Identification of a Terminal Classic Maya Fine Ware Production Center in the Upper Usumacinta River Drainage, Chiapas, Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID5113778
AuthorsWinnie Schröder (0000-0002-7101-4843), Socorro Del Pilar Jiménez Álvarez (0000-0003-0764-8929), Brenda Fernanda Macedo Córdova, Beverly C Cordova, Ariadna Naomi Avilés Arjona, Guillermo Lara Bolaños, Moisés Yerath Ramiro Talavera, Fernando Godos González, Francisco Javier Olmos González (0000-0003-4318-8480)
Year2024
Volume35
Issue4
Pages1018-1038
Publication date2024-12-01
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.2024.37
OpenAlexW4404357162
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited75

The archaeological study of craft production investigates the role of household activities in broader social and political networks. In the Maya area, the production and distribution of ceramics, especially prestige ceramics including polychrome and fine ware pottery, relate to broader transformations in Maya society from the Classic to Terminal Classic periods. However, direct evidence for ceramic production in the form of kilns, workshops, or associated detritus can be elusive. We report the identification, excavation, and preliminary analysis of a large deposit of fine paste ceramics, including sherds representative of the Fine Orange and Fine Gray wares in the type-variety system of Maya ceramics, from a household group at the archaeological site of Benemérito de las Américas Primera Sección, located near the confluence of the Lacantún and Usumacinta Rivers. Discarded ceramics from this context exhibit several signs of overfiring consistent with pottery production. This deposit challenges notions of functional versus symbolic activity, as the members of this household used this deposit to dedicate a group of three burials accompanied by offerings including a figurine ensemble. We discuss the implications for this deposit in the context of economic shifts taking place across the Maya Lowlands during this period

Archaeology · Biology · Center (category theory · Drainage · Geography · Maya · Telecommunications · Terminal (telecommunication · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Engineering · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Ecology · Geology

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