INTER-SECTION Volume II | Page 31

|“ Linguistic Landscape Studies” and Archaeology |

MOLLUSC COLLECTION AND SALT PRODUCTION

RESOURCE PROCUREMENT AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE GULF OF FONSECA

Marie M. Kolbenstetter R. M. A. candidate Leiden University

Abstract Using case studies from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, this article discusses the collection of molluscs and the production of salt in the Gulf of Fonseca in the Late Classic and Early Postclassic. Based on the case studies, different models of procurement and redistribution are presented: specialized in-settlement production, centralized production and redistribution, and, finally, procurement and redistribution through seasonal mobility. These models are used to discuss the technical traditions associated with the foraging of resources, and furthermore used to present hypotheses on how the challenge was met in different localities. In this perspective, I explore the advantages of the Gulf region for economic activities. I also discuss the role of the environment for foraging techniques and distribution practices. This article relates directly to other ethnoarchaeological and archaeological salt studies from neighbouring areas. Moreover, it aims to present compiled information from three countries to give a regional overview as a first step towards the documentation of the Gulf of Fonseca as an entity.

Keywords Seasonality; Central America; sal cocida; procurement strategies; briquetage

E-mail address: marie. kolbenstetter @ live. fr Academia: http:// leidenuniv. academia. edu / MarieKolbenstetter

Introduction Today, one rarely considers the origins of the salt they consume on a daily basis. Yet, in the past, salt extraction was a laborious activity and control over the best salt sources would have been highly valued( Andrews 1983). This phenomenon can be observed in the archaeological record throughout the world( i. e. Adshead 1992, 20; Baudez 1973; Burley et al. 2011; McKillop 2002, 1; Muller 1984). This article will focus on how the ethnic diversity of a small area such as the Gulf of Fonseca would have affected procurement and distribution of a valuable resource such as salt. In this research, I will associate salt production with the harvesting of molluscs; the presented case studies will demonstrate how the two are associated, not only through the areas in which they occur but also through the redistribution strategies associated with them. Little is known about this area, but the archaeological record illustrates the importance of both activities in the everyday life of pre-Columbian populations, and ethnographies exemplify their continued importance for people living there in the present day. The primary social processes that will be discussed in relation to resource procurement are mobility and seasonality. These processes are intimately bound to the environmental conditions present within the Gulf of Fonseca. In fact, the Gulf region seems in all aspects to have been a prime location for settlement.

To address the interconnections between mollusc harvesting, salt production, culture and environment, I will present the environmental setting within the Gulf area, I will provide information on the cultural landscape in the Gulf of Fonseca be-

2016 | INTER-SECTION | VOL II | p. 29