JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.Ceramic diversity in the ceremonial center of Chavin de Huantar in the Peruvian highlands is assessed by neutron activation analysis, petrography, and stylistic analysis. These analyses lead to a new interpretation of ceramic production in Chavin between ca. 850 and 200 B.C. Several compositional groups with very different mineralogical paste types are identified. More than 30 percent of the ceramics are nonlocal. Most of these are bottles and fine wares, probably brought to the site as gifts or offerings. At the local level, ceramic production changed over time. A dramatic shift in resource procurement occurred at the end of the first occupation phase, and production became more diversified and intense as the site and its population grew larger Estudios de activacidn neutr6nica y petrograffa, y andlisis estilistica muestran la diversidad cerdmica que existe en el centro ceremonial de Chavin de Huantar, en los Andes de Perd. Se proponen nuevas interpretaciones sobre la produccidn cerdmica en Chavin entre 850 y 200 a. C. Varios grupos de composicidn son identificados, con pastas mineraldgicas muy distintas. La mayoria de las vasijas exogenas son botellas y cuencos finos, probablemente llevados al centro ceremonial como ofrendas o productos de intercambio. La activacidn neutrdnica revela que, al nivel local, la produccidn cerdmica cambia en el curso de existencia del sitio. Se nota el uso de pasta volcdnica durante las dos primerasfases de ocupacidn (Urabarriu y Chakinani) y la produccidn de vasijas principalmente utilitarias con poca variacidn de forma. En cambio, durante la tercera fase de ocu-paci6n (Janabarriu) se usa un material intrusivo como la granodiorita procedente de la Cordillera Blanca. La produccidn es mds diversificada e intensa cuando el sitio conoce su desarrollo mdximo. El estudio de activacion neutrdnica muestra tambien que las cerdmicas con un alto contenido del elemento cesium no son locales. La mayoria de estas cerdmicas son de estilo at'pico. Las cerdmicas no locales tienen composiciones quimicas diversas lo que sugiere multiples origines. The ceremonial center of Chavin de Huantar is known for its fine architecture, extensive stone art, and beautiful ceramics. The Chavin occupation spans nearly 700 years, between 850 and 200 B.C. The site is located at the crossroads of selva (tropical forest)-coast and northsouth highland routes (Figure 1), at 3,200 m elevation in the upper Mosna Valley. The U-shaped center has two main temples (the old temple, believed to be the first one built, and the new temple, an extension or addition to the old structure), a small sunken circular plaza, and a large rectangular plaza flanked by lateral constructions. The site relates to...