A multi‐analytical approach to understand El Alto‐Ancasti's painted pottery (north‐western Argentina): Non‐invasive and micro‐invasive analyses of vessel's paintings from El Taco 19

Abstract

Archaeometric analysis applied to the study of pre‐Hispanic pottery is a growing field in archaeological research in north‐western Argentina. Most of these investigations have focused on intra‐style variability, comparing samples from the same style but obtained in different sites throughout large regions. In this study, we propose to shift the approach and adopt a local micro‐scale perspective to deepen knowledge regarding pottery manufacturing. As a case study, pottery sherds from different styles discovered in the archaeological site El Taco 19 (El Alto‐Ancasti Mountain, Catamarca) were selected. To this end, we proposed a multi‐analytical approach employing non‐invasive and micro‐invasive analytical techniques.