Tracking 1,600 Years of Ceramic Technology at Prehispanic Jecosh (Ancash, Peru)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Cross-Cultural Petrographic Studies of Ceramic Traditions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

How do ebbs and flows in regional trade relations affect village level practices of pottery production? We assess this question by tracking variability and continuity in ceramic technological traditions at the site of Jecosh, located in the Callejón de Huaylas of Ancash, Peru. Recent excavations of domestic and mortuary structures at Jecosh revealed a continual site occupation, beginning with the Huarás cultural tradition (~100BCE-200CE) and enduring through the Inka occupation of the valley (1450-1534CE). Jecosh’s residents had access to a diverse ceramic assemblage throughout this time, including Recuay kaolin finewares, and later, coarse Aquilpo styles. Easily accessible clay sources and tempering materials near Jecosh, as well as possible ceramic production tools recovered from excavations, suggest that locals likely produced much of their pottery. Here we present the results of a sample of petrographic thin-sections (n=97) of 46 paste groups. We examine their technological differences, compare their composition with local geological samples, and situate findings within regional politico-economic trends. This preliminary study will yield insights into shifting potting traditions at Jecosh. Further, as the first petrographic study of Huarás and Recuay pottery, we will expand scholarly understandings of these iconic prehispanic styles and the people who produced and used them.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Cross-Cultural Petrographic Studies of Ceramic Traditions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23382