Reconstructing Technological Traditions and Interaction in the Precolonial Middle Orinoco: Ceramics in Mono- and Multiethnic Communities in the Amazon Basin (AD 1000–1500)

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.

Ceramic analyzes in precolonial archaeological sites in the Orinoco followed cultural history and ecological and evolutionary frameworks. However, the co-occurrence of different ceramic styles within common periods in multicomponent sites was not fully addressed, sometimes assuming it was the result of trade or from functional specialization. This co-occurrence phenomenon was common on the Picure (cal AD 310–1480) and the Rabo de Cochino (cal 100 BC–AD 1440) archaeological sites, situated on the Átures Rapids (Middle Orinoco), historically characterized as a center of commerce in the contact period. To identify whether the ceramic styles found corresponded to trading activities or belonged to the same community, various analyzes were conducted as part of a doctoral research at UCL. Using macro- and microscopic analyses (macro-trace, petrography, portable X-ray fluorescence), we reconstructed the chaîne opératoires of the different ceramic materials recovered in the later period (AD 1000–1500) on both sites. We were able to distinguish between local and exogenous ceramics based on raw materials and manufacturing techniques, which confirm trading activity prior to the Europeans arrival to the area. Research also suggests multi- and mono-ethnic communities producing and using hybrid or plural tableware, addressing precolonial pottery production and circulation.

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): 35664.0