Maya Ceramic Technology and Ceramic Socio-Economy

Maya Ceramic Technology and Ceramic Socio-Economy PDF Author: Carmen Giomar Sánchez Fortoul
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN: 9781407316406
Category : Ceramic industries
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The socio-economic nature of Late Postclassic (c. AD 1100-1500) Maya society is not well understood and still eludes researchers. Through a combination of analytical methods, including petrographic, chemical and experimental, examination of surface features and ethnographic analyses, this study reconstructs ceramic production technology, seeking regional patterns in the technology applied to vessels from the main centre of Mayapán and several north-central and eastern sites. The results provide new insights into the raw material selection and the manufacture of Late Postclassic ceramics, the existence and nature of technological traditions, and cultural divisions between Mayapán and north-central and eastern sites. Furthermore, new perspectives are gained on longstanding questions about the socio-economic role of Mayapán and neighbouring centres and the scope and mechanisms of ceramic exchange and distribution, informing current ceramic production and exchange models, and advancing our understanding of the socio-economic nature of this period.

Maya Ceramic Technology and Ceramic Socio-Economy

Maya Ceramic Technology and Ceramic Socio-Economy PDF Author: Carmen Giomar Sánchez Fortoul
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN: 9781407316406
Category : Ceramic industries
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The socio-economic nature of Late Postclassic (c. AD 1100-1500) Maya society is not well understood and still eludes researchers. Through a combination of analytical methods, including petrographic, chemical and experimental, examination of surface features and ethnographic analyses, this study reconstructs ceramic production technology, seeking regional patterns in the technology applied to vessels from the main centre of Mayapán and several north-central and eastern sites. The results provide new insights into the raw material selection and the manufacture of Late Postclassic ceramics, the existence and nature of technological traditions, and cultural divisions between Mayapán and north-central and eastern sites. Furthermore, new perspectives are gained on longstanding questions about the socio-economic role of Mayapán and neighbouring centres and the scope and mechanisms of ceramic exchange and distribution, informing current ceramic production and exchange models, and advancing our understanding of the socio-economic nature of this period.

Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica

Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica PDF Author: Christopher A. Pool
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816550557
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Pottery is one of the most important classes of artifacts available to archaeologists and anthropologists. Every year, volumes of data are generated detailing ceramic production, distribution, and consumption. How these data can be interpreted in relation to the social and cultural framework of prehistoric societies in Mesoamerica is the subject of this book. Nine chapters written by some of the most well known and respected scholars in the field offer readers an in-depth look at key advances from the past fifteen years. These scholars examine ethnoarchaeological studies and the Preclassic/Formative, Classic, and Postclassic periods and cover geographic areas from eastern to central Mesoamerica. In a series of case studies, contributors address a range of new and developing theories and methods for inferring the technological, organizational, and social dimensions of pottery economics, and draw on a range of sociopolitical examples. Specific topics include the impacts and costs of innovations, the role of the producer in technological choices, the outcomes when errors in vessel formation are tolerated or rectified, the often undocumented multiple lives and uses of ceramic pieces, and the difficulties associated with locating and documenting ceramic production areas in tropical lowlands. A compelling collection that clearly integrates and synthesizes a wide array of data, this book is the definitive text on pottery economics in Mesoamerica and an important contribution to the fields of anthropology, archaeology, ancient history, and the economics of pre-industrial societies. CONTENTS Acknowledgments 1 . Conceptual Issues in Mesoamerican Pottery Economics Christopher A. Pool and George J. Bey III 2 . An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective on Local Ceramic Production and Distribution in the Maya Highlands Michael Deal 3 . Why Was the Potter’s Wheel Rejected? Social Choice and Technological Change in Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico Dean E. Arnold, Jill Huttar Wilson, and Alvaro L. Nieves 4 . Ceramic Production at La Joya, Veracruz: Early Formative Techno Logics and Error Loads Philip J. Arnold III 5 . Blanco Levantado: A New World Amphora George J. Bey III 6 . Pottery Production and Distribution in the Gulf Lowlands of Mesoamerica Barbara L. Stark 7 . Household Production and the Regional Economy in Ancient Oaxaca: Classic Period Perspectives from Hilltop El Palmillo and Valley-Floor Ejutla Gary M. Feinman and Linda M. Nicholas 8 . Pottery Production and Exchange in the Petexbatun Polity, Petén, Guatemala Antonia E. Foias and Ronald L. Bishop 9 . Aztec Otumba, AD 1200--1600: Patterns of the Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Ceramic Products Thomas H. Charlton, Cynthia L. Otis Charlton, Deborah L. Nichols, and Hector Neff References Cited About the Contributors Index

Pottery and People

Pottery and People PDF Author: James M. Skibo
Publisher: University of Utah Press
ISBN: 0874805775
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This volume emphasizes the complex interactions between ceramic containers and people in past and present contexts. Pottery, once it appears in the archaeological record, is one of the most routinely recovered artifacts. It is made frequently, broken often, and comes in endless varieties according to economic and social requirements. Moreover, even in shreds ceramics can last almost forever, providing important clues about past human behavior. The contributors to this volume, all leaders in ceramic research, probe the relationship between humans and ceramics. Here they offer new discoveries obtained through traditional lines of inquiry, demonstrate methodological breakthroughs, and expose innovative new areas for research. Among the topics covered in this volume are the age at which children begin learning pottery making; the origins of pottery in the Southwest U.S., Mesoamerica, and Greece; vessel production and standardization; vessel size and food consumption patterns; the relationship between pottery style and meaning; and the role pottery and other material culture plays in communication. Pottery and People provides a cross-section of the state of the art, emphasizing the complete interactions between ceramic containers and people in past and present contexts. This is a milestone volume useful to anyone interested in the connections between pots and people.

Innovative Approaches and Explorations in Ceramic Studies

Innovative Approaches and Explorations in Ceramic Studies PDF Author: Sandra L. López Varela
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784917370
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
This book celebrates thirty years of Ceramic Ecology, an international symposium initiated at the 1986 American Anthropological Association. Contributions explore the application of instrumental techniques and experimental studies to analyze ceramics and follow innovative approaches to evaluate methods and theories.

Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies

Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies PDF Author: Sophia E. Kelly
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1607324830
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 413

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Book Description
Prehistoric economic relationships are often presented as genderless, yet mounting research highlights the critical role gendered identities play in the division of work tasks and the development of specialized production in pre-modern economic systems. In Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies, contributors combine the study of gender in the archaeological record with the examination of intensified craft production in prehistory to reassess the connection between craft specialization and the types and amount of work that men and women performed in ancient communities. Chapters are organized by four interrelated themes crucial for understanding the implications of gender in the organization of craft production: craft specialization and the political economy, combined effort in specialized production, the organization of female and male specialists, and flexibility and rigidity in the gendered division of labor. Contributors consider how changes to the gendered division of labor in craft manufacture altered other types of production or resulted from modifications in the organization of production elsewhere in the economic system. Striking a balance between theoretical and methodological approaches and presenting case studies from sites around the world, Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies offers a guide to the major issues that will frame future research on how men’s and women’s work changes, predisposes, and structures the course of economic development in various societies. Contributors: Alejandra Alonso Olvera, Traci Ardren, Michael G. Callaghan, Nigel Chang, Cathy Lynne Costin, Pilar Margarita Hernández Escontrías, A. Halliwell, Sue Harrington, James M. Heidke, Sophia E. Kelly, Brigitte Kovacevich, T. Kam Manahan, Ann Brower Stahl, Laura Swantek, Rita Wright, Andrea Yankowski

Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology

Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology PDF Author: Charles Golden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135946078
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This book presents the current state of Maya archaeology by focusing on the history of the field for the last 100 years, present day research, and forward looking prescription for the direction of the field.

The Technology of Maya Civilization

The Technology of Maya Civilization PDF Author: Zachary X. Hruby
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317544161
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
The ancient Maya shaped their world with stone tools. Lithic artifacts helped create the cityscape and were central to warfare and hunting, craft activities, cooking, and ritual performance. 'The Technology of Maya Civilization' examines Maya lithic artefacts made of chert, obsidian, silicified limestone, and jade to explore the relationship between ancient civilizations and natural resources. The volume presents case studies of archaeological sites in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. The analysis draws on innovative anthropological theory to argue that stone artefacts were not merely cultural products but tools that reproduced, modified, and created the fabric of society.

The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies

The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies PDF Author: Marilyn A. Masson
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 081305740X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 655

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Book Description
A timely synthesis of the latest research and perspectives on ancient Maya economics, this volume illuminates the sophistication and intricacy of economic systems in the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. Contributors from a wide range of disciplines move beyond paradigms of elite control and centralized exchange to focus on individual agency, highlighting production and exchange that took place at all levels of society. Case studies draw on new archaeological evidence from rural households and urban marketplaces to reconstruct the trade networks for tools, ceramics, obsidian, salt, and agricultural goods throughout the empire. They also describe the ways household production integrated with community, regional, and interregional markets. Redirecting the field of ancient Maya economic studies away from simplistic characterizations of the past by fully representing the range of current views on the subject, this volume delves deeply into multiple facets of a complex, interdependent material world. Contributors: Anthony P. Andrews | Chloé Andrieu | Beatriz Balcárcel | Adolfo Iván Batún | George Bey | Ronald L. Bishop | Geoffrey E. Braswell | Marcello Canuto | Bernadette Cap | Arlen F. Chase | Diane Z. Chase | Rubén Chuc Aguilar | Maia Dedrick | Pedro Delgado Kú, | Arthur A. Demarest | Keith Eppich | Bárbara Escamilla Ojeda | Scott L. Fedick | Luis Flores Cobá | Lynda Florey Folan | William J. Folan | David A. Freidel | Tomás Gallareta Negrón | Charles Golden | Stanley P. Guenter | Joel D. Gunn | Richard D. Hansen | Timothy S. Hare | Enrique Hernández | Rachel A. Horowitz | Scott R. Hutson | Takeshi Inomata | Eleanor M. King | Marilyn A. Masson | Patricia A. McAnany | Carlos Morales-Aguilar | Carlos Peraza Lope | Dorie Reents-Budet | Prudence M. Rice | William Ringle | Fernando Robles Castellanos | Alejandra Roche Recinos| Bradley W. Russell | Andrew Scherer | Whittaker Schroder | Payson Sheets | Edgar Suyuc | Alexandre Tokovinine | Paola Torres | Daniela Triadan | Kenichiro Tsukamoto | Clive Vella | Bart Victor | Beniamino Volta | Brent K. S. Woodfill | Andrew R. Wyatt | Norman Yoffee A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase

The Archaeology of Yucatán: New Directions and Data

The Archaeology of Yucatán: New Directions and Data PDF Author: Travis W. Stanton
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784910090
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
This volume was conceived to provide a forum for Mexican and foreign scholars to publish new data and interpretations on the archaeology of the northern Maya lowlands, specifically the State of Yucatan.

Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica

Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica PDF Author: Nancy Gonlin
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1457197510
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
"This volume explores the dynamics of human adaptation to social, political, ideological, economic, and environmental factors in Mesoamerica and includes a wide array of topics, such as the hydrological engineering behind Teotihuacan’s layout, the complexities of agriculture and sustainability in the Maya lowlands, and the nuanced history of abandonment among different lineages and households in Maya centers.The authors aptly demonstrate how culture is the mechanism that allows people to adapt to a changing world, and they address how ecological factors, particularly land and water, intersect with nonmaterial and material manifestations of cultural complexity. Contributors further illustrate the continuing utility of the cultural ecological perspective in framing research on adaptations of ancient civilizations.This book celebrates the work of Dr. David Webster, an influential Penn State archaeologist and anthropologist of the Maya region, and highlights human adaptation in Mesoamerica through the scientific lenses of anthropological archaeology and cultural ecology."