A Ceramic Compositional Perspective on the Formative to Classic Transition in Southern Mesoamerica

Abstract

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A New Perspective on the Relationships among Cream Paste Ceramic Traditions of Southeastern Mesoamerica

“…Assuming, as argued below, that this result indicates that Ivory Usulutan comes from E1 Salvador, the Guatemalan specimens that exceed a one-percent level for membership in the Ivory group may be explained in two basic ways They may be anomalous compositions that were not made in the Ivory production region but resemble the Ivory composition by chance. Or, they might represent imports to Guatemala from the Ivory production zone that are typologically inconsistent with Ivory Usulutan and other light-firing wares and therefore have not been included in the various compositional studies of Ivory, SAWH, and related wares (e.g., Neff et al 1990;Neff et al 1994;Neff and Robinson 1998). A…”

Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica

“…The work of other researchers in Guatemala and El Salvador has established both the presence of Locona-like occupations farther east, stretching into modern El Salvador (Arroyo 1991(Arroyo , 1994(Arroyo , 1995Arroyo et al 1989;Pye 1995;Pye et al 1999). The highest density of occupation lies along the estuarine zone that formed an inland waterway probably used for travel, trade, and communication.…”

“…There may have been several such routes: a highland route, passing over the rough terrain separating montane valleys; a piedmont route, linking the numerous sculpture-rich sites; and a coastal trade route, including an ''inland waterway'' of estuaries and streams (Arroyo 1991(Arroyo , 1994 Hatch have become a point of reference for archaeological study within the Guatemalan highlands and Pacific Coast because they help to define both regions and long-standing traditions of material culture. However, the lack of complete published definitions for all of the traditions limits their usefulness as analytical tools by other scholars.…”

Late Preclassic Ceramic Industries of Pacific Guatemala and El Salvador: The Pacific Coast as Core, Not Periphery

“…According to that study, the major red, orange, and black-brown monochrome types were all being produced locally within each site or subregion of SE Mesoamerica (Bishop, Demarest, and Sharer 1989 Guatemala (Estrada Belli 1999Kosakowsky 1996, 1998;Estrada Belli, Kosakowsky, and Wolf 1998 (Wetherington 1978) and Xata Black-Brown at Bilbao (Parsons 1969 Red as identified at the highland site of Kaminaljuyu (Wetherington 1978;Demarest and Sharer 1986), Santa Tecla Red found at the sites of Chalchuapa (Sharer 1978) and Santa Leticia (Demarest 1986) (Wetherington 1978), and Rio Santiago Usulutain identified at Bilbao (Parsons 1969) on the Pacific coast of Escuintla (Bove 1989a(Bove , 1989b(Bove , 1993, and at the sites of El Balsamo and Monte Alto (Shook and Hatch 1978). In fact, Previous research by Neff et al (1994) speculated that the Late Preclassic Fine Reds found throughout highland Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Pacific coast might have been produced somewhere along the coast, east of Escuintla, because neutron activation analyses divided the Fine Red samples into two groups; one centered on the coastal plain of Escuintla, and the other on the highland site of Kaminaljuyu (Neff, Bishop, and Arnold 1988;Neff, Bishop, and Bove 1989). Fine Reds occurred in very low frequencies at both places, however, and the study failed to establish firmly the source zone for Fine Red pottery (Neff et al 1994).…”

“…In fact, Previous research by Neff et al (1994) speculated that the Late Preclassic Fine Reds found throughout highland Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Pacific coast might have been produced somewhere along the coast, east of Escuintla, because neutron activation analyses divided the Fine Red samples into two groups; one centered on the coastal plain of Escuintla, and the other on the highland site of Kaminaljuyu (Neff, Bishop, and Arnold 1988;Neff, Bishop, and Bove 1989). Fine Reds occurred in very low frequencies at both places, however, and the study failed to establish firmly the source zone for Fine Red pottery (Neff et al 1994).…”