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Interpolity Pottery Exchange in the Tuxtla Mountains, Southern Veracruz, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Wesley D. Stoner
Wesley D. Stoner*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri Research Reactor Center, Archaeometry Laboratory, 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO 65211 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) of Coarse Orange jars demonstrates economic exchange among the Classic period political capitals of Totocapan, Matacapan, and Teotepec in the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico. Matacapan, in particular, displays evidence of intensive pottery production at large workshops at the southern margin of the site. Comoapan (Area 411) and Area 199 present configurations of kilns, ceramic densities, and assemblage characteristics that suggest production for exchange beyond the site's boundaries. Both of these production facilities specialized in the production of Coarse Orange jars, a well-made and decorated utilitarian ceramic ware. While these products were traded to sites in the Tepango Valley, different paste recipes of the Coarse Orange type were also produced locally. Of broader concern, I examine the articulation of these regional exchange relationships with the interregional interactions previously documented among Tuxtlas groups and others in central Mexico and the Gulf Coast.

El análisis de activación de neutrones (NAA) de ollas del tipo Naranja Burdo demuestra un intercambio entre las capitales políticas de Matacapan, Totocapan, y Teotepec. Las tres se ubican en la Sierra de los Tuxtlas, en el sur de Veracruz, México. Matacapan ha presentado evidencias de una producción alfarera en grandes talleres al límite sur del sitio. Se presentan en el Area 411 (Comoapan) y el Area 199 configuraciones de hornos, densidades de tiestos, y características de artefactos que sugieren un intercambio más allá de los límites del sitio. Ambos complejos de fabricación se especializaban en la producción de ollas Naranja Burdo, un tipo utilitario bien hecho y con decoración. Aunque estos productos fueron comercializados a los sitios del Valle de Tepango, también se identificaron diferentes pastas del tipo Naranja Burdo de producción local. Analizo la coyuntura entre estas relaciones regionales con las interacciones interregionales que se han documentado anteriormente entre los grupos de los Tuxtlas con los del centro de México y la Costa del Golfo.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 262 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2013

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References

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