Tawantinsuyu Integration of the Chillon Valley,Peru: A Case of Inca Geo-Political Mastery

Abstract

Archeological and ethno-historical data from the coastal, transitional, and lower sierra variants of the Chillon Valley, Central Coast of Peru, have led to a new understanding of the nature of Inca political and economic control of one subjugated region. The data reveal that the region was settled unevenly by the Cuzqueños; a more intensive state occupation of the lower sierra is indicated. It is suggested that control of the valley was managed by choice from a geographical-political locus in the highland zone because of certain cultural and environmental circumstances in each valley variant that posed advantages and disadvantages for state operations. Major sites yielding evidence of integration into the Inca state are discussed within the context of such a settlement pattern.     

Re-placing plainware: Production and distribution of domestic pottery,and the narration of the pre-colonial past in the Peruvian Andes

The location of domestic pottery production is central to archaeological narratives. Yet too often, unfounded assumptions are made about place of production, especially in relation to place(s) of distribution and use. Only rarely is this geography of production and distribution explored in detail and with perspective. Here, we investigate this problem in the context of the Peruvian Andes. We present the results of extensive ethnoarchaeological research on the manufacture of domestic vessels in over thirty villages with potters in Northern Peru. Drawing on the ethnographic concept of technical style, we identify three tendencies on the relationships between toolkits, manufacturing techniques, geographic units, and exchange. From these tendencies we develop two models of domestic pottery production and distribution: the local production model and the non-local production model, which are applied in analysis of archaeological materials. While this distinction is apparently simple, we demonstrate how the explicit or implicit use of each of these models has shaped some of the most important debates and issues in Andean archaeology. In sum, we explain how understandings of the manufacture, exchange, and use of plainware impacts narratives about the pre-colonial past.     

Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia: Production of Cooking Ware at Pabillonis

Ceramic ethnoarchaeology has been used to explore fully the chaîne opératoire and to understand all of the stages and factors involved in pottery production, such as raw material selection or paste recipes used by the potters. This work presents the results of the application of compositional analysis undertaken in the village of Pabillonis (western Sardinia, Italy), the main cooking ware production centre of the island. Pottery and local clays have been characterized using a combination of analytical techniques. By integrating the ethnographic information and the archaeometric approach, it was possible to reconstruct the operational sequence, exploring the relationship between the processing of raw materials and the functionality of the final products, and the intra‐production compositional variability.     

U-Pb dating of zircon: A sourcing method for pottery from La Morena archaeological site,north-west Colombia*

U-Pb zircon radiometric dating and petrographic thin-section analysis were used for provenance identification of Ferrería and Marrón Inciso pottery styles from La Morena archaeological site in northwestern Colombia. U-Pb dating was applied to zircons recovered from pottery and rock samples from nearby geological units. The results suggest at least three distinct sources: the metamorphic rock unit on which the archaeological site is located, a granodiorite unit that outcrops further away from the site, and a mafic rock that cannot be attributed with certainty. U-Pb in zircons proved to be effective as a provenance method, where ages of the possible source rocks are well constrained, and can be applied to areas where traditional sourcing methods may be problematic.     

Traces of Early Austronesian Expansion to East Indonesia? New Discovery of Dentate-Stamped and Lime-Infilled Pottery from Central Sulawesi

This short article report about the new findings of finely made dentate-stamped and lime infilled potteries from the Goa Topogaro site in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Most of them are red-slipped pottery decorated with dentate-stamped, lime infilled, and can be identified as burial potteries as they are excavated with secondly burials of the Early Metal Age possibly dated around 2000-1800 years ago. When comparing these finds with common decorative patterns seen in early dentate-stamped pottery assemblages in the Philippines, Mariana Islands, and early Lapita sites, the Topogaro dentate-stamped pots lack some common early patterns, but exhibit a wider variety of designs. It is now argued that dentate-stamped decorations at Lapita sites mainly disappeared by around 2800 BP or at least by 2000 BP in the Pacific, but the Topogaro dentate-stamped sherds may indicate that this pottery tradition continued and further developed in Island Southeast Asia or Sulawesi at least until the Early Metal Age. The detailed analysis of these new finds and further comparative study on production technique, variety of design, forms, and styles of both dentate-stamped ceramics in Southeast Asia and Oceania is required.     

Provenance of Weeden Island “sacred” and “prestige” vessels: implications for specialized ritual craft production

ABSTRACT

Weeden Island mortuary ceremonialism united distinct cultures across the Late Woodland social landscape. The Weeden Island pottery series is central to recognizing regional ceremonial parity, with prestige (elite) and sacred (cult) wares showing strong similarities among distant sites. Finely made vessels and their ostensibly shamanistic themes led archaeologists to consider the liturgical and political roles of ritual specialists, whose tasks might have included vessel manufacture in centralized locations. This research evaluates the prospect of craft specialization and centralized production of sacred and prestige wares through comparisons of the provenance of vessels from three Florida localities: Palmetto Mound (8LV2), the mounds at Melton (8AL5, 8AL7), and McKeithen (8CO17). Results of Neutron Activation Analysis and petrographic analysis show that the majority of the sampled vessels were made far from the mounds in which they were deposited, from a variety of locations but especially within the area between Kolomoki and the Tallahassee Hills. We argue that production was not centralized but may have been specialized to the extent that an integrated ritual network was necessary to coordinate rules of manufacture and use that were evidently observed by all participants.     

河南信阳城阳城遗址战国楚墓出土彩绘陶器的科学研究

为研究河南信阳城阳城址战国楚墓出土彩绘陶器病害,采用X荧光光谱分析、红外光谱分析和拉曼光谱分析对陶器表面颜料、有机底层、金属涂层进行了分析检测,并对陶胎物理性能进行了分析。研究发现:这批城阳城址彩绘陶器为高硅低铝陶器,为典型北方灰陶类型,吸水率较大,结构比较疏松,烧成温度范围在930℃～1025℃。陶器表面红色颜料主要为朱砂和赤铁矿,黄色颜料为针铁矿; 8号墓部分彩绘陶器彩绘层底含锡; 18号墓彩绘陶器黑褐色有机底层为生漆,为漆衣彩绘陶。这些信息为保护修复方案设计和保护修复实施提供了科学基础。     

西安市南郊马腾空唐墓发掘简报

2001年4月至10月间,我们在西安市南郊马腾空清理了15座唐代墓葬。所有墓葬皆为南北向,单室墓室,墓道在南,墓室居北。墓葬形制可分为A、B、C三型。可以看清的几例葬具、葬式皆为单棺单人,仰身直肢。随葬品以陶俑最为丰富,计有镇墓俑、男俑、女俑、动物俑等,其中男俑、女俑的中的半身俑时代特征明显,女俑的发式新颖奇特,造型生动,在隋唐考古中较为少见。加之又出土了四盒墓志,具有明确的纪年,可以作为判断其年代的标形器。这批墓葬的发掘为关中地区唐墓谱系的建立增加了新资料,同时对其它地区唐墓的研究也有借鉴作用。     

殷墟仿铜陶礼器墓试析

殷墟四期偏晚阶段出现仿铜陶礼器墓,其器物组合较固定,所含器类较全,学者对其认识不一。作者认为其出现有深刻的社会原因,同时又和人们的意识形态、思想变化密不可分,是人们对资源利用观念的一种转变。