LA-ICP-MS Analysis of Nasca Ceramics from the Residential Sector at Cerro Tortolita, Ica, Peru

Summary

Excavations in 2014 at Cerro Tortolita, an Early Intermediate Period (EIP; ca. 100 BCE-600 CE) site located in the Upper Ica Valley, Peru revealed it to be a local ceremonial center with a dense, residential component. Work at the site revealed a high quantity of Nasca polychrome ceramics from the residential sector, many of which feature technical characteristics (e.g. paint and paste) that are distinct from Southern Nasca Region (SNR) polychromes, suggesting that they are of local origin. In this study, we present the results of Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), of the pastes of a sample of ceramics from the residential sector of the site. We compare the composition of Cerro Tortolita’s ceramics with that of Nasca ceramics previously analyzed from the SNR. We aim to better understand the production and use of ceramics in the Upper Ica Valley during the EIP, and ultimately hope to inform our understanding of the wider pilgrimage network on the south coast of Peru during this period.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• From Foragers to Empires: Recent Research on the South Coast of Peru

Keywords

Spatial Coverage