Ceramic Production During the Middle Horizon: Wari and Tiwanaku Clay Procurement in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

摘要

As the only place simultaneously occupied by the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600-1000) Andeanstates, the Tiwanaku and the Wari, the Moquegua Valley in southern Peru is of critical impor-tance to understanding relations between the two states. Visual studies of Tiwanaku and Wariceramics in the valley have elucidated differences in form and decoration. The procurementof raw clays was central to the production of these ceramics, and understanding where peo-ple procured their clay may provide insight into the social and economic interactions betweenthese two states. Survey of the Moquegua Valley indicates the extensive availability of rawclays. Results of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)analyses of clays indicate that there is heterogeneity in the chemical signature of the valley'sclays and that at least five different clay groups can be distinguished. Comparison ofthese clays with LA-ICP-MS analysis of ceramics from a Tiwanaku site and a Wari site demon-strates that although Tiwanaku and Wan colonists in Moquegua used locally available clays dur-ing the Middle Horizon, the clay sources exploited by potters from each state were differentand derived from areas located within their respective middle and upper valley territories.This information provides a basis for future chemical analysis of ceramics from the MoqueguaValley and improved understanding of past social and economic interactions.