Blue on Clay: Indigo as a Colorant in Andean Post-Fired Ceramic Paints

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Plant Exudates and Other Binders, Adhesives, and Coatings in the Americas" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Indigo (*Indigofera) is a recognized plant exudate employed in cloth dyes to produce the color blue. In Andean South America, indigoid dyes have been identified in textiles as early as about 4200 BCE. While in other parts of the Americas the plant is utilized as a ceramic pigment (e.g., “Maya Blue”), in the ancient Andes its use as a paint colorant is virtually unknown. In this paper, we discuss the results of our recent study that demonstrate the presence of the exudate in Paracas (ca. 900–100 BCE) post-fired ceramic paints. Also identified in the paint are uric compounds consistent with reptile excrement. Use of the mixture occurs during a transition period with the Nasca (100 BCE) in which innovations in architecture, iconography, and craft technology are evident. Our discussion centers on how the plant figures within the broader context of these social, iconographic, and technological changes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Plant Exudates and Other Binders, Adhesives, and Coatings in the Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33078