No abstract

Tarascan ceramic sherds from two Postclassical archaeological sites (900-1450 AD) at the Malpaís of Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexico, were investigated by combining Back-Scattered Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (BSEM-EDS), μ-X-Ray Diffractometry (μ-XRD), μ-X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (μ-XRF) and μ-Raman Spectroscopy. These sherds are famous for their forms and decorations although the composition of its raw materials remains so far unknown and focused only on the composition of the ceramic paste. For the purpose of surface decoration characterization, the pigments used in slips and paintings were identified as hematite, magnetite, amorphous carbon, graphite and lignite. Furthermore chemical and molecular structure determination allowed the identification of technological aspects such as the firing temperatures and atmospheres used in ceramics production.

In Mesoamerica, the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) is characterized by the long-distance circulation of pottery with a very hard and shiny coating with a metallic aspect, known as Plumbate ware. Plumbate is linked stylistically to the Toltec culture but was produced in workshops in Soconusco (Chiapas). The discovery of a similar collection of sherds during recent work at the site of El Palacio (Zacapu, Michoacán) shows that Plumbate ware also reached this region of Western Mexico. We carried out instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) on 11 of the Zacapu fragments and compared the results to the data from ceramic pastes from the region of Soconusco and Pátzcuaro Basin (Michoacán). Ten sherds were produced in Michoacán and are thus a local imitation, whereas the last fragment corresponds to a Tohil-type Plumbate paste and was transported over a long distance. This raises questions of the modalities for the circulation of this pot and the conditions allowing for production of an imitation (transfer of technical know-how?), which we suggest is linked to the Toltec culture in the center of Mexico.

Technologie céramique et « frontières culturelles » L'exemple des techniques de décors céramiques de deux sites postclassiques du Malpaís de Zacapu (Mexique) : Palacio et Malpaís Prieto Ceramic Technology and "Cultural Borders". The Example of Ceramic Decoration Techniques of two Postclassic Sites from the Malpaís of Zacapu (Mexico): Palacio and Malpaís Prieto Elsa Jadot Cadre théorique : la technologie céramique L'étude technologique d'un corpus archéologique, dans quel but ? 1 Des études ethnographiques ont montré que tout potier, et par extension tout artisan, reproduit fidèlement les techniques et méthodes 1 qu'on lui enseigne lors de son apprentissage, sans que ce processus ne laisse de place à l'innovation (Bril, 2002). Ensuite, une fois les gestes et les techniques maîtrisés, il lui est extrêmement difficile de se défaire de ces habitudes motrices, de ces « automatismes » (Bril, 2002 ; Gosselain, 2002, p. 26 et 2011). La transmission technique lors de l'apprentissage maintient ainsi une tradition propre à chaque entité socio-culturelle. Des comportements techniques différents traduisent des « frontières » entre des groupes, que ceux-ci se distinguent par des différences ethno-linguistiques, religieuses, familiales, socioprofessionnelles, etc.