Defining the Nochixtlan Miniature: An Analysis of 'Ollitas' from Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Moving the Needle: Expanding the Discourse on Modern Archaeology in Oaxaca Part II" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

While archaeologists across Mesoamerica have long excavated miniaturized ceramic vessels, they receive little attention. Recent shifts in theoretical thinking towards materiality and craft production, however, allow us to better understand miniatures. Previous interpretations of Oaxacan miniatures range from associations with childhood to suggestions of ritual use, but neither perspective incorporates local ontological frameworks. This study focuses on 115 miniature ceramic vessels excavated from two households at Etlatongo, in Oaxaca, Mexico’s Nochixtlan Valley. One was occupied between the late Formative and early Classic periods (CE 150-400 cal., n=20), the other during the Postclassic (CE 1250-1520 cal., n=95). Analysis shows that miniatures are a more diverse category of artifact than expected in proportional and stylistic terms; there is both consistency and variability across the assemblage. Miniatures from the Nochixtlan Valley and the nearby Central Valleys of Oaxaca demonstrate similarities in scale and proportion but significant differences in form and style, suggesting the existence of related-but-distinct communities of practice involved in the production of miniature ceramics. This project challenges assumed notions of miniatures as children's toys; their association with termination events at Etlatongo and an engagement with Ñudzhaui ontologies suggest possible connections with concepts of reciprocity, memory, and place-making.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Moving the Needle: Expanding the Discourse on Modern Archaeology in Oaxaca Part II

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53075