Jillian Jordan

Production and consumption of pottery tempered with fresh volcanic ash peaked in the Late to Terminal Classic periods in the Maya lowlands. Differences in the type of volcanic inclusion and vessel form indicate that the pottery was produced in multiple locations by different groups of potters. In this article, we characterize pottery from household contexts at Baking Pot, Belize, using thin-section petrography and neutron activation analysis (NAA) to document mineralogical and chemical variability and determine provenance. The pottery was produced by adding fresh volcanic ash to a micritic clay. The petrographic and chemical data indicate that this paste recipe was produced locally in the Belize Valley. Variation in the paste recipes used is likely due to both production differences and postdepositional alteration. We argue that it is critical to use both petrography and NAA to understand pottery production and provenance in the Maya region.

The ceramic assemblage at the Classic Period Maya site of Alabama, Belize is poorly preserved and fragmentary. Most of the pottery cannot be classified using standard type-variety approaches, which privilege decoration and surface treatment. The nature of the Alabama ceramic assemblage requires a classification system organized by paste wares, as opposed to incorporating paste composition as a modal or analytical unit that crosscuts types and wares, as this is the only attribute that can be reliably evaluated across all contexts. We identified and systematically described paste groups as a first step toward a typology organized by ceramic paste wares. We analysed 100% of ceramics from settlement surface collection at the site, including non-diagnostic samples, using a scaffolded approach that integrates macroscopic observations, Dino-Lite USB microscopy, and thin section petrography. This approach facilitates the analysis of pottery from all contexts, regardless of the degree of preservation. Incorporating paste composition into classification schemes provides important data on pottery production traditions and the people responsible for their production, which cannot be determined from stylistic analyses alone. We established five new paste groups indicative of local and non-local pottery production. Our approach to ceramic classification provides a method that can be applied to any archaeological site, regardless of the prevailing classification system in place, and is especially relevant to sites with poorly preserved ceramic assemblages dominated by non-diagnostic sherds.

Since the late 1800s, significant archaeological exploration and investigation has been undertaken in what is now the Stann Creek District of Belize. While typically grouped with sites of the Toledo District under the label of "Southern Belize," as will be discussed, there is much that serves to differentiate the inland Maya sites of Stann Creek District from their neighbours to the south. Following Graham (2001) and Peuramaki-Brown (2017), in this paper we find it useful to differentiate the Stann Creek District as a separate material culture sub-region of the eastern Maya Lowlands. This sub-region has become an important focus for the study of resource acquisition and the movement of goods between identified highland and lowland zones along coastal and inland trade routes and communication corridors, but also in the revisiting of topics such as population movements and displacements, particularly during the Late to Terminal Classic periods. In the spirit of the theme of this RRBA volume-focused on the northern and southern reaches of Belize-this paper, essentially a literature review, briefly summarizes the 100+ years of exploration and archaeology of the ancient Maya that has taken place in the Stann Creek District.

Utilitarian ceramic vessels form the bulk of artifact assemblages in the Maya Lowlands, but little is known about their production beyond the likelihood that they were made in a domestic context without elite involvement. Characterizing the production and distribution of these vessels is vital to understanding ancient Maya economic systems; nevertheless, this is a difficult task in the absence of primary production locales. We use spatial data, use-wear analyses on stone and ceramic tools, and analyses of finished products to identify households involved in ceramic production at three settlement groups at Uxbenka, Belize, during the Late Classic Period (A.D. 600–800). Our analyses indicate that Uxbenka potters were likely involved in some level of residential specialization focused on specific vessel forms. These data, in conjunction with ceramic data from nearby Lubaantun and Nim Li Punit, suggest that all three polities were self-sufficient in terms of utilitarian pottery production and primarily engaged in intrapolity distribution. We argue that this self-sufficiency is due to widely available resources, smaller population sizes, and the availability of high quality agricultural lands. Las vasijas de cerámica utilitaria forman el grueso de los conjuntos de artefactos en las tierras bajas mayas. Sin embargo, se sabe poco acerca de su producción, más allá de la probabilidad de que se hayan manufacturado en contextos domésticos, sin la participación de la élite. La caracterización de la producción y distribución de estas vasijas es vital para entender los antiguos sistemas económicos mayas; sin embargo, esta es una tarea difícil en ausencia de los lugares de producción primaria. En este estudio se utilizan los datos espaciales, el análisis de uso-desgaste de las herramientas de piedra y cerámica y el análisis de los productos terminados para identificar los lugares domésticos que participaron en la producción de cerámica en tres grupos de asentamientos durante el Período Clásico Tardío (600–800 d.C.) en Uxbenka, Belice. Los análisis indican que es probable que los alfareros de Uxbenka hayan participado en un cierto nivel de especialización residencial centrado en formas de vasijas específicas. Estos datos, junto con los datos de la cerámica procedente de los centros cercanos de Lubaantún y Nim Li Punit, sugieren que las tres entidades políticas fueron autosuficientes en términos de la producción de cerámica utilitaria. Esta fue principalmente realizada para la distribución adentro del mismo asentamiento. Se argumenta que esta autosuficiencia se debió a la amplia disponibilidad de recursos, los tamaños de población reducidos y la presencia de tierras agrícolas de alta calidad.