AMI) II% 1.T.11111A 1. I P.:1.11.11T Wel!

POIACHBOME CERAM1C
AMI) II%
IN THE MAY DE NACO
1.T.11111A 1. I P.:1.11.1 1T Wel!
llene Ut,ernt Wallaee
Department oí' Anthropology
Cornell Univeruity
ii2n(1 Animal Meetinr,
Paper preuenl,ed
tite
GocieLy
l'or
American
Arelincol.oy
o
Apr i 1 : '9 , i 917
1)1.,EAGE 1)0 1■101 1 (jUCYI'M
;1 UN 01,"1111‘; Al 111'11(M
1.n Precohunbian t,irtteG, I,he Val te de Naco, i.n nortjtwel; Len) 1londura2,
was parí;
zi zote of cultural transition beiveeti Maya f'roupn Lo the
we.A and non-Maya people to the east. The upper Chameleed rn drainalse in
el.early within a Copón-dominated sa-region of the Maya urea;
arehaeological asseMblages or Lhe U14a Yojou region inelude mahy
-
reeognizable Maya featureu. On the halls of Diese indleations and
ethnohtlitorical and ethnographic information un Janr s uau,e distributions,
the Valle de Naco nhould rail within the Maya aren but, near its ea:nem
Cront i er. The cerzunics oí' La 131 erra, a 1 arge C
i
peri od u] te in
the valiey, reflect i.tr, el tase relationship with other Maya nites, a:;
well
showing ea/n:1cl, with areas further eant.
we are Lo dineover
the nature of thene contacts, we munt maximize Lite amount
or
inrormation
we gebt from our ce ande:3; that in, we must be tibie lo den systematically
with individual desinn elements and thei• comblnationn aa well as
wah
technology (pante, temper and nurface treatment), :;hapc, and general
decorraLiVe 1 reatmen . 1;tanda•d Mesotuner ictut type-var.i e Ly antd y :; s
provides NO :;ystematie mcann or analyzing motirs and moUir combjnaLion14
on pai.nt•d, incined or ea•ved pot Lery. The syutem currently :in use un
the polychrome ceramicn 01' the Val le de Naco combine:: elements 01'
both type-varieLy and modal apprc.) ► chen and thereby l'acilitaten the
udy
des1 gn ciernen L:; and the i r combinations u re 1. ni. ion Lo nhape
zurcí technology.
Thin system .in barred on the ansumplion that traditional potters
une a 1. i mi Led vocubulary of' design elements. The vocabu.Lurle:; and the
uelec ionn 1'rem diem wi 1 1 vary rrom a.r.. Lo arca. Analysis 01' III in
variation should provide a mueh more sensitive measure of cultural
reiaLionships or cultura]. interaction Lhan a typieal type-variety
analysis.
The lowest; level of taxonomy in a type-variety analysis is the
variety, which is usually based primarily can a combination or surface
treatment, styie, and general features of decorati.on.
An example of
this would be $axche ()t'ame PoLyehrome: Acul. Variety, round al, Altar
de Jacriricios, which is described by R.E.W. Adams as having
decoration by red, black, and orante painting
or
glyphic, natural-
lutic, coriventionalized, and abstract subjects. Especially
distinguished stylistieally by the delicate line execution and
wealth of detail in the treatment
subject matter. Neatness
of execution, with coloro keeping to their eones and subjects
outlined In black is characteristic. (Adams, 1971:37).
This low-level, general treatment of desien elements and combinations
males regional comparison particularly difricult. The ceramic sphere,
the highcst level o 1' a type-variety anaLysis, becomes a taxon in which the
similarities between sites are so cross as to be almost meaningless.
or
Adams's comparison
Copán trrrd Altar ceramics of the Chixoy complex
LH:3 problem of inability to define intersite similarities
in a meanineful way:
"In general,
r
feel that some
or
the Acul. Vn.riety pieces of
Gaxche Orame Polychrome seem somewhat similar to Copador
Poiyehrome. Upon detalled comparison, however, this seemu
Lo be more of a /tenerle similarity, characterized by a eommon
use of similar motiCn and delicacy or line." (Adam, 1971:130).
Technology is likely to exhibit a different pattern of' geographical
variation than desien. Widespread similarities In technology are
likely Lo be very generalized. Because elements of design are
subordinated to features of technology at
rL
low level of the type-
-3-
variety taxonomy, the high-level taxa which define areal variation
(e.g. spheres) embrace an enormous rango or variati on in decoraLion.
.
$imilarities between arcas in design elements and their comb:Lnations
are obscured. Obviously, identical compiex designs can be applied to
technologically very different ceramies. Type - varicLy analysis cannot
deal with this phenornenon. 1;ince technology and design vary independently,
they require independent treatment.
Robert E. Smith (1955) recognizes the importance of taking design
elements irito account in his early study of the ceramics of Uaxactán.
He divides his designs finto four types: glyphic, naturalistic,
conventionalized, and abstract, and lists the periods within which
they occur za,t UaxaciAl,
UG
well as their occurrences at other sites
in the Maya arca. This motif analysis is not Integrated with his
typology, however; he gives no indication of how the design elements
combine, what chapes they occur on, or how they relate to the various
types of pulnted, incised, or carved pottery. Although Smith set
1955,
Uds precedent fo.r analysis of types of design in
later analyses
or
nono of the
Classic Maya ceramicn show a similar concern with
design elements. In his 1971 study of the cerami cs of' Mayapin, Smith
.
again deals with the same Tour types
or
design. la the chapter on
"Types of Desimn", if a design element occurs in a particular variety,
its presence is noted, but the section on types and varieties does not
summarize the design occurrences of their frequencies within the
varieties. Again, Smith does not examine how design elements combine,
what shapes they occur on, or what the designs mean in terms of intersite
J1-
relationships. As Smith recognized, analysis
oí
Lypes of design has
great potential for elucidating cultural. interacLion. This potential
cannot be rcalized uritil design can be successfully integrated with the
standard type-variety attributes, and until systematic analysis
of
geographic variation of design elements and their corribinations can be
achieved.
Adams t s (L971) definitions of "style-groups" emphasize stylisLic
treaLment
or
design elements, rather talan the elements themselves.
¡lis caLegories are therel'ore remarkably broad. Although this system le
designed to deal with individua] sherds, if it were applied to material
from northweste rn Honduras,
.
wouid result in pieces
of
:
the sane poi
being assigned to entirely different eategories. Again, design elements
and their
eombinations are subordinated to other considerations, thus
obGeurinls
important regional variaLions and simtlarities.
Claude Baudez and fierre Beequelin (1973) deal with motifs and
motif combinutions but they are principally concerned wLLII Lhose
that occur within their very broad category of Babilonia Poiychrome.
Their uim i e simply to create reauonable descriptive subdivisions
.
within a largo corpus oí' disparate material, and they recognize that a
brouder cons:i.deration of regional variation would require a systematie
and statistical treatment, of motifs and their combination with other
sorte
or
aLtribuLes. (Baudez and Beequelín, 1973:75)
In the absencc of a clear idea of the geographieal variation
or
ceramic attributes within the Maya a rrea, it is not possible to
upply ceramic data to the more general probiem oí' rccognlzi . ng Maya
sub-regions. The difriculty le partieularly acute in the peripheral
arcas, not only in the eoutheust but also in the northweet. 'Phere is an
implicit notion that Pet€n Glose Wares represent "real" Maya pottery.
-5-
At first glance, the pottcry of Palenque is then "non Maya." in the
-
southeastern frontier region, there is no obvious Maya standing stone
architecture and oculpture, nor are the ceramico part of the fetén
Gloso Ware tradition; therefore, the area is usualiy considered to be
margina], Mayoid or non-Maya. Wc hope to show that our new system
of analysis demonstrates that the Classic period ceromies of the Valle
de Naco are strongly within a southeastern Maya tradition.
****** ** ***** ** ***** ** ***
The basic reature of our approach to the ceramics of the Valle de
Naco
is
ari independent but coordinated treatment of standard type-
varicty attributes and de siga eiements and their combinatIons. Even in
such a Jocalized area, paste, Lemper, and surface Lreatment vary independently;
a single variety of paste and Lemper orlen has severa] distinct surface
treatments, and, conversely, IdenticaJ surface treatmenGs occur on a
variety oí' paste and temper classes. A type-variety taxononiy
appiied Lo
such ccramic assemblages would:re sult in extreme dirriculties
or classification.
Our solution involves a there-stage analysis: 1) a Laxonomy based
exclusively on attributes of paste and temper; 2) a modal analysis of
decoration (including generalized features of uurfaee treatment and
design elements and combinations) wh i ch is Ghen coo rdinatcd with un
.
.
analysis o(' variations of uhape; and 3) un integration of Lhese Lwo
types
or
analysis.
This system aLlows us Lo deal separately with there independent
variables. Mutualiy exclusive categories are based on Lechnological
attributes, which show a great deal
or
Jocal variation, and, thereCore,
more widespread similaritieu in design are not obscured. T1iis is a
particularly valuable neature of our analysis, because de ign attributes
►
are most signiricant in derining cultural. relationships. In the
Valle de Naco, as in most or the Maya region, polychrome painted pottery
is the most complex class or decorated ce•amics, and
Lhererore, ofrers
the greatest poterit:ial for sensitive measurernent of culture contact.,
and ultimately, for the definition or spheres or prehispanie cultural
interaetion.
Operationally, we must determine the typical elements and combinations
in the polychrome pottery of each site and reglen. Thin will eliminate
the bino that existo in eur current treatment of Maya polychromes: un
overemphanis en super-poto such as the Altar Vase. Knowledge or the
standard design vocabulary of a particular cate or region will also
permit a more eoherent treatment or importa and suspected external
stylistic influences. T ► e current practice el' devoti ng excesoive
description Lo ouspected imports lo plainly i ► erficient and not very
successruL. (er.Adams, 19Y1:59-78)
'f'hese problems el' regional variation are particularly acute in the
southeastern Maya region, where the polyehrome ceramico suggest a
vari ety
.
or
externa.' con ► ections (bot
►
imports and influences), and the
regional style is distinct rrom the }.'caten poLychrome tradition. At
Copan, basal-rlange bowis are recognizably foreign, but their place
origin cannot be speciried because regional otyles rernain undefined.
A perrect example or these problemG is the relationship among
polychrome ceramies el' Coplin, the Valle de Naco, and the Ulda-Yojoa
reglen. 'Che standard vi ew is one or oeparate spheres, with small
quantlties or imported UlAla-Yojoa polychromeu at Copán, and rare
or
oecurrences or Copador polychromes to the easG. Uellance on mich
poorly dcfined categories produces a misieading view o[' cultural
relati.onships in the arca. Our comparatíve analysis of the Classic
period polychromes froin La ► ierra reveals a series of relationships
among these three arcas at the leve] or design elements and their
comhInations.
')'he relnionship between Copón and La Sierra is particularly
striking; not oniy is there a common use of molifs, but these designs
shapes lit the two cites. 'lile locador of monis on
occur on
vesseis is al so quite similar, as are the types or surraee treatrnent.
Al Copan Longyear (1952) identified a clitus
or
vessels as polyehrome
simple bowls, with horizontal deeoration. These are actuai ly deep bowls
.
or jars, with bulging walls, and the deeoration occuru un the exterior
or
the vessel. The deeoration is done in black-and-red-on-orange and
eonsists or a red rim hand and three horizontal paneis, separated from
one another by narrow bands.
WiLhin these
parieLs there are alternating
•
motifs; what liongyear callo silhouette monkeys and parallel-line motifs
seem Lo be partieularly common. AL La Sierra we have an analogous elass
or
vessels, basicaily Lite same .hale, with the exterior painted in
red-and-blaek-on-oranme. These jars also have red rl m bands and
anernatinm motirs within horizontal panel u. 'l'he La Sierra vessels have
alternatinm silhouette monkeys and parallel-line motifu, as well as a
variety
or
other desimns including stylized birds, line-rramed panels.
and coneentrie eireles.
Another example
or
the Glose eonneetions between La Sierra and
Copzin is the simiJariLy belween polyehrome larme tripod dishes or
platos rrom both sites. These vesuel u are pai nted in red-on-orante or
-8-
red-and-block-on-orante, and at both sites the designs include red
bands and what we eall (for lacé of a better tem) red baseball bats.
One oí' the La Sierra examples also has decoration in the Usuluttin
technique which is common on Red-on-Orange Ware bowis lit Copan.
The analysis of paste and temper of these La Sierra examples
indicates that they were manufactured local:1y. The relationship between
Copan and La Sierra thus involves a significant overIap in their
ceramie manufacture and decoration
it is not limited to exchange
oC veusels, although we do have several sherds of Copador polychromp
whieh are easily recognizable because of their specular hematite red
paint and their distinctive paute and temper.
The relation between the polychromes Crom La Sierra and UltlaYojoa poiyehromes tu more difficult to define. We believe that the
diverse category or Ultía-Yojoa polychromes shoudl be subdivided finto at
leas t, two classes; Baudez and Becquelin (1973:255-282) imply that the
bulk
or
their Babilonia Polyehrome in imported lato Los Naranjos, and that
there is a separate local Yojoa polychrome traditIon. Babilonia
Potychromes probably oríginate In the Illúa region (cf. Baudez and Becquelin
19T3:282), but it is not yet pon:Jable Lo speeify their center (or
centers) or manufacture. %ny or the polychromen rrom
La
Sierra occur
in the local paste-temper combinations and exhibit decoration commonly
associated with Ulúa poJychromes: bands of phony heads, counters,
the Winged-rigure moLif, and, In general, a Clne-line style or paintIng.
(Class, 1966:168-9)
Although
contact,G
nou yet possible to explain the nature of culture
within northwestern Honduras, we reel that our system of
ceramie analysiu provides the greatest, potential for illuminating
relationu both within the Maya urea, and between the Maya and other
-9-
cultural traditions in this frontier zone. A reclassification of
polyclirorne pottery from northwestern Honduras is essential if we are to
understand the obviously complex cultural interaction that
took place
in this arca. In particular, the description of thic pottery as Mayoid
pre-judges the issue; this tem implies u:lea.;-than-full particIpation
in the Maya tradition. Our pretiminary findings indicate that the
Valle de Naco is parí oí' a fully-rledged regional variant of Classic
Maya cultura that i ncludes the Copzin crea.
In a recerit; publication, Joyce Marcus (19y6) identiried political
spheres w i thin the Maya urea on the basis of the use or emblem glyphs
:
at various sites. She shows that CoptIn was an important regional capital
in the Late Classic period, and :itu political sphere included Quirigua,
Pusilhá, and several centers in northwestern Honduras. (Marcus, 1976:1221 1x9) It would be especially interesting to determine whether these
postulated political spheres correspond to ceramic relationships.
Pe.rhap:; the close and complex relationship between the ceramles of
CopLIn
and La
Sierra indicate that La Sierra participated :in the Copj.n
political sphere.
Obviously) much more work is necessary if we are to define regional
ceramic styles within the Maya urea. Wc are currently doing a subjective
evaluation of a relatively
samp]e or sherds in terms or design
elements and their combínations. We expect to recover tr. large number ot'
polychromes during our coming field season, and the next stage of
analysiu will be a computer-assisted maltivariate statistical analysis
to determine signiricant combinations ol' design elements and other
ceramic attributes. We also intend Lo codo sampies or sherds from
various Maya cites, indlucing Copzln, in arder to compare them to
polychrome ceramics from the Valle de Naco. Collections of uherds
-110-
from other Honduran cites that have large sampies of Ullia-Yojoa
polychromes will also be analyzed. This statistical analysis will
provi.de us with a "check" on our subjectively derived design combinations.
Ideally, it should be possible to determine the typical motifs
and thei. r combinations from a particular site by coding sherds directly
from a published ceramic report. Unfortunately, the current state of
Maya ceramic studies precludes Chis possibility. Ceramic analyses
from many important sites are still unpublished, and the illustrations in
or
published reports are . often unsuitable for the study
design. Certain
criteria must be met if we are to maximize the amount of in for.
available in a ceramic report. ff the ana].yst; does not intend to do
a study or design elements and combinations, he should at least indicate
whether illustrated sherds typi fy motirs round al, the sile, or whether
they are simply the best-preserved sherds
more basic is the problem
or
or
that particular type. Even
the type or illustration used; it, is
certainly easier to publish photographs
or
groups of' sherds, but such
photos are rarely largo or clear enough Lo permit identirication
or
design elements. The obvious solution to this problem is a greater use
line drawings, (cf. Longyear, 195) which can be red uced without
.
sacriricing clarlty. Finally, a catalog or motirs is essential; even
ir
the anal ys t does not plan to integrate design with other ceramic
attributes, he should include a section illustrating eommon motifs,
in the manner of the Uaxactún (Smith, 1955) and Mayamín (Smith, 1971)
ceramic reports.
Ultimately, we would like to systematically integrate motif
combinations with other ceramic attributes to form a composite
LYPoloW. This new type
or
taxonomy 1.'111 not obscuro the relationships
based on ceramic decoration and will, therefore, be as appropriate
or
Lool for the analysis of regional variation. Tt should provi de a
.
detailed oct
of
coherent categorice useful, for intersi te comparison.
Ultimately, it shoul d permit the easy identifieation of regional
.
styles, which in turn reflect spheres of cultural interaction.
Type-variety analysis, with its stress oil attrtbutes of technology,
is well suited for the solution of chronological problems, but
does not clariry, as does our system, geographical relationshIps.
Bibliography
Adams, RIehard B.W.
The Ceramies or Altar de liaerificios. Peabody Museum of
L971
Arehaeology and Ethnoiogy, Papers 63 (1).
Mudez, Claude A. and fierre Beequelin
/
/
/
Arehéologie de Los Naranjo; Honduras. Etudes mesoamerieaines II.
1973
Miusio ► Archéologique et Ethnologique fran9alse au Mexique.
}
Mexico.
Glaus, John B.
"Archaeological Gurvey or Western Honduras". Ilandbook of
1 966
MiddJe American indians h: 157-179. Austin: University of
.
TPX1113 ~LIG.
hongyear, John M. III
Coplín Ceramics: A PLudy or Goutheastern Maya. Pottery.
1952
Carnegie institution of Washington, Pub. 597
.
MiLrcus, Joyce
Embl em and :;Late i n the Cl;t:;s1c Maya how 1 an ds . Washington ,
1976
1).C.: Dumbarton Oak
Gmith, Robert Ellot
Ceramie Gequence at Uaxacttin, Guatemala. Middie American
1955
Researeh institute, Pub. 20, Vols. 1 and 2. New Orleans.
1971
The Pot tory or Mayaptín, includinr,111.udies or Ce . PaIrli e
Material from Uxmal, Kabah, and Chichen Itv.:1. Peabody
Muneum o r Archaeology and Ethno.logy , Papers 66.