Making and Moving Pottery in the Northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru

Summary

Pukara, in the northern Lake Titicaca Basin, was a regional center during the Late Formative Period (200 BC- AD 200). The Classic Pukara style is associated with monumental public constructions and sunken temples, elaborate stone sculpture, and a unique polychrome pottery tradition. Spotted felines, disembodied heads, camelids and plants, and anthropomorphic figures were incised and painted on incense burners, trumpets, and other special purpose ceramic vessels that were circulated in the Titicaca Basin and to neighboring regions. While there is limited direct evidence of ceramic production at Pukara, previous researchers have inferred centralized fineware production based on standardization measures such as size, shape, paste, and surface finish recorded from various collections. To further explore the nature of crafting practices during the Late Formative at Pukara, compositional analysis using LA-ICP-MS was recently completed of 150 samples, including clays collected near Pucará town and archaeological ceramics excavated from Pukara. We present the results of these analyses, which are used to address functional, chronological, and spatial variability in the production, circulation and consumption of Pukara utilitarian and ritual vessels during the Late Formative period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20353