Negotiating a colonial Maya identity: metal ornaments from Tipu, Belize

Abstract

Archaeologists recovered Colonial-period metal ornaments from Tipu, Belize, the site of a Maya occupation from 300 BC to AD 1707. This project asks to what extent the technological attributes of these ornaments reflect Mesoamerican or European influences. Investigators used microanalytical techniques, such as metallography, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), electron probe microanalyser with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA-EDS) and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA-WDS) and surface etching, to study compositions and microstructures of the metals. Comparison of these data with technological and stylistic information of metals from other pre-Columbian and Contact-period sites reveals a confluence of indigenous and European metallurgy. Whereas the needle and bell forms and the suite of copper and bronze compositions align with indigenous metallurgical practices, the existence of lacetags and the use of brass reflect European technology. The presence of metal ornaments in association with Maya individuals in burials suggests that the Maya at Tipu were constructing and expressing new colonial identities through material markers.