The Search for Sierra Red: Discerning Ceramic Diversity at Late Preclassic Yaxnohcah

Summary

The principal ceramic type for the Petén Late Preclassic period, first identified by Edith Ricketson in the 1930s, and dubbed Sierra Red three decades later, has just about the widest distribution of any ceramic type in the Maya lowlands. In particular, the omnipresent simple flaring walled bowl form is virtually synonymous with the period, yet, after five years of excavation at Preclassic Yaxnohcah, Sierra Red remains an elusive minor type. Middle Preclassic Um Phase is well represented as is the Terminal Preclassic Wob Phase. Excluding a population collapse in Late Preclassic Chay Phase, which seems illogical based on massive and continuous construction data, a case can be made for more diversity in Late Preclassic ceramic production than previously recognized. This paper explores the consequences of such a reality in archaeological interpretation of the Late Preclassic era in the Central Karstic Uplands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Dynamics of the Preclassic in the Heart of the Maya Lowlands

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15422