The Chaîne Opératoire as an Approach to Distinguish between the Ceramic Production of the Viru and the Moche Polities on the North Coast of Peru

Bibliographic Data

ID4742349
AuthorsAlicia Espinosa (0000-0001-7286-9766), Isabelle Druc (0000-0003-0641-2455), Jean-François Millaire (0000-0002-8074-5912), Gabriel Prieto (0000-0001-6229-986X), Edgar Bracamonte (0000-0002-9291-1957), Walter Alva
Year2024
Volume35
Issue3
Pages672-693
Publication date2024-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2023.40
OpenAlexW4386510122
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited17

Ceramics play a central role in the debates around the relationship between the Viru and the Moche. A recent model considers Negative and Moche-decorated ceramics produced by potters affiliated with the elites to be the cultural markers of the Viru and Moche populations, respectively. Due to the similarity of Viru and Moche plain-wares and the presence of Castillo Decorated ceramics in Viru and Moche contexts, this model sees both types of ceramics as domestic traditions, produced by independent potters and sharing a common technique. The research we present here supports this recent model by reconsidering the social and cultural meaning associated with these ceramic types: it uses a novel approach for South America of reconstructing the chaîne opératoire by studying the traces visible on ceramics at a macroscopic and microscopic scale. The study demonstrates how these potters used their own traditions to produce decorated and undecorated ceramics. Furthermore, we found that Castillo Decorated is a type produced only by Viru potters, and we argue that its presence in Moche contexts is evidence of the numerous exchanges maintained by these two populations

Archaeology · Ceramic · Epistemology · Ethnology · Geography · Meaning (existential · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · History · Philosophy