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A Ceramic Compositional Perspective on the Formative to Classic Transition in Southern Mesoamerica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hector Neff ,
Frederick J. Bove ,
Eugenia J. Robinson  and
Barbara Arroyo L.
Hector Neff
Affiliation:
Missouri University Research Reactor and Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
Frederick J. Bove
Affiliation:
Mesoamerican Research Center, Community and Organization Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Eugenia J. Robinson
Affiliation:
Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
Barbara Arroyo L.
Affiliation:
Gua 006, P.O. Box 02-5368, Miami, FL 33102
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Abstract

We use neutron-activation analysis data on Formative- and Classic-period pottery along with analyses of modern ceramics and raw materials to examine changes in ceramic production and consumption on the central Guatemalan Pacific slope at the beginning of the Classic period. In particular, we wonder if the processes that generated regional distributions of two Formative-period wares (White Paste and Fine Red) were the same as or different from the processes that generated regional distribution of Classic-period Flesh ware. We identify probable production zones for the three regionally distributed wares based on raw-material analyses, consideration of the geological context of different zones, and distributional evidence. We find major differences between production/consumption of the Formative and Classic regionally distributed wares. This reinforces the notion that some kind of dramatic historical discontinuity affected the lives of Pacific-slope people around A. D. 200.

Usamos datos de composición producidos por medio de análisis por activación de neutrones para examinar cambios de producción y consumo de alfarería a los inicios del horizonte Clásico en el declive Pacífico de Guatemala central. Queremos averiguar si los procesos que engendraron distribuciones regionales de dos vajillas Formativas (Rojo Fino y Pasta Blanca) son iguales o no a los procesos responsables para la distribución regional de la vajilla “Flesh” del horizonte Clásico. Identificamos probables zonas de producción de las tres vajillas con base en el análisis de material crudo, información sobre el contexto geológico, e información sobre sus distribuciones arqueológicas. Nuestra conclusión es que hubieron diferencias grandes entre producción y consumo de vajillas de distribución regional entre el Formativo y el Clásico. Esta conclusión refuerza la idea de que un evento repentino y dramático afectó la vida de la gente de esta región alrededor de 200 D.C.

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Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1994 , pp. 333 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1994

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