Ceramic provenance and the regional organization of pottery production during the later Formative periods in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico: Results of trace-element and mineralogical analyses

Abstract

The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico represents an extremely complex geological context for ceramic provenance studies. Here we utilize this complexity to establish a fine-grained ceramic geography for the central portion of the valley, by combining extensive raw material survey with chemical and mineralogical characterization of clays and pottery. Trace element analyses of 320 field clays and 500 vessels distinguish twelve different areas that were actively producing ceramics during later Middle through Terminal Formative times (700BCE–200CE). These detailed provenance determinations provide a means to track changes in the organization of ceramic production at the core of the emerging Zapotec state, and contribute fresh insights to long-standing economic questions - such as the rise of early market systems - in the Valley of Oaxaca.