A Multi-method Analysis of Ceramic Production at Precolumbian Peñitas, Nayarit

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Located along the Rio San Pedro in west central Nayarit, Mexico, the site of Peñitas was an important precolumbian center with at least two major occupational eras, achieving its greatest prominence during the Early/Middle Postclassic period as a major center within the Aztatlán Tradition. While few sites along the coastal plain have received detailed analyses of their ceramic assemblages, Peñitas is one exception. In the 1950s and 1960s, UCLA archaeologist Jacques Bordaz examined not only kilns, but also used the seriation of ceramic types to trace diachronic patterns of ceramic production and use at Peñitas. Using Bordaz’s work as a starting point, this study uses a multi-method approach to better understand ceramic production at Peñitas. Namely, neutron activation analysis as well as ceramic petrography are used to address differences in production techniques as well as variation in the raw materials used. This study has wider implications as previous research has suggested widespread trading of Aztatlán ceramics within the coastal plain. This study demonstrates that this may not be the case. Furthermore, differences in production within the Peñitas assemblage identified through petrographic study may also indicate distinct potter traditions within the site over time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40191.0