An examination of regional variation in early Middle Preclassic ceramics of the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico

Summary

In the last decade, major strides have been made in the study of early ceramics in the northern Maya lowlands. Long considered to lack ceramic occupations dating before the late Middle Preclassic (600-300 B.C.) it is now recognized that communities were founded throughout much of the northern Maya lowlands, particularly in the Puuc and northwestern Yucatan peninsula, by 900-800 B.C. This paper examines similarities and differences among these early pottery complexes at various occupations in the Puuc region. Although early ceramic using communities show similarities in a number of ceramic types and varieties, regional variation is present even at this early date. Variation among the earliest ceramic complexes in the northern Maya lowlands suggests that despite culturally similar roots, communities were expressing their identity at the local level through their pottery, perhaps hinting at even earlier occupation of the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Bolonchén Regional Archaeological Project: Sixteen Years of Investigating Maya Society in the Eastern Puuc Region from the Preclassic through the Historical Period

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