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WORKING WITH CLAY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2015

Rosemary A. Joyce ,
Julia A. Hendon  and
Jeanne Lopiparo
Rosemary A. Joyce*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720–3710
Julia A. Hendon
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325
Jeanne Lopiparo
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee 38112–1690
*
E-mail correspondence to: rajoyce@berkeley.edu
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Abstract

Evidence from sites in the lower Ulua valley of north-central Honduras, occupied between a.d. 500 and 1000, provides new insight into the connections between households, craft production, and the role of objects in maintaining social relations within and across households. Production of pottery vessels, figurines, and other items in a household context has been documented at several sites in the valley, including Cerro Palenque, Travesía, Campo Dos, and Campo Pineda. Differences in raw materials, in what was made, and in the size and design of firing facilities allow us to explore how crafting with clay created communities of practice made up of people with varying levels of knowledge, experience, and skill. We argue that focusing on the specific features of a particular craft and the crafter's perspective gives us insight into the ways that crafting contributed to the reproduction of social identities, local histories, and connections among members of communities of practice who comprised multicrafting households.

Type
Special Section: Households Make History in Ancient Mesoamerica
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , Fall 2014 , pp. 411 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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