Compositional and Lead Isotope Analyses of Carretas and Huerigos Polychrome from Northwestern Chihuahua

Summary

The northern Mexican state of Chihuahua contains many little-known archaeological sites. Established collections, such as E.B. Sayles’s 1933 survey collection, can provide new insights using analytic techniques not available when they were originally acquired. We analyzed a subset of Sayles’s collection, including Carretas and Huérigos polychrome ceramic types, for glaze compositional information and geographic sourcing of the lead flux. Analyzing the samples using laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) determined new compositional information. Isotopic analysis using acid dissolution ICP-MS and subsequent comparison with previously analyzed samples from lead ore mines in the Chihuahua area contributed to geographic sourcing of the lead component. Chemical characterization suggests that both Carretas and Huérigos polychromes used similar, consistent and effective glaze recipes in their creation. Lead isotope ratios suggest pottery creators likely procured ore for glaze-paint production from mines in northern Chihuahua. However, lack of comparative isotopic data from the immediate area around sampled sites means the comparisons and conclusions presented here are preliminary.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14406