Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:30:32.211Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Jewels of Ceren

Form and function comparisons for the earthen structures of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Karen A. Kievit
Karen A. Kievit
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The discovery at Joya de Cerén of the remains of a prehistoric village has presented archaeologists with an unprecedented view of pre-Columbian southern Mesoamerican earthen architecture. Twelve of the 17 known structures at the site have been partially or completely excavated to date. They include domestic dwellings, storehouses, and kitchens, as well as public and ritual buildings. These structures shared many architectural characteristics, yet each was unique. This paper draws upon the Cerén literature and personal field experience in order to present, in words and drawings, a comparison of form and function for these remarkably well-preserved structures, and suggests directions for further inquiry at Cerén.

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Fall 1994 , pp. 193 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bariola, J., and Sozen, M.A. 1990 Seismic Tests of Adobe Walls. Earthquake Spectra 6(1):37–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaudry, Marilyn P., and Tucker, David 1989 Household 1 Area Excavations. In 1989 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 29–40. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Browning, David 1971 El Salvador: Landscape and Society. Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Coffman, Richard, Agnew, Neville, Austin, George, and Doehne, Eric 1990 Adobe Mineralogy: Characteristization of Adobes from Around the World. In 6th International Conference of the Conservation of Earthen Architecture, Adobe 90 Preprints, pp. 424–429. Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A. 1988 Political Evolution in the Maya Borderlands: The Salvadoran Frontier. In The Southeast Classic Maya Zone, edited by Boone, Elizabeth Hill and Willey, Gordon R., pp. 335–394. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dethier, Jean 1983 Down to Earth: Adobe Architecture: An Old Idea, a New Future. Translated from the French by Eaton, Ruth. Facts on File, New York.Google Scholar
FowlerWilliam R., Jr. William R., Jr. 1989 The Cultural Evolution of Ancient Nahua Civilizations: The Pipil-Nicarao of Central America. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Gerstle, Andrea I. 1989 Excavation at Structure 3, Ceren, 1989. In 1989 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 59–80. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Kievit, Karen A. 1992 The Earthen Jewels of Ceren: Structures at the Archaeological Site of Joya de Ceren, El Salvador. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Longyear, John M. III 1966 Archaeological Survey of El Salvador. In Archaeological Frontiers and External Connections, edited by Ekholm, Gordon F. and Willey, Gordon R., pp. 132–156. Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 4, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Stanley, Loten H., and Pendergast, David M. 1984 A Lexicon for Maya Architecture. Archaeology Monograph No. 8. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.Google Scholar
McHenryPaul Graham, Jr. Paul Graham, Jr. 1984 Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
McKee, Brian R. 1989 Excavation at Structure Complex 2. In 1959 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 41–58. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Miller, C. Dan 1989 Stratigraphy of Volcanic Deposits at Ceren. In 1989 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 8–19. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Miller, C. Dan 1990 Stratigraphy of Volcanic Deposits at Ceren: 1990 Additions. In 1990 Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 18–26. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Miller, C. Dan 1992 Summary of 1992 Geological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador. In 1992 Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and Kievit, Karen A., pp. 5–9. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana 1970 An Album of Maya Architecture. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Sharer, Robert J., and Sedat, David W. 1987. Architecture. In Archaeological Investigations in the Northern Maya Highlands, Guatemala: Interaction and the Development of Maya Civilization, pp. 404–412. University Museum Monograph No. 59. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1979 Environmental and Cultural Effects of the Ilopango Eruption in Central America. In Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology, edited by Sheets, P.D. and Grayson, D.K., pp. 525–563. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1989 Summary and Conclusions. In 1989 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 114–119. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1990 Introduction to the 1990 Research of the Ceren Project, El Salvador. In 1990 Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report, edited by Sheets, Payson D. and McKee, Brian R., pp. 1–17. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1992a The Ceren Site: A Prehistoric Village Buried by Volcanic Ash in Central America. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Orlando.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1992b What's Up? A Study of Elevated Contexts Used for Artifact Curation at the Ceren Site, El Salvador. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. (editor) 1978 Research of the Protoclassic Project in the Zapotitan Basin, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report of the 1978 Season. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., Beaubien, Harriet F., Beaudry, Marilyn, Gerstle, Andrea, Miller, Brian McKee C.Dan, Spetzler, Hartmut, and Tucker, David B. 1990 Household Archaeology at Cerén, El Salvador. Ancient Mesoamerica 1:81–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., and Kievit, Karen A. (editors) 1992 1992 Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., and McKee, Brian R. (editors) 1989 1989 Archaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., and McKee, Brian R. (editors) 1990 1990 Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., and Simmons, Scott (editors) 1993 1993 A rchaeological Investigations at the Ceren Site, El Salvador: A Preliminary Report. Report on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder. Boulder.Google Scholar
Smith, A. Ledyard 1965 Architecture of the Guatemalan Highlands. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, pt. 1, edited by Willey, Gordon R., pp. 76–94. Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 2, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Wauchope, Robert 1938 Modern Maya Houses: A Study of Their Archaeological Significance. Publication No. 502. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Wisdom, C. 1940 The Chorti Indians of Guatemala. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Zier, Christian J. 1980 A Classic-Period Maya Agricultural Field in Western El Salvador. Journal of Field Archaeology 7:65–74.Google Scholar
Zier, Christian J. 1983 The Ceren Site: A Classic Period Maya Residence and Agricultural Field in the Zapotitan Valley. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 119–143. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zier, Christian J. 1992 Intensive Raised-Field Agriculture in a Posteruption Environment, El Salvador. In Gardens of Prehistory: The Archaeology of Settlement Agriculture in Greater Mesoamerica, edited by Killian, Thomas W., pp. 217–233. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar