Landfalls, Sunbursts, and the Capacha Problem: The Case for a Pacific Coastal Interaction Community in Early Formative Period Mesoamerica

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Coastal Connections: Pacific Coastal Links from Mexico to Ecuador" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the 1960s, Ford argued that the first Pacific coastal Mexican pottery should more closely resemble that of northern South America than of early highland Mexican wares of the Tehuacán tradition. In the 1970s and 1980s, Kelly argued that Colima’s Capacha phase represented one of several "landfalls" of technological and stylistic influence emanating from its southern font among Valdivia, Machalilla, or Puerto Hormiga potters. Revisiting of Ford’s arguments in the 1990s suggested independent development of ceramics in various parts of the Americas, and determined that interregional similarities are too scant to signify diffusion from South America. Locona pottery from the Soconusco, markedly dissimilar from South American wares, further muddied the waters by suggesting Central American influences to some. Recently, archaeologists applying Appadurai’s concept of "disjuncture" have argued for interaction models emphasizing both similarity and difference to better reflect complex interactions fraught with opportunity and tension. In this paper, I consider early Pacific coastal pottery from Colima, Oaxaca, and Ecuador. I find that indicators of interaction exist and suggest at least two major sources of technological influence in Early Formative Mesoamerica. Understanding local implications of these interactions, and thus the actual advent of pottery in several regions, will require more evidence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Coastal Connections: Pacific Coastal Links from Mexico to Ecuador

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24452