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Polychrome Pottery Economics and Ritual Life in Postclassic Oaxaca, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Marc N. Levine ,
Lane F. Fargher ,
Leslie G. Cecil  and
Jamie E. Forde
Marc N. Levine
Affiliation:
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072, (mlevine@ou.edu)
Lane F. Fargher
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigaciones y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional—Unidad Mérida, Km. 6 antigua carretera a Progreso, Cordemex, 97310, Mérida, Yuc., México, (lanefargher@ yahoo .com)
Leslie G. Cecil
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology, P.O. Box 13047—SEA Station, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX 75962, (cecillg@sfasu.edu)
Jamie E. Forde
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology 1350 Pleasant St., Hale Science 350, Campus Box 233 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, (Jamie.forde@colorado.edu)
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Abstract

Tututepec was a regional capital that dominated much of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, during the Late Postclassic period (A.D. 1100-1522). This article synthesizes the results of compositional (neutron activation and petrography), stylistic, and iconographic analyses of pottery from commoner household excavations at Tututepec to address questions concerning ceramic production and distribution and also to shed light on aspects of political economy and domestic ritual at the capital. The study focuses primarily on Mixteca-Puebla polychromes, painted serving vessels bearing complex decorative motifs. Our compositional analyses, interpreted in light of the bedrock geology of the region, indicate that commoners obtained at least six to ten distinct varieties of pottery made from raw materials available locally within greater Tututepec. We argue that households probably acquired pottery through a central marketplace at the capital. In addition, our study demonstrates that commoners had regular access to polychromes from multiple producers, challenging the widespread notion that these vessels were restricted to elites who controlled their production. We argue that polychrome serving vessels played a prominent role in commonly occurring domestic rituals. Furthermore, commoners appear to have consciously selected vessels painted with imagery associated with warfare and sacrifice, suggesting that they actively supported the official imperial ideology of Tututepec.

Resumen

Resumen

Tututepec fue una capital regional que dominó gran parte del sur de Oaxaca, Mexico, en el Posclásico tardío (1100—1522 d.C). Este articulo sintetiza los resultados de los análisis de la compositión (análisis por activatión neutrónica y petrografía), estilo e iconografía de la cerámica de las excavaciones de conjuntos habitacionales de la gente comũn en Tututepec para abordar cuestiones sobre la productión y la distributión de cerámica, y también para aclarar los aspectos de la economía politíco y ritual doméstica en la capital. El estudio se centra más intensamente en la cerámica polácroma Mixteca-Puebla, vasijas para servir con motivos decorativos complejos. Nuestros andlisis de la composition, interpretados a la luz de la geologia de la region, indican que la gente comun obtuvo entre seis y diez variedades distintas de cerdmica, manufacturadas con materiasprimas disponibles localmente—dentro o alrededor de Tututepec. Planteamos que en los conjuntos habitacionales probablemente se adquirió la cerámica a travùs de un mercado central localizado en la capital. Además, nuestro estudio demuestra que la gente común tenía acceso a la cerámica policroma fabricada por varios alfareros, desafiando la idea generalizada de que estas vasijas fueron restringidas a las elites, quienes controlaban su producción. Proponemos que las vasijas policromas de servirjugaron unpapel destacado en los rituales domùsticos ordinarios. Aún más, los comuneros parecen haber seleccionado conscientemente las vasijas pintadas con imágenes asociadas con la guerra y el sacrificio, lo que sugiere que apoyaron activamente la ideología imperial oficial de Tututepec.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 319 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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