Organic Inclusions in Amazonian Ceramics: A Petrographic Approach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Step by Step: Tracing World Potting Traditions through Ceramic Petrography" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Organic inclusions, such as freshwater spicules (cauixi) and tree bark ash (caraipé) are one of the most diagnostic elements of pottery production in the Amazon basin. At the Monte Castelo shell mound (southwestern Amazonia), Bacabal pottery represents the widespread use of sponge spicules in the ceramic paste, from ca. 4000 BP. Bacabal pottery is one of the oldest in Amazonia and petrographic analyses revealed a pottery recipe kept for nearly 3,000 years that involved a relatively unchanged proportion of clay and sponge spicules in the paste. Petrographic data, combined with regional sampling of clay sources, expanded the discussion of intentional addition of spicules to the ceramic paste and/or selection of naturally sponge-rich clay sources. The promising results allowed new lines of work, extending the petrographic studies done at Monte Castelo to other sites in the Southwest, Central, and Lower Amazon. Here we will present the results of the petrographic study of Bacabal pottery and new research focusing on the development and use of organic material in Amazonian ceramics, its technological advantages, and geographical and cultural expansion.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Step by Step: Tracing World Potting Traditions through Ceramic Petrography   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37194.0