Archaeology, Volcanism, and Remote Sensing in the Arenal Region, Costa Rica / / ed. by Payson D. Sheets, Brian R. McKee.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press Complete eBook-Package Pre-2000
• MitwirkendeR: Blanco Vargas, Aida,; Bradley, John E.,; Chenault, Mark L.,; Clary, Karen H.,; Hoopes, John W.,; Mahaney, Nancy,; Matthews, Meredith H.,; Mckee, Brian R.,; Melson, William G.,; Mueller, Marilynn,; Piperno, Dolores R.,; Sever, Thomas L.,; Sheets, Payson D.,
• HerausgeberIn: McKee, Brian R.,; Sheets, Payson D.,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©1994
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (360 p.)

How humans adapt to life in an area prone to natural disasters is an intriguing study for the social sciences. In this volume, experts from several disciplines explore the adaptation process of prehistoric societies in the volcanic Arenal region of Costa Rica from about 2000 BC to the Spanish Conquest at about AD 1500. The data in this volume come from a survey of the region conducted with the latest remote sensing technology. Sheets and his coauthors have compiled a detailed record of human settlements in the area, including dozens of archaeological sites and a network of prehistoric footpaths that reveals patterns of travel and communication across the region. The Arenal peoples prospered in their precarious environment apparently by taking advantage of food and lithic resources, keeping population levels low, and avoiding environmental degradation. These findings will interest a wide interdisciplinary audience in anthropology and archaeology, earth sciences, technology, geography, and human ecology.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Chapter 1. The Proyecto Prehistorico Arena!: An Introduction -- Chapter 2. The Eruption of 1968 and Tephra Stratigraphy of Arena! Volcano -- Chapter 3. Archaeological Survey in the Arena! Basin -- Chapter 4. Tronadora Vieja: An Archaic and Early Formative Site in the Arenal Region -- Chapter 5. Excavations at Sitio Bolivar: A Late Formative Village in the Arenal Basin -- Chapter 6. The Silencio Site: An Early to Middle Polychrome Period Cemetery in the Arenal Region -- Chapter 7. Proyecto Prehistorico Arenal Excavations in the Santa Rosa River Valley -- Chapter 8. Remote Sensing in the Arenal Region -- Chapter 9. Prehistoric Footpaths in Costa Rica: Remote Sensing and Field Verification -- Chapter 10. Ceramic Analysis and Culture History in the Arenal Region -- Chapter 11. Chipped Stone Artifacts from the Cordillera de Tilarán -- Chapter 12. Precolumbian Ground, Polished, and Incised Stone Artifacts from the Cordillera de Tilarán -- Chapter 13. Prehistoric Jewelry from the Arenal Basin -- Chapter 14. Phytolith Records from the Proyecto Prehistorico Arenal -- Chapter 15. Pollen Evidence for Prehistoric Environment and Subsistence Activities -- Chapter 16. Macrobotanical Remains of the Proyecto Prehistorico Arenal -- Chapter 17. Summary and Conclusions -- References Cited -- Notes on Contributors -- Index