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This article delves into the reasons behind the Spanish establishment in the region, with a particular focus on the alliances formed with native populations that facilitated the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Through source analysis, the article evaluates the credibility and content of primary sources, particularly The Thirteenth Communication by Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, to uncover alternative perspectives on historical events. The analysis reveals the emotional narrative and strategic objectives underlying Ixtlilxochitl's account, shedding light on the motivations behind the Texcocan alliance with Spain. Additionally, the article examines the broader geopolitical landscape of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, characterized by internal conflicts, economic interactions, and religious dynamics as well as the personal factor, including the maneuverability in uncertainty and the power dynamics between individuals, having played a crucial role in shaping the outcomes of the conquest. Finally, the article highlights the multifaceted nature of historical causation in shaping colonial legacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After lengthy delays owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, excavations at the Precolumbian Maya site of Marco Gonzalez in Belize resumed in summer 2023. This season represented the in-field commencement of a new multi-institutional collaboration. The implementation of novel approaches and methods included the incorporation of photogrammetry and 3D modelling as a first-line documentation method, a heightened emphasis on the importance of bioarchaeology as a source for constructing narratives about past life at Marco Gonzalez (through the 'osteobiographical' approach) and more extensive excavations than had been possible in previous seasons. These approaches and methods proved fruitful, with excavations uncovering seven new burials, as well as a particularly intriguing cache of what resembled grave goods without an associated individual. Moreover, excavations during this field season provided tantalising new evidence as to the scope of the extensive trade and exchange network within which Marco Gonzalez was a vital node, as well as new insights into the mechanics of the industrial-scale salt processing that was both central to life at the site for several centuries during the Late Classic period and seemingly integral to the formation of highly fertile anthropogenic soils (Maya Dark Earths) that are crucially important to a nuanced understanding of the long-term environmental impact of human activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The encounter between missionary orders and indigenous religions in the New World opened dialogic spaces among different religions. In New Spain, this process invested every aspect of life, transforming daily practices (both individual and collective) and reorganizing spaces (both private and public). Within the extirpation of idolatry, missionary orders - and, among them, the Franciscans played a pivotal role - had to struggle against different cosmological beliefs, but also against embodied practices in relation with «sacred matter». This paper observes the de-materialization of indigenous religion in missionary efforts to extirpate idolatry. The article will focus on material representations of Mesoamerican extra-human beings connected to the aquatic realm, interpreted as polytheistic water gods by Franciscan ethnographers. By deconstructing a theistic interpretation of Mesoamerican religion, I will try to reveal the plastic nature of indigenous extra-human beings, embedded in different kinds of bodies: statues, replicas of mountains, places within the landscape, ritual impersonators, priests, and even pictographic images were largely recognizable as dressed in «diagnostic insignias» made of plants, parts of animal bodies, minerals, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronicle X comes from a hypothesis advanced by Robert Barlow in 1945 about the possible existence of an original source, written in Nahuatl, now lost, which should have been translated and served as the basis for the composition of a group of works from the 16th century which main subject is the history of the late postclassic Mexica people. The group of works associated with chronicle X are: Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e islas de la tierra firme by Fray Diego Durán, the Crónica mexicana by Hernando Alvarado Tezozómoc, the Códice Ramírez and the Manuscrito Tovar by the Jesuit Juan de Tovar, and the Historia natural y moral de las Indias by Father José de Acosta. Starting from a theoretical-methodological approach that combines textual criticism, hermeneutical analysis and stylometry, this article studies the handling of the theme of the omens of the Conquest of Mexico in the two main works of the corpus, from which the rest derive. Through the analysis of the omens collected by Durán in the Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e islas de la tierra firme and by Tezozómoc in the Crónica mexicana, this work proposes the hypothesis that the variants between the works originate in the oral record that characterized the reading- writing processes of codices in the pre-Hispanic world. In other words, the fact that the codex, the material support of a narrative, had a mnemonic function to accompany the oral discourse memorized and transmitted generationally, was decisive for the chroniclers to document extremely similar versions, but with important variants, whose origin, we propose, lies in the Nahua oral tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of eco-frontier examines the actions of ecological actors to analyze the ways in which these contribute to transform biodiversity-rich territories. Eco-frontiers are discursive and spatial appropriations that evolve in different historical stages. This article analyzes the case of the Maya Forest as an emerging eco-frontier since the 1970s. The Maya Forest is a concept constructed by ecological actors to conserve tropical rainforest that covers the border region between Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Based on analysis of various first-hand materials, the article shows how the construction of the Maya Forest-concept has transformed the borderland into a scenic eco-region subject to tropical conservation. Simultaneously, the appropriation of the Maya in its scientific and touristic dimension suggests the construction of international biocultural borderlands. However, the issue of indigenous rights, multicultural context and that of multispecies remain subject to debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We study the genetic diversity between Classic Teotihuacan and its neighboring towns trying to understand how far or close they are at the genetic level. Materials and methods: We use cranial nonmetric traits to study a sample of 280 adult skulls from archaeological sites running from the late Preclassic to the early Postclassic. Samples of Classic Teotihuacan were studied for La Ventilla and San Sebastián Xolalpan neighbors. For the Epiclassic period, samples from Xaltocan, Toluca valley, Mogotes and Xico were used. For the Preclassic and Postclassic samples from Xico were also used. We used a parametric bootstrap for the mean measure of divergence for the statistical analysis. Results: Samples from Xico have small biodistance from Preclassic to Postclassic. Samples from Los Mogotes differ depending on the functional context of deposition, with individuals from household burials (funerary) differing from non‐funerary, ceremonial interments and exhibiting affinities to Epiclassic samples from Toluca valley. Epiclassic populations from Xaltocan vary significantly from any samples analyzed. Samples from Classic period Teotihuacan vary considerably among them but form a separate genetic group from all the other populations under study. Conclusions: The great biodistance separation among Classic Teotihuacan and its neighbor villages of central Mexico let us conclude that, contrary from the classical idea that those villages were confirmed by the inhabitants of Teotihuacan's collapse: They indeed remain as separate populations by themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linguistic relativity, rightly understood, implies that the presence or absence of certain grammatical categories and discursive styles can influence how we perceive and experience the world around us. In this study, monolingual speakers of Chol Mayan, a tenseless language, were shown a series of visual stimuli portraying different sequences of events, and were asked to describe what they saw to an interviewer. Participants were shown a long silent story composed of many sequential images, and a set of shorter stories composed of a minimum of two sequential images and a maximum of five sequential images. None of the stories that the Chol speakers told in response to the stimulus followed a sequential-chronological order, and all sequential images were described in non-sequential terms. In line with the linguistic relativity hypothesis, it is argued that this interesting discursive effect may be the result of the tenselessness of the Chol language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic animals are the result of the adaptation of wild species to the human environment, by way of natural selection, a process which began in pre-civilization times in various regions of the world. In the case of Mexico, the first animal to enter the process was the Wild turkey, or turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Its history of interaction with man and its dispersal consists of two phases. The first includes biological processes that involved the flocks of these birds interacting with human seasonal macrobands in the southern Mexican highlands, adapting to the interaction with Homo sapiens until their absolute inclusion into human communities, a process that was already concluded around 3,000 years ago in central Mexico, as recognized archaeozoological remains provide evidence of the existence of domesticated specimens at that time. The second phase is represented by way of the dispersion of the species throughout the various regions of Mesoamerica and perhaps Oasisamerica (southeast USA and northern Mexico), which took around two thousand years, varying the pace at which it occured depending on the dominant environment in each region, along with the body of traditional knowledge that accompanied the said specimens; due to the aforementioned conditions, in the south of Mesoamerica the arrival of the domestic turkey was during the Formative period, thanks to the fact that the warm, semi-humid environment was biologically compatible, whilst their arrival to the regions populated by the Maya was during the Terminal Classic period, basically because the tropical humid environment was not as favorable for them, thus requiring greater human effort so as to support their stay in the region, a condition that was achieved in the early Postclassic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 800–1000) in the Southern Maya Lowlands witnessed a precipitous decline in the erection of carved stone monuments, a decline that corresponds to shifts in political ideologies and the disappearance of many prominent royal dynasties. Although Southern Lowland sites are often considered peripheral to the events and innovations occurring elsewhere in Mesoamerica during this time, a recently discovered stela, Stela 29, at the site of Ucanal in Peten, Guatemala, underscores the active role of the site in broader political movements in the ninth century. Our iconographic, textual, and stylistic analysis of this stela, in concert with other Terminal Classic monuments from the site, reveals a vernacular cosmopolitan aesthetic whereby local Classic Maya styles were infused with images and elements that referenced connections with peoples from northern Yucatan, the Gulf Coast, and Central Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds and their feathers have long occupied a unique place in the social, cultural, and intellectual life of the Americas. This was particularly so in Mesoamerica, where ancient civilizations and colonial societies developed extensive knowledge of birds, their behaviors and habitats, and their vibrant plumage. This special issue brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines, including art history, history, and biology, to promote discussion among the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences on the role of birds and feathers in Mesoamerica. This introductory essay first provides a discussion of the major trends in the scholarship on birds and feathers in ancient and colonial Mesoamerica. It then highlights the contributions of the articles in the special issue to our understanding of the multifaceted roles that both symbolic and real birds and their feathers played in indigenous and transatlantic knowledge systems and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three books under review are collective monographs that consist of interdisciplinary approaches (archaeology, ethnohistory, cultural anthropology, anthropology of religion) and divided into sections according to discipline or more specific common topic. A leitmotif of all of them is ritual landscape, sacred mountains, the agricultural cycle and rainmaking rituals in Mesoamerica (mostly in its Mexican part) which have been present in this cultural area since pre-Hispanic times until the present day. The authors of particular contributions point out archaeological, historical and ethnographic evidence of these religious beliefs and ritual practices across the centuries and emphasize not only their antiquity but also their uninterrupted continuity. This tradition was incorporated into Christianity, thanks to which it survived missionary activities of the Spaniards as well as pitfalls of modern era and represents the core of popular religion in native Mexican communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cacao economies in far western Mexico developed between AD 850/900 and 1350+ along with the adoption of a political–religious complex centered on the solar deity Xochipilli as the Aztatlán culture became integrated into expanding political, economic, and information networks of highland and southern Mesoamerica. The Xochipilli complex significantly transformed societies in the Aztatlán core zone of coastal Nayarit and Sinaloa and parts of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas, and Michoacán. West Mexican cacao was acquired in the U.S. Southwest by Chaco Canyon elites in New Mexico through macroregional prestige goods economies as Ancestral Pueblo societies became integrated into the Postclassic Mesoamerican world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obsidian tools are ubiquitous at archaeological sites throughout the pre-Hispanic period (ca. 1500 B.C.–A.D. 1521) in central Mexico. However, the method of high-magnification use-wear analysis has been underutilized for functional interpretations of obsidian tools in the region, especially compared to lithic studies in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Oceania, and North America. In order to establish a reliable foundation for future archaeological investigations of obsidian tool functions, I performed approximately 300 experiments with 145 obsidian tool specimens controlling for two obsidian sources, two activity durations, and 29 different materials that were accessible to pre-Hispanic residents of central Mexico. This paper synthesizes results from prior experimental obsidian use-wear studies with the results from my experiments and discusses their broader impacts for use-wear analysts working in all regions as well as specific implications for future use-wear projects in central Mexico. This paper also presents high-quality images of use-wear characteristics and their patterns linked to specific materials in order to stimulate student training and comparisons between studies. Results indicate that the start times for initial use-wear patterns resulting from slicing meat, fish, maize, and soft plants, respectively, can be revised down to 5 min of tool use. There are distinct use-wear patterns for maguey heart scraping and maguey leaf scraping, which are new and crucial findings for archaeologists interested in ancient practices of pulque and fiber production. Finally, human and animal blood residues can be observed microscopically on obsidian tool surfaces and removed for presumptive testing using Hemastix® strips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past composition and genetic diversity of populations from Central Mexico during the Postclassic period (ad 900–1520) are still little understood. Two of the largest centres of ancient groups, Tlatelolco and Cholula, declined after European conquest and questions about their relationships with other Central Mexican cities and ritual activities have been debated. Tlatelolco was a Mexica group that practiced the Quetzalcoatl cult and human sacrifice, including the sacrifice of children, while Cholula was considered the main pilgrimage centre and multiethnic city during the Postclassic. This study analysed the mitochondrial DNA control region of 28 human skeletal samples to estimate the genetic affinities of individuals buried at Tlatelolco and Cholula. Amelogenin analysis and whole genome sequencing (WGS) were also applied to determine the sex of the 15 Tlatelolco subadults from sacrificial contexts. Networks, PCoA and Nei genetic distances were calculated to compare Tlatelolco and Cholula haplotypes with available ancient haplotype data from Mesoamerican groups and the two borderland areas, Paquimé and Greater Nicoya. Mitochondrial haplogroups were characterized for 11 of the 15 samples from Tlatelolco (73%) and 12 samples out of 13 from Cholula (92%), revealing the presence of four distinct Amerindian mitochondrial lineages at Tlateloloco, A (n = 6; 55%), B (n = 2; 18%), C (n = 1; 9%) and D (n = 2; 10%); and three lineages in Cholula, A (n = 5; 42%), B (n = 5; 42%) and C (n = 2; 16%). Statistical analysis of the haplotypes, haplogroup frequencies and Nei genetic distances showed close affinity of Tlatelolco's subadults with ancient Mexica (Aztecs) and closer affinities between Cholula and the Xaltocan of the Basin of Mexico. Sex determination of Tlatelolco subadult sacrifice victims revealed that 83% were females, in contrast to previous studies of subadult sacrificial patterns at the site. Together, these results demonstrate the multi-ethnic nature of religious and economic centres in Postclassic Central Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine the intrusion of the Spanish preposition de into the languages of Mexico. Following Matras and Sakel (2007) , I apply the distinction of matter (MAT) and pattern (PAT). The exploration of the 35 Archivo de lenguas indígenas de México publications which serve as a comparable database shows that Chontal, Mexicanero, Nahuatl de Acaxochitlán, Otomi, Yucatec, Zoque, and Zapotec, have borrowed de or a variant thereof. All languages give evidence of combined MAT/PAT-borrowing, while five of the seven languages also exhibit MAT-borrowing only. The results demonstrate that none of the replica languages fully complies with the Spanish pattern regarding the usage of de. Indeed, it is essential to identify the functional domain of de in each recipient language separately. Further, the findings are briefly reviewed in light of processing factors corroborating the prominent role of frequency in language change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only 2 lizard species of the 11 members of the genus Loxopholis Cope, 1869 are found in Central America, L. southi (Ruthven & Gaige, 1924) from Costa Rica to Colombia and L. rugiceps Cope, 1869 from Panama and Colombia. We report new country records for L. rugiceps from Honduras and Costa Rica. We collected 4 individuals of this species in Honduras in 2018 and 2 specimens in Costa Rica in 1997 and 2017. We discuss the distribution of L. rugiceps in Central America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the distinction between horizontal and vertical shamanism originally proposed by Stephen Hugh-Jones, this article examines the concept of nagualism in different Mesoamerican indigenous societies and the role that animal domestication has played in these conceptions. Through a comparative study of indigenous societies like the Nahua, Huave, and Tzotzil Maya, different relationships between the human and animal worlds are analyzed in order to show the changes in ontological frameworks that took place during the colonial period, through the introduction of extensive livestock farming. As a protective institution, post-colonial nagualism developed in indigenous societies that have domesticated animals because farmers see their relationship with their flocks similarly to the connection between themselves and their protecting spirits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematoxylin is a basic dye derived from the heartwood of Palo de Campeche (Haematoxylum campechianum), the logwood tree native to Mexico and Central America. Haematoxylum means "bloodwood" in reference to its dark-red heartwood and campechianum refers to its site of origin, the coastal city of Campeche on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Hematoxylin is colorless but it turns into the color dye hematein after oxidation (ripening). The dyeing property of logwood was well-known to the natives of the Yucatan Peninsula before the arrival of the Spaniards who brought it to Europe shortly after the discovery of the Americas. An important trade soon developed related to growing and preparing hematoxylin for dyeing fabrics. Pirates discovered that one shipload of logwood was equivalent to a year's value from any other cargo, and by 1563, more than 400 pirate vessels wandered the Atlantic Ocean and attacked Spanish galleons transporting gold, silver, and logwood from the Americas to Europe. Hematoxylin and eosin is a staining method that dates back to the late 19th century. In 1865 and 1891, Böhmer and Meyer, respectively, first used hematoxylin in combination with a mordant (alum). Later, with the use of anilines by Ehrlich, the repertoire of stains expanded rapidly resulting in the microscopic descriptions of multiple diseases that were defined by their stainable features. Today hematoxylin, along with eosin, remains the most popular stain in histology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoamerica is considered a biodiversity hot spot with levels of endemism and species diversity likely underestimated. Unfortunately, the region continues to experience some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. For mammals, the evolutionary relationships of many endemic taxa are controversial, as it is the case for members of the genus Handleyomys . Estimation of a time-calibrated hypothesis for the evolution of these six genera ( Euryoryzomys, Handleyomys , Hylaeamys , Nephelomys , Oecomys and Transandinomys ) supported a monophyletic Handleyomys sensu lato. Based on their distinctive morphology and the amount of inter-generic genetic divergence, Handleyomys sensu stricto, H. alfaroi , the H. chapmani , and the H. melanotis species groups warrant recognition as separate genera. In addition, species delimitation documents the existence of cryptic species-level lineages within H. alfaroi and H. rostratus . Cryptic lineages within H. rostratus exhibited significant niche differentiation, but this was not the pattern among species-level clades within H. alfaroi. Similarly, age–range correlations revealed that niche evolution within Handleyomys is not correlated with evolutionary time, instead, ancestral climate tolerance reconstructions show niche disparities at specific diversification events within the chapmani and melanotis species groups, while the climatic niche of the rest of species of Handleyomys tended to be conservative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article synthesizes recent advances in the study of astronomy and worldview in architectural and urban planning in Mesoamerica. Throughout most of this cultural area, the practice of orienting civic and ceremonial buildings followed similar principles, although regional and time-dependent variations are present. Analysis of alignment data has revealed the existence of distinct and widespread orientation groups; most refer to sunrises and sunsets on particular dates, although two groups can be related to lunar and Venus extremes. Astronomically relevant directions frequently dominate considerable parts of urban layouts. The orientation and the location of important buildings often were conditioned by astronomical criteria and beliefs about specific landscape features; particularly notable are structures that were aligned to prominent mountaintops on the local horizon. Based on a variety of contextual data, I interpret the uses and significance of orientations in terms of agricultural concerns, cosmological concepts, and political ideology. I outline the evolution of orientation practices, drawing attention to pan-Mesoamerican trends, regional patterns, and diffusion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The material nature of money has always been at the core of debates about its early development and its role in socioeconomic relationships. Archaeology can contribute to these debates through its attention to the material world, its long‐term perspective, and its examination of diverse contexts in which money has been used. In this article, I examine the early monetization of cacao beans and cotton textiles among the Classic Maya (250–900 CE). I argue that these products, originally valued for their use in status display, took on monetary functions within a context of expanding marketplaces among rival Maya kingdoms. As a result of this monetization, cacao and textiles could be used to finance more state activities and household needs. In response, political regimes and their subjects devoted more labor and resources to the acquisition of these products and circulated new discourses justifying this acquisition. I conclude that money's value in social relationships is not shaped by its materiality alone but by practices and discourses that frame specific material properties as valuable; through historical processes that move these value‐laden materials into new social contexts; and through the reframing of the relationships and motivations of those who produce, circulate, and consume them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical characterization reveals intra‐source variation in obsidian from the Paredón source area in Puebla and Hidalgo, Mexico. Two chemical sub‐sources of obsidian from Paredón are spatially discrete and cannot be distinguished by visual characteristics. To facilitate future investigations of the prehistoric exploitation of these sub‐sources, an inter‐laboratory comparison of elemental concentrations is presented based on neutron activation analysis and several XRF instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predominantly Asian tribe Miliuseae (Annonaceae) includes over 37 Neotropical species that are mainly distributed across Mesoamerica, from southern Mexico to northern Colombia. The tremendous ecological and morphological diversity of this clade, including ramiflory, cauliflory, flagelliflory, and clonality, suggests adaptive radiation. Despite the spectacular phenotypic divergence of this clade, little is known about its phylogenetic and evolutionary history. In this study we used a nuclear DNA marker and seven chloroplast markers, and maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods to reconstruct a comprehensive time-calibrated phylogeny of tribe Miliuseae, especially focusing on the Desmopsis-Stenanona clade. We also perform ancestral area reconstructions to infer the biogeographic history of this group. Finally, we use ecological niche modeling, lineage distribution models, and niche overlap tests to assess whether geographic isolation and ecological specialization influenced the diversification of lineages within this clade. We reconstructed a monophyletic Miliuseae that is divided into two strongly supported clades: (i) a Sapranthus - Tridimeris clade and (ii) a Desmopsis - Stenanona clade. The colonization of the Neotropics and subsequent diversification of Neotropical Miliuseae seems to have been associated with the expansion of the boreotropical forests during the late Eocene and their subsequent fragmentation and southern displacement. Further speciation within Neotropical Miliuseae out of the Maya block seems to have occurred during the last 15 million years. Lastly, the geographic structuring of major lineages of the Desmopsis - Stenanona clade seems to have followed a climatic gradient, supporting the hypothesis that morphological differentiation between closely related species resulted from both long-term isolation between geographic ranges and adaptation to environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examinations of the variation and duration of past large-scale societies have long involved a conceptual struggle between efforts at generalization and the unraveling of specific trajectories. Although historical particulars are critical to understanding individual cases, there exist both scientific and policy rationales for drawing broader implications regarding the growing corpus of cross-cultural data germane to understanding variability in the constitution of human societies, past and present. Archaeologists have recently paid increased attention to successes and failures in communal-resource management over the long term, as articulated by the transdisciplinary theory on cooperation and collective action. In this article, we consider frameworks that have been traditionally employed in studies of the rise, diversity, and fall of large-scale preindustrial aggregations. We suggest that a comparative theoretical perspective that foregrounds collective-action problems, unaligned individual and group interests, and the social mechanisms that promote or hamper cooperation advances our understanding of variability in these early cooperative arrangements. We apply such a perspective to an examination of cities from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to demonstrate tendencies for more collective systems to be larger and longer lasting than less collective ones, likely reflecting greater resiliency in the face of the ecological and cultural perturbations specific to the region and era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being characterized by some of the most threatened forest ecosystems of Mesoamerica, the Nicoya Peninsula is among the least known regions of neotropical Costa Rica in terms of its birdlife. Within this region, in the framework of an ongoing international cooperation program between Italy and Costa Rica, we had the opportunity to investigate the Karen Mogensen Reserve, a protected area distinguished by the presence of a variety of habitats, including tropical dry forest and moist forest. Species richness in the Reserve was relatively high compared with similar areas in northwestern Costa Rica. A series of surveys carried out over a 20-year period documented an avian community consisting of 207 species, of which 115 were breeding in the zone and another 14 were potentially breeding. We recorded five IUCN globally Vulnerable or Near-Threatened species, along with six species reported for the first time from the Nicoya Peninsula, each representing range extension of more than 100 km. Twenty-six species, mostly breeding in the area, are at their southernmost range borders, and are likely susceptible to global environmental alterations, such as the effects of climate change. Furthermore, our study revealed the presence of two species endemic to a restricted area of Central America and four subspecies endemic to Costa Rica, along with breeding populations of two species that are geographically isolated from the main ones. The present analysis led to the ecological characterization of the resident avian community, showing that 65% of the species are strictly associated with forested environments, and especially with the understory or middle tree level, hence more vulnerable to environmental change (climatic, anthropogenic, etc.) and susceptible to local extinction. These results underscore the importance of the Karen Mogensen Reserve for bird conservation within a vulnerable environmental context, and warrant the continuation of periodic bird surveys, taxonomic study of isolated populations or endemic taxa, and improvement of local conservation measures. The data collected will be an important tool for future studies aimed at evaluating the consequences of habitat fragmentation and to monitor the effects of climate change on the resident avifauna. We exhort the creation of programs that integrate bird monitoring, ecological research, conservation initiatives, and the involvement of the local communities, by promoting environmental education, capacity-building, and income generation. To this purpose, the Karen Mogensen Reserve may represent a convincing model and valuable example to apply in similar neotropical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three previously unrecognized species of Quercus L. from Mexico and Central America are named and described here: Q. breedloveana Nixon & Barrie, Q. sarahmariae Nixon & Barrie, and Q. melissae Nixon & Barrie. Additionally, a lectotype is designated for the name Q. acutifolia Née, thereby stabilizing its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Migration and travel are major drivers of the spread of infectious diseases. Geographic proximity and a common language facilitate travel and migration in Mesoamerica, which in turn could affect the spread of HIV in the region. Methods 6092 HIV-1 subtype B partial pol sequences sampled from unique antiretroviral treatment-naïve individuals from Mexico (40.7%), Guatemala (24.4%), Honduras (19%), Panama (8.2%), Nicaragua (5.5%), Belize (1.4%), and El Salvador (0.7%) between 2011 and 2016 were included. Phylogenetic and genetic network analyses were performed to infer putative relationships between HIV sequences. The demographic and geographic associations with clustering were analyzed and viral migration patterns were inferred using the Slatkin-Maddison approach on 100 iterations of random subsets of equal number of sequences per location. Results A total of 1685/6088 (27.7%) of sequences linked with at least one other sequence, forming 603 putative transmission clusters (range: 2–89 individuals). Clustering individuals were significantly more likely to be younger (median age 29 vs 33 years, p < 0.01) and men-who-have-sex-with-men (40.4% vs 30.3%, p < 0.01). Of the 603 clusters, 30 (5%) included sequences from multiple countries with commonly observed linkages between Mexican and Honduran sequences. Eight of the 603 clusters included > 10 individuals, including two comprised exclusively of Guatemalans (52 and 89 individuals). Phylogenetic and migration analyses suggested that the Central and Southern regions of Mexico along with Belize were major sources of HIV throughout the region ( p < 0.01) with genetic flow southward from Mexico to the other nations of Mesoamerica. We also found evidence of significant viral migration within Mexico. Conclusion International clusters were infrequent, suggesting moderate migration between HIV epidemics of the different Mesoamerican countries. Nevertheless, we observed important sources of transnational HIV spread in the region, including Southern and Central Mexico and Belize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of novices, which often are children, in domestic craft production and the replication of crafting knowledge is a topic that is often ignored in archaeological discussions of domestic economies. However, ethnographic and ethnohistoric examples repeatedly indicate that children played a number of roles in household economies. The presence of novice obsidian core production was identified in a domestic habitation context at the Zaragoza-Oyameles obsidian source area in eastern Puebla, Mexico. Miniaturized polyhedral cores were found along side standard-sized macrocores and polyhedral cores, and all stages of core reduction debitage at a large, domestic core manufacturing site. This, coupled with evidence from experimental core replication and ethnographic examples, suggests that these miniature cores represent the detritus of craft learning. The presence of domestic core production and the role of craft learning are then contextualized within the regional economy centered on the nearby city of Cantona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological research at Caracol, an ancient Maya site that was rediscovered in 1937, has become a major resource in the interpretation and understanding of the ancient Maya. Caracol, in west-central Belize, is situated in a subtropical region once characterized as being unsuitable for the development or maintenance of complex societies, yet it is one of the largest, if not the largest Classic period Maya site in the southern Maya Lowlands, home to over 100,000 people at its height between AD 600 and 700. The investigations at Caracol underscore the utility of long-term archaeological projects incorporating large-scale settlement study that combine excavation with varied research designs and the use of a contextual approach. By employing Maya epigraphic history, traditional archaeology, and modern technology like LiDAR, research at Caracol details the rise, maintenance, and fall of an ancient Maya city, affording a large window into ancient Maya lifeways. Archaeological work provides evidence of sustainable agriculture, a market economy, city planning that included a road system, the impact of warfare on the site's inhabitants, the sociopolitical status of women, the role that archaeology can play in refining written history, and the significance of commemorating the cyclical passage of time to the ancient Maya. This article summarizes archaeological research efforts at the site by the Caracol Archaeological Project over the last three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spore morphology of 25 Mexican and Central American species inPteriswere studied. This was accomplished using scanning electron and light microscopy. Spores are trilete, tetrahedral, with plane or slightly convex proximal faces, concave only occasionally, and convex or hemispherical distal faces. In addition to these general features and size, we also considered the following traits: (a) cingulum; (b) presence of a commissural flange; (c) types of macro-ornamentation; (d) ornamentation in distal and proximal faces. In general, distal and proximal faces ofPterisspores are divided by a circumfluent cingulum, lacking ornamentation, infrequently not well defined, or interrupted. The laesura have a commissural flange in almost half of the studied species. The most common macro-ornamentation is muriform, less frequently steliform or buliform. Ornamentation is usually different on both sides of the spore. In most of the studied species occasional to abundant globules are present on the spore surface. The combination of these traits allows us to recognise six spore types, which are described in detail. These spore types disagree with groups of species of NeotropicalPterispreviously studied using other characteristics (mainly frond architecture and molecular data). Our results show that the use of spore characteristics can help clarify infrageneric taxonomy inPteris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest management of tropical lowland and hill wet evergreen forests traditionally assumes that succession, species composition, and forest structure are largely driven by small, frequent disturbances. More recent ecological studies, archaeological findings, palynology and climate records demonstrate that tropical rainforests in general are not only subject to treefall disturbances but also to large-scale, infrequent disturbances driven by both past ancient and more recent human land use, and by natural forces of climate and geology. This paper reviews the case for the presence and extent of large-scale infrequent disturbances in Mesoamerica. We then use this knowledge to understand effects shaping species composition and structure. We evaluate current silvicultural regeneration systems for forest management based on the gap dynamics paradigm and propose potential alternative and complementary regeneration methods for forests and tree species that are driven by large-scale disturbances. We propose that the shade-intolerant timber species observed today are in large part a reflection of legacies of human land use and historical large-scale disturbances. Such species require larger, more dramatic disturbance regimes to regenerate and to attain the canopy in future managed forests. We suggest that such conditions are not provided for by current silvicultural systems within the region that require multiple entries to the stand every 15–30 years and should be coupled with liberation thinnings to promote shade-tolerant, commercially valuable timber species. Alternative silvicultural systems, such as shelterwoods and seed-tree methods of regeneration and management, purposefully promote the regeneration of valuable, shade-intolerant timber species. We propose applications for reserve design, and the management of non-timber forest products in conjunction with timber products to compliment such activities. These systems differ in their goals, species promoted (shade-tolerant vs. –intolerant) and the ecological assumptions driving their operations. We conclude that shelterwoods and seed-tree systems are more appropriate to manage forests rich in shade-intolerant timber species. Such methods need to be included in the suite of silvicultural options available to managers of tropical wet evergreen forests in Mesoamerica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second of two articles that survey and assess progress and prospects in the historical linguistics of the Otomanguean language family, which is the most widely distributed and most diverse linguistic lineage of Mesoamerica. While considerable progress has been made in understanding the linguistic and cultural history of Otomanguean, in some ways, it remains the Mesoamerican language family about which we know the least. It consists of eight major subgroups: Mè'phàà-Subtiaba, Chorotegan, Oto-Pamean, Chinantec, Mixtecan, Amuzgo, Zapotecan, and Popolocan. While the first article of this series addressed the historical linguistics of the higher levels of the Otomanguean family, this article focuses on the eight major subgroups, especially progress in their reconstruction, internal subgrouping, and areas in need of further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine how indigenous residents of the community of Achiutla-located in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, Mexico-utilized long-distance trade routes between central Mexico and the Pacific coast, spanning the Postclassic (900-1521 CE) and Early Colonial (1522-1650 CE) periods. The maintenance of prehispanic interregional trade connections by native peoples allowed them to both continue traditional industries like those involving obsidian, while also facilitating their adoption of new types of material culture introduced from Europe. Over the long term, however, I suggest that entanglements in these economic networks had unintended consequences, which possibly included the demise of the prehispanic obsidian industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los Naranjos is one of the most important pre-Columbian human settlements of Honduras related to the south-easternmost border of the Mayan civilization. Although the archaeological site mostly spans from 850 BC to 1250 AD, the present obsidian study was only focused on the Preclassic and Early Classic periods (Jaral, 800-400 BC and Edén, 400 BC-550 AD) where undamaged blades and/or retouched obsidian flakes are rare. In this way, the INAA analyses of 17 obsidian samples, compared with major-trace elements data of Honduran and Guatemalan obsidian sources, are mostly representative of waste flakes. Lithic artifacts of Los Naranjos such as sandstones, basalts, and quartzites come from local geological outcrops; whereas, obsidian provenance has to be searched from sources which are located within a radius up to 300 km far away. San Luis, La Esperanza, and Güinope obsidian sources are located in Honduras while the three most exploited Highland Guatemalan obsidian outcrops, which have been dominating long-distance trade in the Maya area mostly for the Classic-Postclassic periods, are San Martin de Jilotepeque, El Chayal, and Ixtepeque. An Ixtepeque provenance, for all the investigated obsidian samples of Preclassic and Early Classic periods found in the Los Naranjos Archaeological Park, was established, thus emphasizing a long-distance source (180 km). This also confirms that Ixtepeque represents the most important provenance of the obsidian artifacts found in archaeological sites of Western and Central-Western Honduras. The possible role played by some of the most important rivers of Guatemala and Honduras as waterway networks of transport was finally pointed out. New INAA chemical data from the Honduran obsidian source of La Esperanza ('Los Hoyos', 4 samples) are also reported in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo) is the only domesticated vertebrate to originate from North America. Accurate reconstructions of the timing, location, and process of its domestication are thus critical for understanding the domestication process in the ancient Americas. A substantial amount of recent research has been devoted to understanding turkey domestication in the American Southwest, but comparatively little research has been conducted on the subject in Mesoamerica, despite the fact that all modern domestic turkeys descend from birds originally domesticated in Mexico during pre-colonial times. To address this disparity, we have conducted a review of the available literature on early turkeys in the archaeological record of Mesoamerica. We evaluate the evidence in terms of its accuracy and use this evaluation as a stepping off point for suggesting potential avenues of future research. Although the lack of available data from Mesoamerica currently precludes detailed cross-cultural comparisons, we briefly compare the origins and intensification of turkey rearing in Mesoamerica with the American Southwest to generate more dialogue among researchers independently studying the topic in these two distinct but interconnected cultural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francisco X. Alarcón's Animal Poems of the Iguazú / Animalario del Iguazú (2013) successfully represents a milestone in its author's career, as it brings together stylistic choices and philosophical concepts that he had developed in earlier works for adult and children readers. In particular, and working from an animal-rights, posthumanist context, Alarcón fleshes out the notions of ecopoetics and mesticismo, a neologism he coined to blend mysticism with mestizaje. Through those concepts, the author invites his readers to imagine a borderless continent, thus challenging hierarchical divisions and dominant discourses in children's entertainment. In their stead, Alarcón advocates for a reclamation of Mesoamerican thought and practices as a pathway to developing positive images of linguistic and cultural diversity, ecological awareness, and new ways of reading and living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generic key to 81 genera representing 255 naturally occurring species known from Belize is presented using easily distinguished characters and including illustrations of many of the genera. An up-to-date list of the grasses of Belize is also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain-associated species, which exhibit allopatric distributions associated with elevation, endemisms and complex evolutionary histories, pose challenging evolutionary scenarios in which to discern the diversification of species. The Peromyscus mexicanus mice group, distributed along mountains in southern Mexico and Central America, is morphometrically variable, a key rationale for the ongoing controversy regarding its species delimitation. Based on the recognized 15 mitochondrial lineages for the group, we analysed external and craniodental morphometric variables to test whether lineages can be differentiated morphometrically and allow for the delimitation of species. We also aimed to test the prediction that the phylogenetic structure of the morphometric data is concordant with that of the molecular information. Based on 19 craniodental measurements from 521 specimens, multivariate and discriminant analyses showed that lineages are morphometrically discernible, representing distinct phenotypes, and that overall size and mandible measurements are significant features that discriminate lineages, supporting hypotheses about differences in feeding habits between species. Also, a pattern of increasing size with elevation was observed, further supported by specific morphological differences exhibited between highland and lowland lineages inhabiting the same mountain. Our results demonstrate that P. mexicanus is both genetically and morphometrically variable, where most highland montane species are differentiated from lowland species; also, a significant correlation between mitochondrial and morphometric information is indicative of phenetic concordance, altogether in agreement with a recent taxonomic proposal for the group. We suggest that the group's intricate diversification responds to ecological diversification and adaptation to a variety of mountain habitats and Pleistocene biogeographic climatic dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of small objects in ritual contexts has been observed in many civilizations and is usually considered from the perspective of miniaturization. This article aims to broaden this perspective and address the issue in terms of manipulation/modification of dimensions. Based on archaeological and ethnological evidence from Mesoamerica from the fifteenth century to the present, I lay the foundations for a typology of the referent: the person, object, action, or abstract idea to which a symbol refers. First, I examine the forms of miniaturization (with geomorphic and dual referents) and metaphoric miniaturization. I then consider the self-referential system provided by fractals, a system in which each shape is the referent of the pattern represented in the subsequent iteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on two and a half years of ethnographic fieldwork among the Mixe in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, I propose that certain ritual miniaturizations are used as a technique for inaugurating a regime of co-activity between human and nonhuman agents. In this analytic model, miniature elements not only refer to macroscopic activity but also involve categories of actions that humans perform at their own level. Even as they are relevant to interpretations of ritual deposits (sometimes called mesas), food offerings made to establish a relation of exchange with nonhuman agents, I also suggest that the goal of some ritual deposits is to use miniature elements and the perceptive effects they have to create a collaborative framework so that human and nonhuman agents will commit to carrying out a shared task. I present some examples of co-activity in Mesoamerica and in the Andes to suggest that this kind of regime of action constitutes, from both pragmatic and phenomenological points of view, a relational system that these peasant societies have in common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discussion is focus on the chronicle of the Dominican friar Diego Durán, specifi cally on his research about the dramatics aspects of the rituals practiced among the Nahua people of Prehispanic times. Using an ethno historical approach this article presents evidence which shows that dramatic representation was used by the Nahuas to create cultural references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Terminal Classic ( ad 900–1050) was a time of great change in Southeastern Mesoamerica. In many zones, Late Classic large sites were abandoned at least in part, settlement patterns changed, and there were alterations in political economy. In this article, I examine one of the major changes, the development of copper smelting technology, at the site of El Coyote and place this development in the context of wider Southeastern Mesoamerica. In particular, I discuss the Middle Chamelecon–Cacaulapa area (MCC), where El Coyote is located; the Naco Valley, home to the major site of La Sierra; and the Middle Ulua–Jicatuyo drainage, where the site of Gualjoquito is found (Proyecto Santa Bárbara research zone). The three areas share some patterns but nonetheless have their own distinct trajectories of change, with El Coyote in the MCC standing out as the most unusual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy has afflicted humanity during most of the extent of documented history. The Aztecs believed that illnesses were punishments that were sent from a furious goddess. In particular, epilepsy was considered in Aztec culture as a “sacred disease”, and convulsions were traditionally associated with a deified woman who had died at childbirth. As the goddess Shiva and Apasmâra in ancient India and Saint Valentine in Germany, Tlazolteotl was considered able to bring about and send away epilepsy. We performed a comprehensive review to identify Tlazolteotl depictions and its historical context related with epilepsy. Tlazolteotl is one of the most endearing and complex goddesses of the Mesoamericans. She was the deity of the black fertile and fecund earth that gains its energy from death and in turn feeds life. Associated with purification, expiation, and regeneration, she embodied fertility and turned all garbage, physical and metaphysical, into rich life. This article reviews the most relevant artistic works related with Tlazolteotl. We also present a modern depiction of the Aztec goddess of epilepsy from the Mexican artist Eduardo Urbano Merino, displaying the supernatural view of epilepsy in America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth is rarely examined for ancient states and empires despite its prominence as a topic in modern economies. The concept is debated, and many measures of growth are inaccessible for most of the ancient world, such as gross domestic product (GDP). Scholars generally have been pessimistic about ancient economic growth, but expectations derived from dramatic growth in modern economies can lead to overlooking important evidence about economic change in the past. The measure of economic growth that we adopt focuses on the economic well-being of ordinary households. We evaluate one domain of evidence: imported obsidian implement consumption in the coastal lowlands of Mesoamerica. We situate the obsidian study against a backdrop of ideas concerning economic growth in ancient societies because such topics have received only modest attention for Mesoamerica. For the major Mesoamerican ceramic periods, we (1) display the already-known early technological shift in predominant techniques of obsidian implement production—from percussion and bipolar flakes to prismatic pressure blades—that led to more efficient tool production for long-distance trade, (2) note other lithic technological improvements, and (3) evaluate increased obsidian access with a growing market system in the last centuries of the prehispanic record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teotihuacan in the northeastern Basin of Mexico was an unusually large and influential early city and state. This article reviews recent research trends in Teotihuacan from its founding and explosive growth ca. 100 BC into the largest city in Mesoamerica. Biogenetics provide details of how immigration fueled the city's growth and shaped its multiethnic composition and link Teotihuacan to other parts of the central highlands and more distant regions. Urban theory highlights the importance of neighborhoods and how their composition changed. Collective aspects of irrigation, markets, warfare and the military, and ideology encouraged the development of Teotihuacan's corporate governance. Although Teotihuacan politically dominated central Mexico, its control over the regional economy was not as centralized. Beyond its hinterland, Teotihuacan's foreign relations were a mosaic of trade diasporas, diplomatic exchanges, pilgrimages, emulation, and strategic direct interventions of limited duration. As its foreign influence retracted, Teotihuacan faced challenges from its hinterlands and intermediate elites and factions that culminated in the burning and desecration of the urban center. The Epiclassic saw the change from Teotihuacan's regional state to city-states and confederations. Although much reduced in size, Postclassic Teotihuacan retained an enormous legacy that subsequent states sought for their historical validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The casting of maize seeds is a tool used by contemporary daykeepers in the Ayöök (Mixe) area of Oaxaca, Mexico, which along with the prognostications and prescriptions of the 260-day calendar, helps to cure illnesses and afflictions. This divinatory practice was also employed by precolonial tonalpouhque, who were experts of reading the tonalamatl, the pictographic manuscripts with calendrical, ritual and oracular content, such as the now called Borgia Group codices. In this article maize divination will be described and analyzed, arguing that maize divination results in images that can be read in a similar way to these codices. The reading of maize is approached here by employing the concepts of signs and symbols as described by Carl Jung and the notions of chronotope and dialogical narratives by Mikhail Bakhtin. The Jungian understanding of divinatory practices as a means of gaining consciousness of oneself is also applied to argue in favor of the therapeutic capacity of reading maize, as it offers relief and triggers action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic analysis of extinction threat is an emerging tool in the field of conservation. However, there are problems with the methods and data as commonly used. Phylogenetic sampling usually extends to the level of family or genus, but International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rankings are available only for individual species, and, although different species within a taxonomic group may have the same IUCN rank, the species may have been ranked as such for different reasons. Therefore, IUCN rank may not reflect evolutionary history and thus may not be appropriate for use in a phylogenetic context. To be used appropriately, threat-risk data should reflect the cause of extinction threat rather than the IUCN threat ranking. In a case study of the toad genus Incilius, with phylogenetic sampling at the species level (so that the resolution of the phylogeny matches character data from the IUCN Red List), we analyzed causes of decline and IUCN threat rankings by calculating metrics of phylogenetic signal (such as Fritz and Purvis' D). We also analyzed the extent to which cause of decline and threat ranking overlap by calculating phylogenetic correlation between these 2 types of character data. Incilius species varied greatly in both threat ranking and cause of decline; this variability would be lost at a coarser taxonomic resolution. We found far more phylogenetic signal, likely correlated with evolutionary history, for causes of decline than for IUCN threat ranking. Individual causes of decline and IUCN threat rankings were largely uncorrelated on the phylogeny. Our results demonstrate the importance of character selection and taxonomic resolution when extinction threat is analyzed in a phylogenetic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Ochterus is revised for Mesoamerica and the continental United States. The fauna as currently understood contains ten previously described species, and the following ten new species described herein: O. chiapensis from southeastern Mexico, O. costaricensis from Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador, O. explanatus from western Mexico, O. mexicanus from central Mexico, O. obscurus from Costa Rica, O. ovatus from southeastern Mexico, O. panamensis from Panama, O. pseudorotundus from northeastern Mexico, O. shepardi from Costa Rica, and O. smaragdinus from southeastern Mexico. Ochterus flaviclavus Barber is shown to represent an intraspecific color morph of O. banksi Barber and is synonymized under the latter species. Color photographs of the dorsal body and frons, as well as line drawings of male genitalic structures, are provided for all species treated, accompanied by distribution maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of food production in Mesoamerica was a complex and protracted process. We argue that while maize had been cultivated for many millennia, this cereal grain assumed a markedly more important role in the political economy of the Soconusco (and elsewhere in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize) only after 1000 cal BC. Macrobotanical data from the long-occupied village of Cuauhtémoc document low-level maize production from 1900 to 1400 cal BC with a significant increase during the final centuries of the site’s occupation after 1000 cal BC. Botanical evidence of increased maize consumption at this time occurred with evidence for changing groundstone use, intensified exploitation of dog and deer as well as iconography linking maize with rulership. This was also when monumental architecture was first built to mark a regional hierarchy of political centers. Changes evident in the Soconusco at 1000 cal BC parallel transformations in both highland and lowland regions of Mesoamerica when ceramic-using villagers expanded into new environments, farther away from the permanent water sources favored by Late Archaic and Early Formative peoples. We interpret the changes evident at 1000 cal BC in terms of both proximate historical factors as well as ultimate adaptive causes to produce a fuller understanding of changing Mesoamerican food production practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ixchelia, a new genus of Violaceae, is described and illustrated, and new combinations are made for its two species, Ixchelia mexicana and Ixchelia uxpanapana, which are transferred from Hybanthus and Rinorea, respectively. In previous molecular phylogenetic studies, both Hybanthus and Rinorea have been shown to be polyphyletic, necessitating the erection of several genera for the constituent clades. Our recognition of Ixchelia as a distinct genus is based on morphological data and molecular phylogenetic evidence, both of which support its monophyly and its significant divergence from related genera. The new genus is most closely related to the Hawaiian endemic genus Isodendrion and the New World genus Pombalia, but it differs from them by having one to several flowers per inflorescence, a weakly zygomorphic corolla, the basal portion of the petals not fused, the stamen filaments fused into a tube, and the fruits containing three subspherical-ovoid seeds per capsule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]