Thin Section Petrography of Inka Pottery from Pachacamac, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study investigates the organization of production for Inka pottery at Pachacamac from several contexts throughout the site’s ceremonial core and elite residential sector. Pachacamac was a major Ychsma center on Peru’s central coast that was transformed into a major Inka provincial center around 1470 C.E. The Inka constructed a number of buildings and spaces at Pachacamac and Inka pottery is prevalent in many contexts. Inka polychrome (a style which originates in the Inka capital of Cuzco but is found widely throughout the empire), blackware (which combines elements of Inka pottery with those of the Chimú empire from the north coast), and other regional styles of Inka pottery, along with local Ychsma pottery, are analyzed. Results indicate multiple fabrics used in producing Inka pottery that was used at Pachacamac. Some of these fabrics match those used to produce local Ychsma pottery. Multiple decorative styles of Inka pottery also are found using the same fabric. Data from thin section petrography are combined with data collected using Neutron Activation Analysis as well as other metric and stylistic attributes of pottery to reconstruct the organization of production.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33447