Changing Identities in Changing Times: Gendered Roles and Representations through the Ceramic Figurines of Greater Nicoya

Abstract

The archaeology of Greater Nicoya is shifting focus from large, exceptional ceramic anthropomorphic figurines, to the smaller, more common specimens found in domestic contexts. Most figurines display obvious sexual and gender characteristics. An analysis of gender identity provides an opportunity to study these objects as part of daily life and ritual that speak of group and individual identities. Data from an almost unstudied collection of figurines from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and a sample of fragmented specimens from the site of Santa Isabel (Ni-Ri-44), Nicaragua, will help trace the broader changes in the forms of gender representations from the Bagaces (A.D.300-A.D.800) to the Sapoá (A.D.800-A.D.1350) periods. Roles and representations, along with styles and manufacture, underwent a gradual transition from naturalistic, sexualized and individualized to abstract and gender ambiguous, reflecting major changes in community values and socio-political organization.