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Tracing the clay source of Nasca polychrome pottery: results from a preliminary raw material survey

2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 31; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jas.2004.03.021

1095-9238

Kevin J. Vaughn, Héctor Neff,

Archaeology and Rock Art Studies

This paper describes the results of the first season of a survey in which clays suitable for the production of Nasca polychrome pottery were collected in an effort to (1) determine the geological variability of clay sources in the Nasca region and (2) match clays compositionally to paste groups from previous provenance analyses. Clays were collected, processed, fired, and analyzed using neutron activation. The results demonstrate that clays in the region were compositionally heterogeneous, and that the clay source for the majority of Nasca polychrome pottery sampled thus far can be traced to lower valleys in the region near the ancient ceremonial center Cahuachi. The results have implications for understanding the nature of polychrome pottery production in the Nasca region, and suggest centralized production near the ceremonial center of the majority of painted ceramics consumed in the Southern Nasca Region.