Petrographic analysis of ceramics and clay from Angamuco, Michoacán

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

“…Second, the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin NAA data affirms the previously published model of stable, long-term ceramic production, with localized and dispersed community potting traditions within the lake basin (Hirshman 2018b;Hirshman and Ferguson 2012;Hirshman et al 2010). Although this dataset includes only a small number of pre-state and empire samples for Angamuco, we suggest that PG6 (five samples) and PG7 (two samples) demonstrate a longterm production tradition at this site, which supports previous observations about Angamuco ceramics (Cohen et al 2018(Cohen et al , 2019. The addition of PG6 and PG7 at Angamuco, and only at Angamuco in this dataset, and the match between PG7 and local Angamuco clays strongly suggest thriving ceramic production at the site in addition to other locales in the basin.…”

“…It is also the only Angamuco group that overlaps compositionally with any locally collected clay samples (n = 10; see Cohen et al, 2019). However, some other clays are more like some of the TEU groups, namely PG3 and PG5, and we anticipate investigating this similarity further as we integrate the results of petrographic analysis from the region (e.g., Cohen et al 2018;Hirshman 2009Hirshman , 2017aHirshman , 2018a. The similarity with local clays and the dissimilarity with nonlocal ceramics in the MURR database thus support the conclusion of local production for all regional groups.…”

“…Although state control of resources may have occurred in terms of metallurgy, obsidian, and material markers of the empire like polychrome spouted vessels and yácata pyramids (Hirshman 2008;Maldonado 2008Maldonado , 2009Pollard 2016;Rebnegger 2010), reorganization of ceramic production in the lake basin is less clear. Previous work has not found a substantial reorganization of raw material procurement and paste recipes at several sites (Cohen 2016;Cohen et al 2018Cohen et al , 2019Hirshman 2003Hirshman , 2008Hirshman and Ferguson 2012;Hirshman and Haskell 2016), yet certain distinctive styles and symbols clearly appear in association with consolidated political elite control (Cohen 2021;Pollard 2016). This article uses ceramic materials from sites that were occupied before and during political consolidation to examine production activities vis-à-vis geochemical characterization on a regional scale.…”

“…Typical stratigraphy of the region includes eroded andesitic-volcanic and basaltic-andesitic edifices, followed by volcanic materials like ash, sand, gravels, blocks, and lavas, and then various lacustrine deposits (Israde-Alcántara et al 2005). Recent overviews of the lake basin environmental history, geology, and clay resources are available elsewhere (Cohen et al 2018(Cohen et al , 2019Haskell and Stawski 2017;Hirshman and Ferguson 2012).…”

“…Here, we synthesize our recent efforts to address political-economic changes in core regions via geochemical characterization using neutron activation analysis (NAA) in western Mexico (Cohen et al 2018(Cohen et al , 2019Hirshman and Ferguson 2012). The Purépecha (alternatively P'urhépecha; also called Tarascan in the literature when referring to the political entity) state and then empire (ca.…”