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THE FIRST MAYA TRADE WARE? NEW DATA ON MIDDLE PRECLASSIC-PERIOD MARS ORANGE PASTE WARE FROM HOLTUN, GUATEMALA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2018

Michael G. Callaghan*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
Daniel E. Pierce
Affiliation:
Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Missouri Research Reactor, 1513 Research Park Drive Columbia, MO 65211, USA
William D. Gilstrap
Affiliation:
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Room 8-138, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
*
([email protected], corresponding author)

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.

En este estudio se informa sobre la tipología, estereomicroscopía digital, petrografía, análisis de activación por neutrones e informes publicados anteriormente sobre la vajilla Mars Naranja, con el objetivo de caracterizar su producción e intercambio en las Tierras Bajas Mayas durante el periodo Preclásico medio. La muestra considerada comprende 2.028 tiestos de la vajilla Mars Naranja de Holtun, Guatemala, y 4.105 tiestos procedentes de sitios en Belice central y Petén, Guatemala. La combinación de datos sugiere que la vajilla Mars Naranja fue un bien de intercambio de “corta distancia” producido en el noreste de las Tierras Bajas Mayas y distribuido desde el centro de Belice hacia el oeste.

Type
Report
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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