Seminario 04/06/2021 – R. Joyce & J. Lopiparo: Rhythms of Production

Figurine and mold excavated in structured deposits at CR-103, Ulua Valley, Honduras.

Through archaeological investigations carried out in the Ulua river valley in Honduras we have documented evidence of craft working practices that we interpret as evidence of the formation of communities of practice. Learning crafting in communities of practice consists of the creation of routines, everyday rhythms. These have a role in both the reproduction of the relevant "know-how" for the craft, as well as in the reproduction of culture, which we view as assemblages of humans and nonhumans. In this talk we demonstrate the interconnections of ritual rhythms and everyday rhythms in the ancestral zone of the Lenca of northern Honduras as an example of the capacity to trace such intergenerational relations through archaeological evidence.