Matson's definition of ceramic ecology included an emphasis on “the functions in [the potter's] culture of the products [the potter] fashions” (1965:203). The suite of possible product functions will not be considered here. The ceramics produced in the Tuxtlas are primarily used for cooking and serving; this discussion presents information on the use and use-lives of this utilitarian pottery.

This section begins by considering variability in the frequency and proportion of ceramic vessels within the sample of fifty households. Differences in these measures are the result of two regulating forces. Assemblage diversity, or the occurrence of different pottery forms, is strongly associated with the techniques of food preparation practiced in the household (also Nelson 1985; Rice 1984a:245–246). Within households whose corn is ground mechanically, the containers used to boil corn are more likely to be metal. Those households processing corn by hand (using manos and metates) are more likely to have specific pottery vessels used in corn preparation.

A second factor conditioning assemblage size is access to replacement vessels. Access comprises several variables; among them are the number of potters within the community making the vessel type, the distance to the market, and the price of the vessel. Access to ceramics is used to investigate the interaction between household populations and assemblage size. The ethnoarchaeological literature suggests a poor correlation between the number of persons within the household and the frequency of pots within the assemblage (e.g. Kramer 1985:91–92).