Inca and pre-Inca pottery : pottery from Cusichaca, Department of Cuzco, Peru
Year: 1987
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Although important studies have been made of the Andean pottery \nof the Inca Empire and its predecessors, these studies usually have \nbeen based on pottery collections which lack good archaeological \ncontexts. The usual interpretative framework for ceramic variation \nhas been the hierarchical social organisation of the Inca Empire \ndescribed in the Spanish chronicles. \nIn this paper, the pottery differs from the previously studied \ncollections in two ways: first in the classification and study \nmethods, and secondly in its derivation. \nPottery fabric has been studied, and used as a primary \ndiscriminator. The potential of fabrics for identifying imported \npottery is useful, in order to consider the economic activities \nwithin the Inca Empire and across its borders. source areas are \nconsidered, both in terms of geological environment and pottery \nworkshops. Potting techniques are examined in relationship to \nworkshop organisation, to formal and decorative characteristics, and \nto marketing and consumer requirements. \nThe pottery derives from excavated, stratified deposits. This \nchronological control allows developments in the pottery to be \ndiscussed. A period of intense mercantile activity, before the Inca \noccupation of the area, can be identified. The deposits are distributed anngst five sites, all with Inca-period remains, which \nmeans that contemporary variation can be considered. Each site has a \nparticular kind of ceramic assemblage, and the reasons for this, and \nfor the lack of concordance between assemblages and specific types of \nbuildings, are discussed.
Author: Sara Lunt
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W161502990