Local Production and Developing Core Regions: Ceramic Characterization in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Western Mexico

Abstract

A core region is the first place for expected shifts in archaeological materials before, during, and after political changes like state emergence and imperial consolidation. Yet, studies of ceramic production have shown that there are sometimes limited or more subtle changes in the ceramic economy throughout such political fluctuations. This article synthesizes recent efforts to address political economic changes via geochemical characterization (neutron activation analysis; NAA) in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin in western Mexico. This region was home to the Purépecha state and then empire (Tarascan; ca. AD 1350–1530), one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Americas before European arrival. The combined ceramic dataset from four sites in the region result in eight geochemical groups. Our analysis indicates that the region experienced long-term and relatively stable ceramic production that was not substantially altered by the emergence of the state and empire. In addition, we find evidence for (1) dispersed, localized production; (2) long-lived compositional ceramic recipes; and (3) a complex ceramic economy with differential community participation. We discuss why documenting local ceramic production and craft production more generally is important for the study of past political economies.

Potting communities and conservatism in the Purépecha empire at Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico

“…The methods and initial results of the Angamuco petrographic and geochemical analyses are reported elsewhere (Cohen et al 2018;Cohen et al 2019;Cohen et al 2023); consequently, here the focus is on the combined analyses. To address questions relating to communities of practice and production techniques used to create pre-imperial and imperial style pottery, this study analyzes 300 sherds from Angamuco.…”

“…Imperial-style pottery in the Lake Pátzcuaro area is hypothesized to have formed out of earlier versions of forms and styles in the region (García García 2009;Hirshman et al 2010), and geochemical characterization shows that paste recipes have remained relatively consistent over 1,200+ years (Cohen et al 2019;Cohen et al 2023;Hirshman and Ferguson 2012). Data from the Lake Pátzcuaro area and the nearby Zacapu Basin suggest that pre-state-and empireperiod pottery consisted of both coil and mold-built fine and coarse wares (e.g., Jadot 2016;Pollard 1999).…”

“…Previous ceramic archaeometry in the Lake Pátzcuaro area suggests that most pottery manufacturing was a localized activity (Cohen et al 2019;Hirshman and Ferguson 2012;Pollard et al 2001). A regional geochemical (Neutron Activation Analysis, or NAA) study summarized previous work by combining 470 ceramic samples from four preand post-state and empire sites (Angamuco, Erongarícuaro, Tzintzuntzan, and Urichu; Figure 1) (Cohen et al 2023). The study identified eight compositional groups among the samples and found that they were locally produced and long-lived, and that they represent a complex ceramic economy with differential community participation.…”

“…The NAA analysis identified four compositional groups within the Angamuco sherd and clay sample. These groups were initially reported as Groups A, B, C, and D (Cohen et al 2019: Figure 3), but they were reanalyzed in a regional study, combined with existing geochemical groups, and renamed systematically as Pottery Group A (PGA), Pottery Group 6 (PG6), Pottery Group 1 (PG1), and Pottery Group 7 (PG7), respectively (Cohen et al 2023). Some specimens could not be assigned (n = 42 sherds, n = 20 clay); further discussion is limited to the total assigned samples (n = 268).…”

“…Despite these material changes, previous work on pottery production in the imperial core Lake Pátzcuaro region suggests that paste recipes were relatively consistent for over 1,200 years (∼A.D. 250-1530) (Cohen et al 2023;Hirshman 2008Hirshman , 2017Hirshman , 2018. Other ceramic paste and mineralogical data from one site in the core region similarly indicates conservative continuation of technology over the same time period (Cohen et al 2018;Cohen et al 2019).…”