Technological Style and Terminal Preclassic Orange Ceramics in the Holmul Region, Guatemala

Callaghan, Michael; Estrada-Belli, Francisco; Estrada, Nina Neivens de

doi:10.5744/florida/9780813042367.003.0008

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The major added inclusion for most pastes was medium to fine textured crystalline calcite, and the pastes have a gray to light pink color. My own work on blackware from the site of Holmul, also in the central region, confirms the data from Tikal, as do reports from other sites with blackware (Callaghan ). This allows me to suggest that sites with larger frequencies of blackware produced their own local traditions and also engaged in a very limited system of exchange with other sites.…”

Section: Paste Datasupporting

confidence: 75%

“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

Callaghan

2020

Economic Anthropology

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During the Early Classic period in the Maya lowlands (AD 250-600), black serving vessels were placed as offerings in the highest-status elite burials. Complicated forms and sophisticated decorative conventions transformed these simple ceramic containers into precious social valuables that were deposited with only the most privileged individuals. This article presents new data, analyses, and interpretations of the production and exchange of Early Classic blackware that are informed by the concepts of wealth-in-people as wealth-in-knowledge. I specifically ask whether Early Classic Maya blackware was produced and exchanged by highly skilled artisans who were commissioned by political elites in an effort to grow political followers through gifting and increase a leader's wealth-in-people. This research demonstrates that Early Classic blackware was produced and consumed as a means to aid kings in becoming venerated ancestors. Blackware was part of a performative process of maintaining a leader's social network that continued in death and that was emphasized by descendants as a means to further legitimize their own accession and political futures.

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Section: Paste Datasupporting

confidence: 75%

“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

Callaghan

2020

Economic Anthropology

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“…Approaches based solely on the political economy of Teotihuacan do not suffice to understand the transmission processes of religious ideas nor the associated ritual paraphernalia that were consumed in a vast cultural area such as Mesoamerica, where the demands of the ritual economy shaped a new political economy (cf. Kristiansen, ; see also Callaghan, ). It is thus important to ponder the question of how the interactions among Teotihuacan and foreign agents were spatially recorded in the city of Teotihuacan.…”

Section: Ideology and Ritual Economymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In the varied world of Maya feasting, for example, where a wealth of rituals and ideologies were in competition, “it is not the type or quantity of symbols that aid actors in determining who they are and where they stand in society, but how these symbols are interpreted” (Callaghan, : 43). Teotihuacan gained converts all over Mesoamerica at unprecedented rates.…”

Section: Ideology and Ritual Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Teotihuacan: Ritual Economy, Exchange, and Urbanization Processes in Classic Period Mesoamerica

Filini

2015

Economic Anthropology

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Social networks and networking are highly dynamic processes within an urban setting. The archaeological site of Teotihuacan in the Basin of Mexico was the greatest urban center in Mesoamerica during the Classic period (C.E. 150-650). The dissemination of a new ideology related to major fertility and militaristic concepts served as an agent of social cohesion within Teotihuacan and throughout its interaction sphere. As a result, the Teotihuacan exchange network expanded onto an unprecedentedly vast area, and the ever-increasing demand for ritual artifacts associated with this new ideology intensified exchange and the development of a highly complex economy. Specialized workshops produced thousands of artifacts laden with ritual symbolism that traveled all over Mesoamerica. The study of specific classes of artifacts reveals their importance in the local fabric. Ideology and its ritual economy had an impact on the configuration of the architectural landscape of the city itself with a high population density, sacred planning, and ethnic barrios. The Teotihuacan state developed successfully certain strategies that were able to sustain a metropolis of more than 200 thousand inhabitants for half a millennium.

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“…However, before petrographic analysis was initiated, pastes were analyzed with a Dinolite AMZ750 digital stereomicroscope. In previous studies by Callaghan (2008;Callaghan et al 2013), stereomicroscopy proved to be a quick and reliable technique to characterize paste composition in the field that closely approximated mineralogical analysis using petrography. While it is no substitute for petrography, digital stereomicroscopy can allow analysts to identify major inclusions in paste fabrics that can later compliment other compositional studies.…”

Section: Archaeological Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical paste characterization of Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramics from Holtun, Guatemala and its implications for production and exchange

Callaghan

Pierce

Kovacevich

et al. 2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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This study uses type: variety-mode classification, digital stereomicroscopy, and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to characterize the paste composition of Late Middle Preclassic-period pottery at the site of Holtun, Guatemala. The sample consists of 98 sherds including unslipped utilitarian ware, slipped serving ware, and Mars Orange fine paste serving ware. NAA reveals four paste composition groups that approximate types produced through type: variety-mode classification and paste groups recognized by digital stereomicroscopy. The analysis suggests a pattern of production in which unslipped utilitarian vessels, slipped serving vessels, and Mars Orange fine paste serving vessels were produced using different paste recipes. While unslipped utilitarian vessels and slipped serving vessels may have been produced and consumed locally, Mars Orange fine paste serving vessels were likely produced in or around Holtun but consumed more widely. Results of this research suggest the Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramic economy at Holtun was characterized by incipient specialized production, and exchange of at least one ceramic ware. These results advance our understanding of Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramic production and exchange at Holtun, and inform the study of the development of socio-political complexity in the Maya lowlands. 2 Archaeological Background Geographically, the Maya lowlands encompass the department of Peten Guatemala, Belize, eastern Mexico including parts of the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan; and a portion of western Honduras (the state of Copan). Chronologically, the Middle Preclassic period spans approximately 700 years from 1000-300 BCE, with sites seeing occupation most frequently during the Late Middle Preclassic (600-300 BCE). It is during this time that multiple forms of settlements appear in the lowlands ranging from communities like Cuello (Hammond 1999), K'axob

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Technological Style and Terminal Preclassic Orange Ceramics in the Holmul Region, Guatemala

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

Teotihuacan: Ritual Economy, Exchange, and Urbanization Processes in Classic Period Mesoamerica

Chemical paste characterization of Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramics from Holtun, Guatemala and its implications for production and exchange

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