Current Research: Mexico, Central America, & South America
Reported by Pedro Paulo A. Funari ppfunari@uol.com.br
(Spring 2008 SHA Newsletter 40[4])
Cuba
Archaeology of Architecture in Havana: The archaeological cabinet of the Historian’s Workshop, at Havana, Cuba (Oficina del Historiador) is in charge of fieldwork within the Old City’s compound. Beatriz Rodríguez and Iosvany Hernández carried out an innovative study of a colonial building, at number 602, Saint Ignatius Street, using the archaeology of architecture as an interpretive tool. The still-standing building dates back to the late 17th century, and is mentioned in documents from 1680. To study the history of the building, the archaeological team turned to Harris’ proposed use of stratigraphic analysis for standing buildings. The use of a Harris Matrix enabled the archaeologists to form a better understanding of the various phases of and changes in the building. The first phase dates from 1680 to 1798, and the tiles from this phase are mostly original, even though there are also several 19th century tiles (recognized by their makers’ marks). Another original feature is the main door. A second phase dates to the 19th century, and is characterized by the introduction of changes to the doors. The third phase comprises the 20th and 21st centuries, and is the direct result of the social changes Cuba has undergone in this period. Originally, it was an upper-class home, but was subsequently converted to rented dwellings and stores. Several functional changes related to these new uses are recognizable. After 1960, the building was used as a police station. The archaeologists consider the use of the stratigraphic approach essential not only for the study of the building, but also for the possible restoration and heritage management of the colonial house.
Venezuela
Ceramics from Barcelona, Venezuela: Archaeologist Ana Cristina Rodríguez Yilo has been studying the archaeological assemblage from the Old City of Barcelona, Anzoátegui State, Venezuela, originally excavated as part of an ongoing program of development-driven archaeology in the center of the colonial city. The assemblage dates to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and Rodríguez has been paying particular attention to the imported ceramics. The use of imported ceramic vessels was related to the aim of local elites to differentiate themselves from the local Indigenous and African population. Even where the elites were of mixed European, Indigenous and/or African descent, the imported wares fostered the self-image of high status within the Venezuelan elite. While analysis is still ongoing, the use of Asian motifs associated with the consumption of Chinese porcelain from the 18th century, and the use of English subjects and motifs in the 19th-century post-independence period, can all be understood within the context of the manipulation of foreign-produced imagery within a specifically Venezuelan socioeconomic framework.
