An Andean Ceramic Tradition in Historical Perspective

Abstract

The potter's art of pre–Columbian Peru has long received high acclaim, and the antiquity and technical perfection of the several Andean ceramic styles is generally acknowledged. Scarcely a year passes but what new pottery types are recognized by archaeologists, and the descriptions of these fill many volumes. It is altogether incredible, therefore, that for the entire 400–year period that has elapsed since the coming of the Spaniards, there exists no detailed and systematic account of the techniques of pottery manufacture employed by any group in the Andean area. With reference to the Conquest period, Rowe states that “the chroniclers say little about Inca pottery,” while Linné, who combed the literature for data concerning Andean ceramic technology, concluded that “ … from the time of the discovery of Peru no descriptions exist as to pottery–making.“