Browsing by Subject "Indians of Central America"
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Item 'Tab' figurines and social identity at La Blanca(2011-05) Long, Michael James, 1985-; Guernsey, Julia, 1964-; Stuart, DavidThis thesis examines a special group of Middle Preclassic (900-600 BC) figurines excavated at La Blanca, an early Mesoamerican site on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. Figurines at La Blanca are ubiquitous and derive from both elite and non-elite household contexts. Because of their widespread distribution, archaeologists associate figurines with daily practice and household ritual in ancient Mesoamerica. They represent a rare opportunity to examine materializations of the human body across social strata, and because their depositional contexts do not seem to suggest ritual care, their context of use remains enigmatic. With the dawn of the Middle Preclassic period, the community at La Blanca was at the center of a dramatic transition: in addition to the reconfiguring of political, social, and economic structures, the nature of personhood was profoundly transformed during this period. I argue that figurines were actively involved in the ongoing negotiation of social identity and personhood at La Blanca during this important transitional period. I specifically discuss a group of figurines from La Blanca called 'tab' figurines, which are remarkable for their exaggerated sexual characteristics and distinct approach to depicting the human form. I examine the 'tab' figurine assemblage in depth and examine how aspects of their context, form, and function helped their makers negotiate social identity at La Blanca.Item The Ngöbe Baháís of Panama(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Rhodenbaugh, Molly MarieThe original goal of this thesis research was a simple one: to determine why the Ngobe became Baha'i. At that time, however, I did not know the complexity of the question I was asking. Having read and discussed a variety of hypotheses concerning religious conversion. I rejected "macrolevel" concepts such as economic and political forces which compel people to seek "facilitators," such as newly imported religious organizations, for guidance in restructuring life patterns. This mode of analysis assumes that social change is desired by adherents primarily as a response to these powerful pressures, but often sidesteps the point of view of the individual actor, the Ngobe, as well as the spiritual factor. I posited that anyone choosing to take up the banner of a particular religious order would have a spiritual explanation for doing so. The hypothesis assumed that the Ngobe did have spiritual reasons for becoming Baha'is, but current theories were inadequate for this type of discussion. The theoretical framework focused on motivational analysis. Thus the thesis question became what motivated the Ngobe to become Baha'i, assuming that they had a preexisting desire for social change. The thesis question sought to determine what motivated such a large number of Ngobe to join a new religious movement (Taylor 1976; Zygmunt 1972; Leatham 1993).