Precolonial Ceramic Tradition and Cariban Language Family in Amazonia: Do They Match?

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Andean and Amazonian Ceramics: Advances in Technological Studies" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The origins and the dispersal of the most widespread language families in the world is one of the enduring problems that bring together archaeology, linguistics, and genetics. In Amazonia, archaeological research has tentatively associated ceramic traditions (grouping different technological styles) and the expansion of the major language families. As in other places, historical scenarios are disputed between models based on descent from common ancestry and those based on diffusion by social interaction. One fundamental drawback of the Amazonian archaeolinguistics models is that they mostly rely on temper and decoration techniques frequencies. Ethnoarchaeological studies show that, generally, the best ceramic proxies for phylogenetic relationships are forming methods and techniques because they are more resistant to change and borrowing. Considering this assumption, the presentation will focus on the manufacture of Incised Punctuated Tradition (IPT) pottery and its hypothetical correlation to Cariban language family in the Lower Amazon. Macroscopic analysis and computed tomography are used to unveil and compare chaîne opératoires of three contemporary IPT styles (~1000–1600 CE) and one unrelated Pocó Tradition assemblage (~1000 BCE–500 CE). Contrasting the Andes, Amazonian potting traditions seem more homogenous throughout the region, posing an additional challenge for tracking cultural ancestry.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Andean and Amazonian Ceramics: Advances in Technological Studies   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35762.0