Material Culture Change, Continuity, and Innovation at Postclassic and Early Colonial Achiutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

Summary

In this poster, I present results of an analysis of ceramic materials recovered from domestic contexts at the Postclassic and Colonial site of Achiutla, located in the Mixtec highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico. Materials from distinct household middens corresponding to the Postclassic and Colonial periods, respectively, facilitate intra-site comparisons of domestic ceramic assemblages, providing insights regarding cultural change and continuity at the micro-level over the course of the Spanish Conquest.

Results suggest intriguing patterns that confound traditional models of acculturation. For example, despite indications that indigenous peoples of Achiutla rapidly adopted European-introduced ceramic technologies, such as glazes and the potter’s wheel, Spanish-influenced pottery did not replace traditional wares; in fact, far from it. Certain native-style decorated serving wares, such as polychromes, not only persist from the Postclassic period into Colonial times—they become significantly more frequent, though with considerable changes in formal characteristics and design motifs. This suggests not simply the endurance of an indigenous ceramic tradition, but instead a reformulation and florescence of one.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Comparative Approaches to Postclassic Mesoamerican Ceramics

Keywords

Spatial Coverage