Pottery production practices during the late Prehispanic Period in Valle del Bolsón. A contribution from ceramic technology from El Duraznito site (Belén, Catamarca, Argentina)

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed analysis on the technology of ceramic assemblages of late pre-hispanic times recovered from the archaeological site “El Duraznito”, settlement conglomerated located in the central sector of the Valle del Bolsón (Belén, Catamarca, Argentina). Specifically, we detail and discuss the results of petrographic studies of thin sections made on a sample composed of 77 fragments corresponding to pieces of different aesthetic characteristics: 1) ordinary, 2) black on red and 3) black on cream. The results obtained allowed us to recognize variability in the manufacture of similar pieces. Also highlighted in the valley two general patterns of production that make up the variability of ways of doing indicated and that they define from the type of temper used in manufacturing: grog in the ordinary pottery and black on cream and piroclastics sediments in the black on red set. Finally, these local trends are discussed in broad regional scales and we propose the existence of manu-facture traditions that cross stylistic and regional boundaries.