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Dimensional Standardization and Production Scale in Mesoamerican Ceramics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Philip J. Arnold III
Philip J. Arnold III*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Loyola University, 6525 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60626
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Abstract

The relation between vessel standardization and ceramic-production scale is firmly entrenched in the archaeological literature. This discussion challenges that relation, arguing that standardization is neither a necessary nor sufficient characteristic of craft specialization. Data gathered among seasonal potters in southern Veracruz, Mexico, demonstrate that product uniformity is easily achieved by nonintensive ceramic producers. The factors contributing to dimensional standardization and their implications for archaeological interpretations of pottery manufacture are discussed.

La relación entre la estandardización cerámica y la escala de producción está bien enraizada en la literatura arqueológica. La presente discusión reta dicha relación y prueba que la estandarización no es una característica necesaria ni suficiente de la fabricación especializada. La información proveniente de alfareras temporales de la Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México, demuestra que la uniformidad del producto se logra fácilmente sin producción intensiva. También se discuten los factores que contribuyeron a la estandarización formal y sus implicaciones arqueológicas.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 363 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1991

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References

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