The Llamitas of Wiñaymarka: Individual Potters, Communities of Practice, and the Organization of Production for Pacajes Pottery in the Southern Titicaca Basin, Bolivia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Pacajes pottery is commonly found throughout Qullasuyu, the southern quarter of the Inka empire. Originating in Bolivia, it saw wider distribution after Inka expansion through the region. One specific form common of this style is a shallow plate decorated with small, black stylized llamas repeating at regular intervals over a red interior. Evidence for the organization of Inka pottery production is diverse, and includes production at a central workshop with distribution across a region, as seen in the northern Titicaca basin at Milliraya. This research examines aspects of production and decoration for these llama-decorated plates from three locations in Bolivia: Tiwanaku, Isla Paco, and Urujito, to address the questions: were these plates made in one or multiple locations, and were they made by the same community or different communities of potters? How many individuals comprised that community? And, were the same potters forming and decorating this pottery? Data from brush stroke analysis of the llamas are combined with metrics related to form and macroscopic paste groups to better understand the organization of production for Pacajes pottery in this region and the relationships between these three locations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36694.0