Archaeological and historical perspectives about ceramic production, distribution and consumption in border lands. Native technologies and post-contact changes in Middle West Argentina (15th-17th centuries).

MARÍA JOSÉ OTS, PABLO CAHIZA Y J. BÁRCENA

Barcelona

Congreso; Global Pottery. 1st International Congress on Historical Archaeology & Archaometry for Societies in Contact; 2012

Universitat de Barcelona

The Argentine Middle West was slowly incorporated to the Spanish empire in the second half of the 16th century. This region was inhabited by low level food production communities previously conquered by the Incas. They had a communitarian level of pottery production, modified by the estate demands during the Inca period. The more characteristical local pottery style is called Viluco, a type of prewheel, painted earthenware technologically similar to others Inca styles. There are recorded Viluco ceramics in archaeological context between 15th and 18th centuries, the last ones in posthispanic levels. Since the European contact, these Viluco ceramics are a diagnostical evidence of native presence in historical sites.  The aims of this research are the general characterization of native pottery technology and the identification of transformations introduced by European contact. The study of technological organization in local pottery production has a short path in the region, and we summarize here these advances. Analysis techniques applied to compare typological and technological attributes like shape, paste, surface treatment and decoration include both their macroscopical and microscopical observation by binocular and petrographic microscope. At the moment, results shows continuity in technological attributes (paste composition, manufacture, cooking and decorative techniques), while changes are identified mainly in the standardization in shapes and some decorative motives. These results support the hypothesis that native technology had not undergone a large transformation after contact, mainly because of a fast decline of native population and a low demand of these ceramics in European context