| Marie M. Kolbenstetter |
tween 550 CE and the contact period. I will finally present three case studies from which procurement and redistribution models will be drawn. Those will in return be linked to different ecological surroundings. I will subsequently address diachronic changes observed in salt production and mollusc foraging in the region.
Background to the Research
Geographical and Environmental Setting The Gulf of Fonseca is situated on the Pacific Coast of Central America( fig. 2). This body of water is shared between three nations: El Salvador to the north, Honduras to the east and Nicaragua to the south. The Gulf is environmentally diverse. Aside from the numerous volcanic islands in the waterway, the Gulf’ s littoral consists of two ecologically distinct zones. At the bottom of the mountains in El Salvador, an alluvial plain is traversed by several rivers. This plain then transitions into mangrove forests, home to a complex network of estuaries( Baudez 1973, 509). On the Nicaraguan side, the plain is dominated by a volcano, the Cosiguina. This diverse environment certainly offered advantages to dwellers; the naturally saline waters are rich in molluscs, and the volcanic activity produced fertile soils. The Gulf itself offers a natural harbour, and the numerous estuaries and rivers provide an inland connection.
Chronology The chronology for the Gulf was established in 1966 by Claude Baudez and will be utilized within this paper( fig. 1). It is based on Baudez’ survey, test pitting and excavation of 20 different sites in the Honduran portion of the Gulf, from which he was able to establish a ceramic sequence. Through the comparison of this sequence to other existant sequences in Honduras, along with carbon dating, this chronology was established. This is the only chronological framework available for the region of the Gulf of Fonseca.
Cultural Landscape It has proven difficult for scholars to establish with certainty the date of arrival of individual groups in the Gulf of Fonseca, as in much of Lower Central America little research has been conducted and the obtained results are inconclusive to prove such migrations. Nonetheless, there is evidence of linguistic diversity at the time of conquest in the Gulf of Fonseca region( Brown 2013, 15; Gomez 2010, 13; Healy 1984, 116).
Figure 1. Chronology of the Gulf of Fonseca compared to Mesoamerican Chronology( after Baudez 1970, 221)
At time of contact, the presence of Lenca and Matagalpan speakers was recorded around eastern El Salvador and southern Honduras( Healy 1984:116), as reported by colonial sources. While Nahua speakers were also documented in the region at time of conquest, it is not possible with the available data to assert that their presence was due to a large migration.
There has been a long and still ongoing debate concerning the existence of migrations into the region during the Fonseca Phase. Based on tentative ethnolinguistic and archaeological evidence, it is believed that Oto-Manguean groups replaced the influence of the Lenca people around the Gulf in the as early as 800 CE( Chapman 1960; Martinez 1979; Healy 1980: 335-37 and 1984:116). It has also been proposed that Nahua speakers entered the region during a later migration wave from Central Mexico. The existence and date for this migration is also frequently contested, as the changes identified in the archaeological record cannot be linked with certainty to the arrival of new groups in the region( i. e. Constenla 1991, 1994; Lothrop 1926; Haberland 1986; Healy 1980, 20-21; Salgado 1996, 21; Niemel 2003, 16; Steinbrenner 2010, 80). They are believed to have coexisted alongside the Chorotega people in the Early Postclassic within the territory surrounding the Gulf of Fonseca.
If the Gulf was a linguistically heterogeneous region, how would this translate in the archaeological record? The following case studies will address this larger question through the lens of diversity in procurement methods in the Gulf region. p. 30 | VOL II | INTER-SECTION | 2016