Ethnoarchaeological Survey in Santo Domingo Tonaltepec, Oaxaca

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Regional and Intensive Site Survey: Case Studies from Mesoamerica" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Tonaltepec Ethnoarchaeological Project focused on one of the few surviving pottery-producing communities in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca. The project investigated whether Tonaltepec’s contemporary tradition of pottery production can be traced back to prehispanic times. To do this, we conducted ethnographic research and video recordings with modern potters, along with a full coverage archaeological survey in the municipal territory. The survey not only recorded all archaeological evidence of ancient human activity and habitation, but also the location of clay and temper sources used in contemporary pottery production. The ethnographic and archaeological data recovered provide insights on the social organization and processes of pottery production and their role in influencing settlement patterns in the area. These data also provide information on the construction and abandonment of agricultural terraces and the spatial relationship between the raw material sources and the location of potters’ households. Finally, Tonaltepec was the site of a violent conflict with a neighboring community in the early twentieth century, which resulted in the sudden abandonment of numerous households. This specific historical context paired with our survey results allows us to test models of settlement abandonment and their material correlates.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Regional and Intensive Site Survey: Case Studies from Mesoamerica   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24111