Analyzing Highland and Coastal Ceramic Techniques of Production in the Middle Horizon Period

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Bridging Time, Space, and Species: Over 20 Years of Archaeological Insights from the Cañoncillo Complex, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, Part 2" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The relationship between coastal and highland cultural groups during the Middle Horizon remains widely debated and still not fully understood. Scholars have argued that “Coastal Cajamarca” plates found in Moche sites on the coast are local imitations of high-quality kaolin plates from the Cajamarca polity in the Highlands. My research examines the production techniques employed in the creation of “Coastal Cajamarca” plates with other Moche and Cajamarca ceramic styles retrieved from the Late Moche (AD 500–800) archaeological site, Huaca Colorada, in the Jequetepeque Valley along the North Coast of Peru. By comparing techniques of production, my investigation challenges the prevailing notion that “Coastal Cajamarca” vessels were imitations of foreign elite wares. Rather, they were not local creations but were introduced to the site alongside other highland Cajamarca ceramics, including the distinctive “Kaolin Plates” and utilitarian “Cajamarca Coarse Red” ceramics. Employing technological analysis, I illustrate the shared production techniques between “Coastal Cajamarca” ceramics and highland vessels, distinct from the methods used in crafting local Moche ceramics. This finding underscores that these ceramics signify more than the movement of elite goods or the copying of foreign elite styles by local Moche artisans.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bridging Time, Space, and Species: Over 20 Years of Archaeological Insights from the Cañoncillo Complex, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, Part 2   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38479.0