Ceramics of the Indigenous Cultures in South America: Studies of Production and Exchange using INAA

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.