Sugar, Alcohol, and Toys: Uses and Changes in Pottery Following the Spanish Conquest of Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recent Archaeological Investigations in Chiapas, Mexico" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Following the work presented in SAA 2023 about identifying specialized potters in the Comitán Valley of Chiapas, a study of change brought by the Spanish conquerors is presented. The local potters had to innovate as their work was integrated into sugar cane processing via the molds or “pilónes” used to crystalize sugar as well as water-carrying jars used in distillation processes of liquor. Archaeological, historical, and ethnographic data is presented to understand how tracking these changes helps to get a broader understanding of the acculturation of local pottery traditions as a historical development. Ethnographic work tells the story of how the use of pottery in sugar making was abruptly stopped for political reasons as an example of the way material culture is impacted by sociopolitical phenomenons.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Archaeological Investigations in Chiapas, Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39780.0