The Evolution of Crema (Cream) Wares in the Valley of Oaxaca – Insights from Inaa and Ceramic Petrography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Minc ◽  
Marcus Winter ◽  
Cira Martínez López
Keyword(s):  
Valley Of Oaxaca ◽  
Ceramic Petrography

Archaeological Residues and Recipes: Exploratory Testing for Evidence of Maize and Cacao Beverages in Postclassic Vessels from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Soleri ◽  
Marcus Winter ◽  
Steven R. Bozarth ◽  
W. Jeffrey Hurst
Keyword(s):  
Theobroma Cacao ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Taxonomic Analysis ◽  
Beverage Type ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Exploratory Testing ◽  
Reference Collection ◽  
Valley Of Oaxaca

As dates of earliest use of Theobroma cacao in ancient Mesoamerica are established, interest is shifting to how cacao was used. One approach is to consider combinations of ingredients—the recipes for ancient cacao use. Beverages made from cacao seeds and maize have a long history in Mesoamerica. We began testing the hypothesis that there is qualitative evidence of this beverage type in the Postclassic archaeological record in a region where such a beverage, tejate, is a culturally significant food today. We looked for evidence of tejate ingredients in residue samples from eight Postclassic and one contemporary vessel from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Detection of morphologically specific maize phytoliths was accomplished by taxonomic analysis and comparison with a reference collection. Tejate ingredients Pouteria sapota and Quararibea funebris were also processed for phytolith detection. Testing for methylxanthines characteristic of Theobroma species used high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Four vessels were positive for maize phytoliths; three were positive for theobromine; two were positive for both maize and cacao. No diagnostic phytoliths were identified for the other tejate ingredients. Our hypothesis was supported; still, many challenges are present in the search for a deeper understanding of ancient cacao usage in this region of Mesoamerica.

Integrative Approaches in Ceramic Petrography

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (250) ◽  
pp. 211-212
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Ceramic Petrography

Petrography

2016 ◽  
pp. 232-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Degryse ◽  
Dennis Braekmans
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Rock Fragments ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
Fabric Analysis ◽  
Trade And Exchange ◽  
Indispensable Tool ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Ceramic Petrography ◽  
Material Provenance

Petrography has developed into an indispensable tool for ceramic fabric analysis, specifically studying the mineralogical and textural composition of ceramic objects. Petrography is a technique commonly used in geology to describe and classify rocks. Ceramic petrography studies clay-based archaeological or historical materials. Using a polarizing light microscope (PLM) in ceramic studies, the different raw materials used to make a ceramic object can be identified, ranging from clays and other minerals to rock fragments and inorganic or organic temper. The technique moreover feeds into the study of raw material provenance and origin, and is able to discern the different technological procedures followed to make the ceramic object (from shaping to firing), next to providing clues on the function of the object. This information not only helps reconstruct trade and exchange of raw materials and ceramics, but aids in reconstructing society behind the pot.

An Expedient Pottery Technology and Its Implications for Ancient Maya Trade and Interaction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Aimers ◽  
Elizabeth Haussner ◽  
Dori Farthing ◽  
Satoru Murata
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Lagoons ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Local Resource ◽  
Salt Production ◽  
Pottery Technology ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Ambergris Caye ◽  
Ceramic Petrography

This chapter considers one of the crudest types of pottery ever produced by the ancient Maya, Coconut Walk Plain, a ware that has been interpreted to have been used in evaporative salt production along coastal lagoons and on Ambergris Caye in Belize. A series of similar types, including Rio Juan Unslipped, spans the Preclassic to the Postclassic periods, linking the long-lived salt trade to coastal communities such as Marco Gonzalez. The authors use recent advances in ceramic petrography to identify an imported temper in these poorly made wares that seems counterintuitive for an expedient pottery vessel. Their research suggests that coastal communities considered the entire bay area as a local resource procurement zone because canoe transport was readily available to procure distant resources.

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