Markers of Identity. A Comparison between Body Painting in Contemporary Amerindian Societies in the Tropical Lowlands of South America and Pre-Columbian Ceramic Stamps in the Caribbean

Caribbean archaeology is home to a variety of unsolved mysteries that still need to be solved. One of these mysteries concerns the subject of pre-Columbian ceramic stamps, better known as ‘body stamps’, which have been primarily related to body painting in previous works. Archaeological and anthropological investigations dealing with the tropical lowlands of South America and the Caribbean have been carried out since the early 1900s. What has come to my attention is the lack of research that has been carried out on the topic of body painting and ceramic stamps. This thesis aims to enhance our general knowledge about the relationship between ceramic stamps in the Caribbean and the practice of body painting among contemporary Amerindian societies in the tropical lowlands of South America. Methods used in this thesis to reach this aim consist of: (1) gathering of as many photographs of stamps as possible for comparative reasons, (2) analyzing the available ethnographical and ethno...Show moreCaribbean archaeology is home to a variety of unsolved mysteries that still need to be solved. One of these mysteries concerns the subject of pre-Columbian ceramic stamps, better known as ‘body stamps’, which have been primarily related to body painting in previous works. Archaeological and anthropological investigations dealing with the tropical lowlands of South America and the Caribbean have been carried out since the early 1900s. What has come to my attention is the lack of research that has been carried out on the topic of body painting and ceramic stamps. This thesis aims to enhance our general knowledge about the relationship between ceramic stamps in the Caribbean and the practice of body painting among contemporary Amerindian societies in the tropical lowlands of South America. Methods used in this thesis to reach this aim consist of: (1) gathering of as many photographs of stamps as possible for comparative reasons, (2) analyzing the available ethnographical and ethno-historical information to support the archaeological data, and (3) using the South American Lowland traditions to make an analogy for the practice of body painting in the Caribbean. The use of these methods brings us to several conclusions concerning the relationship between ceramic stamps and body painting. Firstly, ethno-historical sources confirm the practice of body painting in the Caribbean. Secondly, ethnographical research carried out by Kaplan and Overing (1980), brings forward the contemporary use of wooden stamps among the Piaroa, which can be used to make a hypothesis about the function of ceramic stamps in the Caribbean. Thirdly, by analyzing the stylistic traits and their chronological context, we can determine that the ceramic stamps of the Caribbean were presumably related to the roller stamps of the Middle Orinoco belonging to the Arauquinoid pottery tradition. Lastly, by analyzing the stamp motifs and their relation to Amerindian mythology described by early ethnographers, we can determine whether these stamps played a role in the Amerindian worldview.Show less

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Markers of Identity. A Comparison between Body Painting in Contemporary Amerindian Societies in the Tropical Lowlands of South America and Pre-Columbian Ceramic Stamps in the Caribbean