“International” Concepts: A Design Analysis of Yanhuitlan Red on Cream Ceramics from Postclassic Etlatongo

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Cholula to Chachoapan: Celebrating the Career of Michael Lind" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

While the Mixtec region of Oaxaca is famous for its polychrome ceramics, including the iconographically rich “codex style” pottery, in this paper we argue that non-polychrome ceramics also played a significant role in conveying particular messages associated with ongoing social and political rearticulations during the Postclassic period (AD 900–1521). Following Michael Lind’s influential ceramic study from Yucuita and Chachoapan, we present a design analysis of Yanhuitlan Red on Creams (YRC) from the nearby site of Etlatongo. By deconstructing Lind’s foundational “design motifs” into separate design units, we compare the presence and frequency of designs found on YRC ceramics between the three sites. This study demonstrates that YRC vessels shared a basic design layout, while the presence or absence of design elements suggests an aspect of choice in selecting specific decorations over others. However, the characteristics of this ware also display a connection to broader Mesoamerican aesthetic values from this period, known as the Postclassic International Style. We suggest that these designs, familiar and “legible” to a wide audience, may have been utilized as narrative tools in the ritual performance of commensal events.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Cholula to Chachoapan: Celebrating the Career of Michael Lind

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33191