Local Political Economies at Angamuco, Michoacán: Insights from Ceramic Archaeometry

Summary

A key goal in the study of ancient artifacts is determining their provenance. Such information can provide insight into the production and consumption of artifacts, but may also inform discussions about local political economies. Our study uses qualitative optical petrography and geochemical analysis (NAA) to evaluate the tempers and paste recipes in ceramic fragments and raw clays from Angamuco, located in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Michoacán. Angamuco was occupied before and throughout the development of the Purépecha Empire (1350-1530 CE) and is thus an important case study for understanding the impacts of political change on urban landscapes. Angamuco appears to have been relatively self-sufficient in pottery production, beginning in the Classic and through the Postclassic, including during imperial incorporation. While we did identify some temporal and spatial variation in ceramic production and consumption, pottery technologies and techniques of manufacture appear to have remained relatively stable over long periods of time. Our data point to multiple small-scale producers, who focused on local clays and tempers, generating numerous, complex paste recipes. The results of this analysis contribute to our understanding of ceramic production processes at Angamuco and may be compared to provenance studies in Western Mexico and elsewhere.

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): 20350