CERAMIC MANUFACTURE IN HUÁNCITO, MICHOACÁN, WESTERN MEXICO An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective (2017) (original) (raw)
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CERAMIC ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY IN HUÁNCITO, MICHOACÁN, MEXICO
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2018
This study deals with pottery production in Huáncito, a Tarascan or Purepecha community in Michoacán, Mexico. The information I have obtained by direct observation during a quarter-century of ethnoarchaeological fieldwork in this town allows me to generate hypotheses to aid in the interpretation of the archaeological record. The main goal of this study is to assist in the interpretation of the material record of ceramic production by means of ethnographic analogy. The observations conducted over a long period of time have given me an invaluable diachronic perspective for understanding many aspects of social change and cultural continuity, including patterns of ceramic manufacture, use, and discard, as well as the use of domestic space and the archaeological visibility of potting activities in the context of the households.
Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology Huancito, Michoacán, Mexico (2014)
How and why do ceramics and their production change through time? Following the perspectives of Dean Arnold, this study tries to answer these questions by tracing social change among potters and changes in the production and distribution of their wares in Huáncito, a Tarascan Indian community located in the Cañada de los Once Pueblos (Michoacán, Mexico). During a period of over 20 years the author has witnessed changes in the families of artisans and the evolution of a ceramic style on a household, community, and regional level. The structural modifications and patterns of cultural continuity discussed in this paper offer a model for ethnographic analogy and archaeological interpretation. This study bridges the gap between archaeology and ethnography, using the analysis of contemporary pottery production and distribution to generate original theoretical explanations for archaeologists working with pre-Hispanic pottery assemblages.
TARASCAN POTTERY PRODUCTION IN MICHOACÁN, MEXICO An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective (2016)
Pottery is one of the most important inventions of humankind. It is thousands of years old, and it is fair to say that without pottery the development of civilization as we know it would have been impossible. Food preparation and storage, religion and ritual, wine making, trade, art, and architecture, among many other human achievements, were all aided by pottery, an artificial material that lent itself to making all kinds of objects, including vessels, figurines, roof tiles, water pipes, fishnet weights, inscribed tablets with the earliest forms of writing, and many other things, in an endless example of human creativity. In recent years high-tech ceramics are used in myriad applications, all of them indispensable for communication, computers, medicine, art, and many more uses than we could list here. This book is about a contemporary Mesoamerican pottery tradition, but it also looks back at the earliest examples of cultural development in this area. By means of ethnographic analogy, this study tries to shed light on a modern indigenous community and on ethnoarchaeological theory, method and practice, undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of archaeological research in Mexico today.
2008
How and why do ceramics and their production change through time? Social Change and the Evolution of Ceramic Production and Distribution in a Maya Community is a unique ethno- archaeological study that attempts to answer these questions by tracing social change among potters and changes in the production and distribution of their pottery in a single Mexican community between 1965 and 1997. Dean E. Arnold made ten visits to Ticul, Yucatan, Mexico, witnessing the changes in transportation infrastructure, the use of piped water, and the development of tourist resorts. Even in this context of social change and changes in the demand for pottery, most of the potters in 1997 came from the families that had made pottery in 1965. This book traces changes and continuities in that population of potters, in the demand and distribution of pottery, and in the procurement of clay and temper, paste composition, forming, and firing. In this volume, Arnold bridges the gap between archaeology and ethnography, using his analysis of contemporary ceramic production and distribution to generate new theoretical explanations for archaeologists working with pottery from antiquity. When the descriptions and explanations of Arnold's findings in Ticul are placed in the context of the literature on craft specialization, a number of insights can be applied to the archaeological record that confirm, contradict, and nuance generalizations concerning the evolution of ceramic specialization. This book will be of special interest to anthropologists, archaeologists, ethnoarchaeologists, ethnographers, and those scholars interested in social change and ceramic production. Although addressing the theme of how production and distribution changes through a period of 32 years, the work is placed in the context of the parameters of craft production and specialization by Costin addressing its strengths and weaknesses. Several chapters are organized as critiques of current theories of technological choice that potters can make any vessel using any technique (van der Leeuw) and whether elite control of ceramic raw materials results in a standardized paste (Rice). One of the more interesting conclusions from the book is that in spite of massive social changes during the last third of the twentieth century, pottery production is still largely organized by households, and the learning and residence of potters still largely conforms to a kin-based model, although such patterns are highly nuanced. The work also shows that different aspects of ceramic production changes at different rates, and one of the consequences of change is the break-up of ceramic production into specialized tasks over time. Throughout the book, the implications of the work for the study of ancient ceramic production is discussed. This is a unique book that chronicles long-term change in ceramic production, and distribution thrugh the last third of the twentieth century, and shows the implication of these data to the study of ceramic production and cultural change in antiquity. (The Table of Contents and the Introduction to the book can be accessed from the publisher's website for the book. Interested parties should click on the link (upcolorado.com) above, and then click on "TOC and sample chapter" at the bottom ("Download Attachments") of the ad the book.)
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017
This paper presents data on Late Formative to Terminal Formative (300 BCE–300 CE) ceramic assemblages that suggest a change in the use of Valley of Oaxaca ceramics and ceramic styles at Cerro Jazmín, Oaxaca, Mexico. We describe the characteristics of 29 dated ceramic assemblages from civic-ceremonial and residential contexts. We present INAA results and chronological trends in the ceramic assemblages that point to a decrease in the use of Valley of Oaxaca gray-ware serving vessels from the Late to Terminal Formative and a significant increase in the use of two types of locally-made serving vessels, one that was stylistically similar to crema vessels from the Valley of Oaxaca and another that was stylistically distinct and widespread in the Mixteca Alta, but rare in the Za-potec region. These serving vessels would have featured prominently in domestic and public food-consumption events. We interpret this shift as evidence of Cerro Jazmín's political and cultural independence, centuries after it was first established. Resumen: En este artículo se presentan datos de colecciones cerámicas del Formativo tardío y terminal (300 a.C.– 300 d.C.) del sitio mixteco llamado Cerro Jazmín, en Oaxaca, México. A través de la descripción de 29 colecciones cerámicas asociadas a fechas de radiocarbono, se demuestra que hubo un cambio cronológico notable en el uso de cerámicas y estilos cerámicos procedentes del Valle de Oaxaca. El artículo describe las características de las 29 coleccionees cerámicas provenientes de contextos residenciales y cívico-ceremoniales además de presentar los resultados de un análisis por activación neutrónica de una muestra de los materiales. Los cambios cronológicos apuntan a una disminución en el uso de cerámicas de pasta gris provenientes del Valle de Oaxaca del Formativo tardío al terminal. Otro cambio fue el incremento significativo en el uso de dos tipos cerámicos hechos en la re-gión mixteca, uno que producía vasijas estilísticamente similares a las cerámicas cremas del Valle de Oaxaca y otro que seguía un estilo propio de la Mixteca Alta y que era menos frecuente en la región zapoteca. Arguímos que estos tipos cerámicos de vasijas de servicio hubieran sido importantes en actos de consumo de alimentos en el ámbito doméstico y en eventos públicos y rituales. Interpretamos este cambio cerámico como un reflejo de la creciente independencia política y cultural de Cerro Jazmín siglos después de su fundación.