Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 71, núm. 2, 2019, p. 359 ‒ 381 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2019v71n2a8

Cadena operatoria de la producción cerámica Xajay: análisis estadístico de evidencias petrográficas

Alejandra Castañeda Gómez del Campo^1,*, Sergey Sedov², Fernando López Aguilar³,

Serafín Sánchez Pérez⁴, Rubén Eduardo López Mendiola⁴

¹Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR8096- Archéologie des Amériques, 21 Allée de l’Université, 92000 Nanterre, Francia.

²Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad #3000, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, CDMX, México.

³Posgrado en Arqueología, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Periférico Sur y Zapote s/n. Colonia Isidro Fabela, Tlalpan 14030, CDMX, México.

⁴Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Periférico Sur y Zapote s/n. Colonia Isidro Fabela, Tlalpan 14030, CDMX, México.

^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the operational chain involved in Xajay’s ceramic production through a petrographic and statistical analysis, in order to differentiate the ceramic produced locally from the one that was manufactured in other regions. The collection analyzed for this study comes from the excavations conducted in the main ceremonial center of Xajay culture, known as Pahñu, which was occupied between 300 and 950 AD, and located in the municipality of Tecozautla, Hidalgo, Mexico. The study was based in the petrographic analysis of 21 ceramic samples, and the micromorphologic analysis of 6 soil samples. In order to review the different methods of clay preparation, the samples were first grouped by mineralogical composition to be able to infer their origin related to a same source area. In a second moment, groups were defined in subgroups, taking into consideration proportions, morphology, and size of antiplastic particles. Likewise, the purpose of the micro-morphological analysis was the identification and characterization of soils, in order to correlate soils with corresponding ceramic samples. The analysis allows for an understanding of the dynamics involved in raw material exploitation and clay preparation for the elaboration of ceramic objects used at Pahñu. With regards to the different types of soil used in ceramic production—Vertisol, Luvisol and Feozem—the inhabitants of Pahñu opted for the latter two. The information obtained in this study leads to the conclusion that the Xajay culture produced most of their ceramic assemblage locally and acquired, to a lesser degree, ceramic produced in other regions.

Keywords: Operational chains, provenance analysis, Xajay culture, pottery, petrographic analysis.