scholarly journals Technology and organization of black pottery production on the north coast of Peru

Author(s):  
Izumi Shimada ◽  
Ursel Wagner

Not all «black» pottery was produced in the same manner just as their social and symbolic uses and reasons for production varied a good deal. Nor are many examples truly black. The Middle Sicán culture (AD 900-1100) on the north coast of Peru distinguished itself with the perfection and large-scale production of black pottery made of fine paste. Based on our «holistic» study of a Middle Sicán workshop (including experimental firing and detailed chemical analyses of both archaeological and experimental samples), we present a detailed characterization of the blackware production technology and organization. Our study revealed that the glossy Middle Sicán blackware resulted from various factors including firing under strongly reducing conditions in small semi-closed kilns, an even carbon deposition on the vessel surface as well as penetration into the body, and the formation of graphite crystals on the well-burnished surface. Chimú reduced ware, in contrast, is typically made of coarser pastes, not as well burnished, and fired in relatively large “pit kilns” that did not permit a tight control over temperature and atmosphere. We infer that the prestige of the Middle Sicán religion and its art together with the lustrous, truly black appearance of the pottery that had been rarely achieved before played an important role in establishing the popularity of black pottery not only in the Sicán heartland but also much of the coastal Peru.

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. Netherly

Documentary research combined with field study has made possible the reconstruction of the sociopolitical organization of the Late Prehispanic Chimu and Chimu-Inca polities of the North Coast of Peru. Many aspects of the management of the large-scale irrigation networks of the region are integrated into that organization. Rights to the water of a particular canal–and to the lands it watered–can be shown to have been vested in socio-political groups which occupied different hierarchical positions according the size of the canal. Maintenance, repair, and distribution of the water were carried out by these groups; there was no centralized state bureacracy to oversee hydraulic affairs. Understanding the organization of the canal system permits a series of hypotheses for the reconstruction of ancient territorial units and the organization of settlement patterns within them.


1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances M. Hayashida

According to historical sources, the Inka relocated groups of craft specialists to provincial centers to manufacture goods for the state. Recent fieldwork in the Leche Valley on the north coast of Peru provides insights into the organization and technology of pottery production at these centers. While Inka style jars were added to their repertories, potters continued to manufacture vessels in local styles using local techniques. These results caution against a reliance on style in identifying products made in administered contexts, and question the equivalence of style with polity in the Inka provinces. They also highlight a need to critically evaluate Inka cultural policies and the significance of subject styles in the empire.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Arthur

This article discusses the development of ceramic technology from the 4th to the 8th c. A.D., in both the East and West Mediterranean areas. It outlines the competence of Late Roman ceramics, dominated by African producers, with some evidence of innovation in decoration in the West. Change occurs from the 5th c. onwards, in different regions at different times, connected to the dislocation of markets and the end of large scale production. Large areas of the North return to the local production of hand-made pottery, whilst in the Mediterranean wheel-thrown pottery also becomes cruder. Continuity is greatest in the Levantine regions under Islam, though not in Africa. However, innovations are still known, including clibani and the use of glazes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances M. Hayashida

AbstractLarge-scale irrigation agriculture formed the economic backbone of civilizations on the north coast of Peru. Contrary to the notion that large systems required the guiding hand of the state, historical sources suggest that management was largely local and segmentary. At the same time, water and land are a potential source of economic and political power for state administrators who may intervene in the supervision and management of farming. The Pampa de Chaparrí, in the Lambayeque region, is an unusually well-preserved system of canals, fields, and settlements where the dynamics of water, land and politics can be observed. Systematic survey documented a Middle Sicán (A.D. 900-1100), Late Sicán (A.D. 1100-1375), Chimú (A.D. 1375-1460) and Inka (A.D. 1460-1532) occupation. During Middle and Late Sicán, settlement patterns reflect the segmentary organization described in historical accounts. With conquest by the Chimú and Inka Empires, state administrative centers were constructed, existing social groups were reorganized and communities and households were transformed. Thus, though local management is an effective and stable strategy for managing large irrigation systems, the wealth and power that these systems represent make them potential targets for more direct state control, with significant consequences for local inhabitants.


Author(s):  
L. W. Byrne
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  

No description of the young of this species seems to exist, with the exception of that given by Emery (1) of some examples from Naples.The specimens here described were captured at Newquay, on the north coast of Cornwall, in September, 1898, and have been preserved in formol. They were caught in sandy pools surrounding or surrounded by rocks in the shelter of which they seemed to be fond of lying. When disturbed they darted with considerable rapidity from place to place, and in doing so were seemingly assisted by the large pectoral fins which were carried nearly at right angles to the body by the fish when at rest.


1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pozorski ◽  
Shelia Pozorski

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haagen D. Klaus ◽  
Walter Alva ◽  
Steve Bourget ◽  
Luis Chero

Between AD 100 and 800, the Moche culture emerged on the north coast of Peru. Diverse debates surround the nature of Moche territorial and political centralization, sociopolitical identities, and the internal social diversity of Moche society. Here we address some of these issues in a biodistance study based on phenotypic variation of inherited dental traits within and between 36 individuals in the royal tombs of Sipán (Lambayeque valley), Úcupe (Zaña valley), and Dos Cabezas (Jequetepeque valley). Metric and nonmetric dental trait data were analyzed using hierarchical cluster and R-matrix analyses. The results independently indicate that the highest-level Sipán and Dos Cabezas lords likely represented different endogamous kin groups, while limited gene flow occurred between groups of Moche lower nobility between the Lambayeque and Jequetepeque regions. Although biology and material cultural link the Lord of Úcupe to Dos Cabezas, many objects in his tomb demonstrate his participation the world of the Sipán elites. These Moche lords were, on some levels, bioculturally interconnected. Nonetheless, the data broadly lend support to a “many Moches” model of sociopolitical structure, further casting doubt on earlier one-dimensional visions of a centralized hegemonic Moche polity.


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