Identifying Domestic Ceramic Production in the Maya Lowlands: A Case Study From Uxbenka, Belize

Abstract

Utilitarian ceramic vessels form the bulk of artifact assemblages in the Maya Lowlands, but little is known about their production beyond the likelihood that they were made in a domestic context without elite involvement. Characterizing the production and distribution of these vessels is vital to understanding ancient Maya economic systems; nevertheless, this is a difficult task in the absence of primary production locales. We use spatial data, use-wear analyses on stone and ceramic tools, and analyses of finished products to identify households involved in ceramic production at three settlement groups at Uxbenka, Belize, during the Late Classic Period (A.D. 600–800). Our analyses indicate that Uxbenka potters were likely involved in some level of residential specialization focused on specific vessel forms. These data, in conjunction with ceramic data from nearby Lubaantun and Nim Li Punit, suggest that all three polities were self-sufficient in terms of utilitarian pottery production and primarily engaged in intrapolity distribution. We argue that this self-sufficiency is due to widely available resources, smaller population sizes, and the availability of high quality agricultural lands.

Small-Scale Household Ceramic Production: Neutron Activation Analysis of Plain and Decorated Ceramics From Pre-Aztec Xaltocan, Mexico

“…These data support Hirth's (2009a:15) argument that craft production does not correspond with resource stress in Mesoamerican archaeological contexts. It is important to keep in mind that poverty associated with many modern potters (Arnold 1985:226; Deal 1998:25; Jordan and Prufer 2017; Stark 1991) may be a consequence of modern world systems, the legacies of colonialism, and modern government policies (Nash 1993:130). Nash (1993:130), for example, has observed that in modern times the “intensification of production done in the home has occurred in rural areas throughout Mexico as a result of the shrinking land base for indigenous communities and a rising population.”…”

Ancient Lowland Maya neighborhoods: Average Nearest Neighbor analysis and kernel density models, environments, and urban scale

“…The smaller social units in the vast communities in which we live today create a sense of social solidarity and connect us to others both geographically and socially. In these residential clusters, the Classic Maya may have similarly developed a deeper sense of community based on shared experiences [ 51 ], but this requires further investigations of artifact classes, architectural patterns and spaces for aggregation, burial and caching practices, and communities of practice within neighborhoods of a single center [e.g., 9 , 12 , 15 , 19 , 186 , 194 , 195 ]. Neighborhoods provide access to corporate and kin-held property, labor, resources, and identities, all of which underpin everyday life.…”

Preclassic ceramic economy in Belize: neutron activation analysis at Cahal Pech

“…Direct evidence for household production, including the identification of ceramic manufacturing areas or the presence of related tools (e.g. Jordan & Prufer 2017) is absent. A compositional correlation between late Middle Preclassic Jocote vessels and earlier Cunil utilitarian wares, however, suggests that both types were produced locally for domestic consumption.…”