Ceramic production, resource procurement, and exchange at Matacapan, Veracruz, Mexico
Description
This study combines archaeological, geological, and chemical evidence to reconstruct aspects of the economic role of pottery at Matacapan, Veracruz, Mexico during the Middle Classic period (ca. A.D. 300-800). Matacapan is a large site located in the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz state. The site exhibits strong ceramic and architectural influences from the Central Mexican city of Teotihuacan, as well as abundant surface evidence of ceramic production during the Middle Classic. Five localities in which pottery was produced were selected for the more intensive study presented in this dissertation The study analyzes three sets of data. First, the context, frequency and proportions of ceramic wares are compared among production localities to assess their relative scale of production and degree of specialization in products. Second, the degree of standardization in pottery manufacture is examined through an analysis of variation in paste, surface, and morphological attributes. Third, concentrations of major and trace elements in fine paste ceramics from the production localities are compared with clay samples from the southwestern Tuxtla Mountains and fine paste ceramics from other sites to identify source formations of clays and exchange patterns in finished products The study concludes that ceramic production at Middle Classic Matacapan was characterized by wide variation in the context, scale, and specialization in particular products. In particular, Fine Orange ware was typically manufactured by small-scale household producers from nearby clays and distributed locally. Production localities also differ greatly in the amount of variation in ceramic attributes, but differences in scale and specialization alone do not adequately explain the differences in standardization revealed by the modal analysis