paleolithic history has only recently begun to be explored.

Conference 1 Ecology_flyer.pdf

Link to register for Conference Day 2, Saturday November 5 (morning) at the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden: http://www.1718.ucla.edu/events/forgotten-canopy-c1d2/

*Registration for in-person attendance closes on Monday, October 31, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. PST. The conference portion of the event will be also livestreamed on the Center’s YouTube Channel. No registration is needed to watch the livestream.

Link to the conference website: https://theforgottencanopy.create.fsu.edu/


Image Credit: View of a hut, and a dance of the Yuracares Indians, Bolivia. Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale, vol. 3. Paris, 1835–1847


This project is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, and is co-sponsored by the UCLA American Indian Studies Center and UCLA Latin American Institute.