Leiden University logo.

nl en

Congratulations to Eduardo Herrera Malatesta!

On the 15th of March Eduardo Herrera Malatesta successfully defended his PhD dissertation in the Klein Auditorium at Leiden University. Congratulations!!

Eduardo awarded his doctorate degree after a successful defense

Una Isla, Dos Mundos: Estudio arqueológico sobre el paisaje indígena de Haytí y su transofrmación al paisaje colonial de La Española (1200 - 1550)

Eduardo's research studies the transformation of the indigenous landscape before, during, and after European arrival in the island of Hispaniola at various spatial and temporal scales. 

Abstract
The arrival of Columbus to the Caribbean in 1492 marked a milestone in world history. In both the European and the indigenous world, a set of economic, political and hierarchical networks and relations were defined, structured and changed. To approach the transformations that took place in the indigenous world a regional archaeological investigation (coast of the Montecristi province, Dominican Republic) was combined with a theoretical framework that integrated: the concepts of taskscape and contested landscapes with statistical analysis and Geographic Information Systems, to evaluate the patterns of material culture distribution and its cultural implications. This allowed indigenous taskscapes to be defined at different spatial scales, which in turn permitted the delineation of the indigenous landscape before the arrival of Columbus. The archaeological results were compared with evidence from the early colonial chronicles and cartography for the north of the island. This comparison highlighted the spatial and material bases for the transformation of the indigenous landscape. The final results were encapsulated by two transformations of the indigenous landscape, called the Everyday Level, and the Imaginary Level.

Eduardo with the board of examiners and his two paranymphs

Eduardo's dissertation is available online in the Leiden Repository or at Sidestone

This website uses cookies.  More information.