Pottery Compositional Studies Through NAA and Petrography from Northwestern Argentine: A Case Study from Southern sector of Abaucán Valley (Catamarca)

Summary

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 use of ceramic raw materials along the region. Results from the NAA and petrographic analyses provide new data concerning local versus non-local pottery production and vessel exchange for these two pre-Hispanic cultural periods. Chemical data demonstrate the use of different clay sources through time until the Inka appearance in the region, when a more structured and controlled production is observed. Petrographic analyses show a similar change in the ceramic pastes recipes used by ancient potters.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Ceramics of the Indigenous Cultures in South America: Studies of Production and Exchange using INAA

Keywords

Spatial Coverage