Material Culture Correlates of Polity Restructuring and Decline: Changes in Ceramic Production and Use at the End of the Late Classic Period in the Copan Valley

Summary

Features of material culture can be actively constructed and transparently manipulated to various sociopolitical ends, with the installation of elaborate monuments and possession of ornate goods making bold statements of power and authority. While other more common elements of material culture may provide perhaps less conspicuous commentary on the "state of the union," they can also be equally symbolic of the conditions under which they were created. This paper examines the material culture (specifically, ceramic) correlates of the Copan polity’s decline at the end of the Late Classic period and what specific patterns of ceramic production, distribution and use may reveal about the effects of the sociopolitical, economic and demographic changes that characterize this era of Copan’s history.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Copan II: The Late Classic, Terminal Classic, and Postclassic Periods   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14540