The First Maya Trade Ware? New Data on Middle Preclassic-Period Mars Orange Paste Ware From Holtun, Guatemala

Abstract

This study reports on type: variety-mode classification, digital stereomicroscopy, petrography, neutron activation analysis, and previously published reports and characterizes production and distribution of Mars Orange Paste Ware in the Middle Preclassic-period Maya Lowlands. The sample consists of 2028 sherds of Mars Orange Paste Ware from Holtun, Guatemala, and 4105 sherds reported from sites in Central Belize and Peten Guatemala. The combined data suggest Mars Orange Paste Ware was a “short-distance” trade ware produced in the northeastern Maya Lowlands and distributed from Central Belize to the west.

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

“…By the late Middle Preclassic period, ceramic economic networks became increasingly complex and interconnected. Our results also provide evidence for the inter-regional exchange of specialised Mars Orange pottery between Belize Valley sites such as Cahal Pech and sites in the central Petén region of Guatemala (see also Callaghan et al 2018). Production and distribution of these specialised vessels may have supported networks of high-status individuals within a developing regional economy—although additional research is required to test this hypothesis.…”

“…The decreasing frequency in distribution of Mars Orange wares westward into the central Petén region of Guatemala appears to reflect its probable importation from western Belize through down-the-line exchange (Callaghan et al 2017b, 2018). Over 77 per cent of the Mars Orange sherds from Cahal Pech are assigned to compositional groups C and D ( n = 27 and n = 35, respectively).…”

“…In Mesoamerica, studies have focused on regional patterns of production and exchange of decorated ceramics and their implications for the development of the first complex Mesoamerican societies (e.g. Neff & Glascock 2002; Blomster et al 2005; Neff et al 2006; Callaghan et al 2018).…”

“…This critical period of socio-economic transition witnessed the development of sedentary village life, complex economic networks and an increased reliance on maize agriculture, along with the adoption of ceramic technology and the specialised craft required for ceramic production. To examine these changes, Callaghan and colleagues (2017a & b, 2018) have focused on defining the geochemical composition of Middle Preclassic ceramics from Holtun, in the Petén region of north-central Guatemala. Their results identified the local production of utilitarian ceramics, as well as fine-paste Mars Orange serving vessels, which were probably manufactured in and imported from the Belize Valley.…”

“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

“…I tried to mitigate these problems by counting samples of blackware in different ways, including raw frequencies of ceramic types, percentages of blackware within Early Classic complexes at a site, and number of types at a site. Together with other attribute data, including form, paste, and surface decoration, I used similar methods in the past to successfully determine the origins and chronology for other ceramic types in the Maya lowlands (Callaghan, Pierce, and Gilstrap ). I argue that the method works just as well for blackware in the Early Classic, as my data show.…”