Before Calchaquí. The Formative Period and Middle Horizon ceramics in Northwest Argentina

Summary

This paper gives a characterization of the ceramic styles as well as the forms and functions of vessels and, broadly, the production of pottery in the village societies that inhabited the southern Calchaquí Valleys (Northwestern Argentina) during Formative period and Middle Horizon (first millennium AD). The study of ceramics in Northwestern Argentina has traditionally been centred on descriptions, taking decorative motives as fundamental evidence in the definition of styles and periodization. From this perspective, style is generally understood more from the point of view of an observer than from the perspective of the potter. Following an examination of the main settlements of these periods, the extent of styles recognized until now is considered. Then, results of new chronological-stylistic analysis based on the study of museum collections are offered. Changes in the main traditions are discussed as well as correlation and disjuncture from previous classifications. Morpho-functional and petrographic studies recently performed on fragments and vessels found at excavations in Cajón and Santa María Valleys are then provided. Pottery manufactures are compared with those from other sites in the region to display an overview of ceramic production of pre-Hispanic agro-pastoral societies that inhabited the Southern Andean Area previous to the Calchaquí populations.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage