Ceramics of the Indigenous Cultures in South America: Studies of Production and Exchange using INAA
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)
Indigenous peoples of South America produced a diverse assortment of ceramics ranging from the common to the artistic with many types characterized by symbolic, religious imagery. In some areas, pottery was mass produced for the general population as well as the elite. Reliance on compositional data from instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to study production and exchange practices of indigenous ceramics from the continent of South America has grown over the past two decades. In some instances, the data from other analytical methods have been integrated with data from INAA to extend the investigations toward more complex questions. In this poster symposium, several case studies will be presented facilitating comparisons and contrasts between regions.
Other Keywords
Ceramics •
INAA •
Neutron Activation Analysis •
Pottery •
Compositional Analysis •
Chemistry •
Archaeometry •
Wari •
pilgrimage •
Northwest Argentina
Geographic Keywords
South America
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-9 of 9)
- Documents (9)
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Compositional Study of Pre-Hispanic Ceramics from Eastern Bolivia (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Ceramics from three archaeological areas in the dry lowlands of eastern Bolivia were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The resulting compositional data were analyzed statistically to identify potential patterns of manufacture and distribution. Samples were selected from three archaeological areas investigated prior to construction of the Bolivia-Brazil Natural Gas Pipeline in 1997-1998: 1) Rio Grande; 2) Bañados del Izozog; and 3) an inter-riverine area in the Gran...
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A Database of Neutron Activation Analysis Characterizing Indigenous Ceramics from South America (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The earliest ceramics in South America were made by the indigenous peoples at least 7500 years BP. Ceramics were used for a variety of purposes, including cooking and storage vessels, funerary urns, toys, ceremonial items, sculptures and other art forms. Over the past 25 years, the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor has performed neutron activation analysis on more than 7,000 ceramics and clays from locations throughout South America to establish a...
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Elemental Analysis of Chanka Pottery from Wari-era and Post-collapse Settlements using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The Chanka were an ethnically distinct population that occupied territory in modern-day Apurimac, Peru. During the Middle Horizon (MH) (600-1000 AD) Chanka sites considered in this study were situated along roads connecting three major administrative centers of the Wari Empire: Huari, Pikillacta, and Jincamocco. After the imperial collapse during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP) (1000-1476 AD), evidence of increased violence suggests a shift in regional social organization. This study utilized...
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Inka Craft and Ritual Production: Compositional Analysis of Ceramic Pastes and Pigments from the Temple of the Sun, Pachacamac (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In Andean South America during the Late Horizon (AD 1400 - 1532), rituals and ceremonies, both inclusive and exclusive, were a major part of the Inka Empire’s strategy for control of its subjects. These ceremonies involved the use of distinct Inka-style material culture, which has its origins in Cuzco but spread throughout the Andes with the expansion of territory of the empire Tawantinsuyu. The Inka required local craft producers to replicate these imperial styles as a part of their mit’a labor...
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NAA Analysis of Ambato Ceramics from the Southern Andes (Eastern Valleys of Catamarca and Tucuman, Argentina) (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
We analyze the provenience of clays used in the manufacture of Aguada ceramics, mainly black incised, characteristic of the Ambato valley of southeastern Catamarca (Argentina). This ceramic style is also present in lesser quantities in sites of other neighboring valleys/regions, most of it manufactured with the same clay. The research is part of a broader project to study economic organization and the emergence of complex societies in northwestern Argentina. Research that took place in the...
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Neutron Activation Analysis in Archaeological Pottery from Mendoza, Central Western Argentina (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In Mendoza, the first record of pottery has been dated ca. 2000 years BP. The technology used varies in terms of manufacture and decoration. Differences in cultural, social and economic organization were also present in the area. The Atuel and Diamante river basins are in a transition zone, where different kinds of social organization, farmers and pastoralists in the north and hunter-gatherers in the south were present. This variability enhances a debate about analytical ways to approach ceramic...
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Pottery Compositional Studies Through NAA and Petrography from Northwestern Argentine: A Case Study from Southern sector of Abaucán Valley (Catamarca) (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Pottery production during the Late Period (c. AD 900 – 1450) in Northwestern Argentina has been characterized as primarily a household industry, becoming increasingly intensified and concentrated following the appearance of the Inkas in the region. Most pottery production in these chiefdom sociopolitical contexts was for local consumption and distribution following different technological organization schemes expressing several degrees of standardization, specialization, firing technology, and...
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Production and Pilgrimage: Summarizing a Decade of INAA in the Southern Nasca Region (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This poster presents a comprehensive evaluation of INAA work on ceramics from the Southern Nasca Region from the Early Horizon through the Late Intermediate period. For the first time we present previously unpublished work from the Las Trancas Valley in Nasca. The results from the analysis confirm previous studies suggesting centralized production in the region during the Early Intermediate period and decentralized production before and after this period. We attribute this long-term pattern to...
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Wari Ceramic Production in the Heartland and Provinces (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Between 500 and 600 AD, the first expansive state of the central highlands of Peru emerged in the Ayacucho Basin. This state, known as Wari after its capital city located in the same region, established far flung colonies covering much of the mountainous region of modern day Peru. Research in the heartland sites of Conchopata and Wari and in the provincial sites of Cerros Baul and Mejia have yielded new insights into the economic production of the early imperial state, including significant new...