Underwater and Coastal Archaeology in Latin America

Diverse case studies that explore the relationship between humans and water environments 

This volume features a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to underwater and coastal archaeology in Latin America. Showcasing the efforts of 82 researchers working across the region, the case studies in this book point to a long tradition of practices and beliefs related to the exploitation and management of aquatic environments, displaying a wide chronological vision that recognizes the vast and rich precolonial heritage of these waters.

Chapters on the pre-Hispanic period include an analysis of evidence about the exploitation of maritime resources, ritual practices related to water, ancestral navigation, and inundated cultural landscapes, addressing examples from Mesoamerica, the Central American isthmus, and the Andes. Historical case studies are also explored, including shipwrecks, harbors, and maritime coastal landscapes in the Caribbean, on the Atlantic coast, and in Patagonia. The countries represented comprise Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

The material landscapes of oceans, lakes, and rivers discussed in this volume contribute to a better understanding of the dynamic relationships between humans and their environments over time. By integrating the study of behaviors associated with waterscapes into the interpretations of past and current cultures, this volume introduces new ways of seeing Latin America.

Contributors: Carmela Alarcón Ledesma Dalila Aldana Aranda Jesús Aldana Mendoza Cruz Apestegui Cardenal Diana E. Arano Recio Letizia Arbeteta Amaru Argüeso Mary Avila Peltroche Laura Báez Santos Benjamin Ballester Helena Barba-Meinecke Alexandra Biar Maickel Cáceres Suárez Flávio Rizzi Calippo Paulo Fernando Bava de Camargo José M. Capriles Laura Carrillo Márquez Ana Castelli Claudia Castillo Nina Castillo Sánchez Victoria Castro Rojas Nicolás C. Ciarlo Luis V. J. Coll Richard G. Cooke Vicente Cortéz Billet Gabriela Covarrubias Ale Robert de Hoop Carlos Del Cairo Hurtado Christophe Delaere Leon Derksen Salvador Domínguez-Bella Matías Dourteau Peter Eeckhout Dolores Elkin Yolanda Espinoza Morales Julieta Frere Marcelo Gabaldón Rodenas Alexander Geurds Mónica Grosso Guillermo Gutiérrez Josué Guzmán Torres William J. Harvey Iris del Rocío Hernández Bautista José Hudtwalcker Morán Ilean Isaza-Aizpurúa Juan Jijón Porras Máximo Jiménez-Acosta Roberto Junco Eduardo Keldjian Marcos Labrada Ochoa Serge Lemaitre Carlos León Amores Nicolás Lira San Martín Milton Luján Dávila Martijn Manders Josefa Martí Solano Juan G. Martín Marcial Medina Huanca Velia V. Mendoza España Cristian Murray Bryan Núñez Aparcana Bárbara Olguín Carlos Pacheco Navarro Eduardo Pareja Siñanis José Miguel Pérez-Gómez Abiud Pizá Chávez Gilson Rambelli Johan Reinhard Javier Reyes Trujeque Carla Riera Andreu Felipe Rubio Munita Marcela Sepúlveda Ashley Sharpe Isabel Silva León Nicole E. Smith-Guzmán Catalina Soto Rodríguez Caroline Tilleux Irene Torreggiani Rodrigo Torres Mónica Patricia Valentini Marcelo Weissel Andrés Zuccolotto Villalobos