Maya molded-carved ceramics as boundary objects: Terminal classic ceramic production and the forging of political relations in the mopan valley of Guatemala

Abstract

• Terminal Classic period Mopan Valley potters produced a range of decorated serving vessels including ‘Ahk’ utu’ Molded-carved, Portia Molded-carved, and Local Fine Orange ceramics. • In addition to producing their own ceramics, inhabitants of the middle Mopan Valley sites of Ucanal, La Blanca, and Calzada Mopan had access to ceramics produced in or close to the Upper Belize Valley, the Holmul River, and the Usumacinta River region, underscoring their diverse social and political relationships throughout the Southern Maya Lowlands. • Microphotography and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses of ceramic pastes complement visual typology studies to provide a more holistic perspective of archaeological ceramics that can address both different and overlapping pottery communities of practice. • We find that Terminal Classic polities often shared in an overlapping network of ceramic production and gift exchange that bridged different political communities, a pattern that contrasted with the most elaborate polychrome ceramic traditions of the earlier Late Classic period, which were more highly controlled and circumscribed in nature. Fine Orange ceramics, speciality serving wares of the Terminal Classic (ca. A.D. 810–950/1000) in the Maya area, have long been implicated in the identification of changing political and social relationships. Some previously subordinate political centers thrived during this time as many of the dominant Classic polities were embroiled in crises and reductions in their populations. This paper examines molded-carved Fine Orange and “imitation” Fine Orange ceramics from a trio of closely-located sites that prospered during the Terminal Classic period: Ucanal, La Blanca, and Calzada Mopan in the middle Mopan Valley in Petén, Guatemala. Chemical paste analyses using a portable X-ray fluorescence instrument, microphotography, and traditional Ware-Type-Variety analyses reveal that potters in this region did not blindly imitate Fine Orange ceramics, but picked and chose techniques and designs that drew from multiple communities of practice. Furthermore, these sites had access to decorative serving vessels that were produced in multiple regions throughout the Southern Maya Lowlands, placing them at an important nexus of political, economic, and social interaction. We argue that molded-carved and other decorated ceramics served as boundary objects, which articulated different pottery producing communities and forged marriage and political ties between different polities in a new decentralized political landscape.