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Abstract Our study situates the classic period center Matacanela, located in southern Veracruz, Mexico, within the context of shifting regional political‐economic systems. Specifically, we assess the potential for utilizing neutron activation analysis (NAA) of pottery in the study of changing interactions through a focus on three ceramic wares: Coarse Orange, Fine Orange, and Coarse Brown. NAA identified four compositional groups, suggesting that Matacanela selectively utilized ceramics from a variety of sources, but the center's inhabitants overwhelming used ceramics that were only occasionally exploited by their contemporaries in the nearby Catemaco and Tepango valleys. Instead, the center's primary ceramic exchange partners were in the southern Tuxtlas foothills. This divergent pattern of ceramic exchange parallels earlier obsidian exploitation differences that revealed participation in the networks of the western Tuxtla uplands as well as the southern foothills and centers within eastern Olman. The findings of this study contribute to (1) the geological characterization of ceramic resources used by ancient Gulf lowland societies, (2) to the comparative ceramic database in a region that was an important nexus for diverse cultural traditions spanning Mesoamerican prehistory, and (3) the refinement of our knowledge relevant to the divergent strategies employed by groups.
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Neutron Activation Analysis Reveals Jamaican Origin of Afro-Caribbean Ware Excavated from the Cayman Islands
Abstract Afro-Caribbean ware is Caribbean-made pottery manufactured both at the craft and industrial scale by enslaved and free potters of African descent. Previous sourcing studies have shown historic variation in centers of production and market distribution of these wares across the Caribbean. We used Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) on a clay sample and 13 low-fired coarse earthenware sherds excavated from the historic-period Jackson Wall Manor site on Grand Cayman. We found that the Grand Cayman clay was compositionally inconsistent with any previously analysed ceramic sherds in the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) NAA Caribbean database, and that the ceramic samples excavated on Grand Cayman showed high statistical correlation with Jamaican ceramic groups. These findings suggest that coarse earthenware on Grand Cayman was transported from Jamaica, a nearby colony with established potteries and markets, rather than being produced locally. Jamaican yabbas, which combined African and European manufacturing technique and forms, were imported into Grand Cayman to fit local needs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2208558
- PAR ID:
- 10535520
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Journal of Historical Archaeology
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1092-7697
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 86-102
- Size(s):
- p. 86-102
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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