Ancient Maya Pottery: Classification, Analysis, and Interpretation

Foreword

Foreword A decade ago, when we decided to start the Maya Studies series with the University Press of Florida, we did so with two specific targeted books in mind. The first of these was a volume that synthesized all of the results of the various archaeological projects that were then taking place in central Belize; that volume was published by the press in 2004 as The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research, edited by James Garber. The second book that we solicited was one that dealt with new approaches to and issues in Maya ceramic analysis. While this second book took a bit longer to come to fruition, it was worth the wait. Ancient Maya Pottery: Classification, Analysis, and Interpretation, edited by James John Aimers, is an excellent contribution to understanding Maya pottery and how it is analyzed and interpreted. For a Maya archaeologist, ceramics are crucial to interpreting the archaeological record. Large numbers of pottery sherds are found at all Maya sites. To some extent, they are both a bane and a blessing for archaeologists. They are a blessing because they can be dated and used to interpret past societies—provided that their stratigraphic and contextual situations are understood; they are a bane because their quantity and often poor preservation make them difficult and time-consuming to analyze. Pottery is plastic and malleable, changing to reflect cultural mores and preferences. In a society that did not use metal objects until very late in their history, this meant that most containers were made of pottery and that these containers morphed into different forms and styles as time passed. Thus, ceramics are a keystone in Maya archaeology for relative dating, for interpreting social differences within past groups at any one point in time, and for determining contextual functions. Spectacular examples of Classic period Maya polychrome ceramics (A.D. 250–A.D. 900) are rightly prized by the countries in which they have been found, and many examples are professionally displayed in the world’s museums . However, the vast majority of Maya pottery does not meet this artistic standard, and most of the materials with which archaeologists work would never be placed on exhibit. Yet all pottery—whether beautiful or mundane, partial or whole—is of great significance to archaeological interpretation, and methodology relating to its classification and interpretation is important for an understanding of past civilizations. Ceramics first appeared sometime after 1200 B.C. in the Maya area; exactly what constitutes the earliest Maya pottery is still under discussion. The earliest ceramic complexes (Swasey, Cunil, Eb, Xe, Ox, and Ek), distributed throughout the Maya region, are among the least well known because of how difficult they are to locate archaeologically. Cunil pottery, described in detail in this volume , is one of the earliest known ceramic complexes from the Maya area, but whether it is in fact Maya is contested. Transitional ceramic complexes, occurring at times of change in the Maya past, are similarly difficult to identify, define , and interpret—whether they are the orange wares and polychromes that appeared between the Preclassic and Classic periods or the modeled wares, fine wares, and red wares relating to the transition between the Classic and Postclassic periods. Attempts at better defining and interpreting these enigmatic materials—as is undertaken by almost half the chapters in this volume—provide great benefit to all students of Maya archaeology. Pottery will always be of critical importance to the archaeological interpretation of ancient Maya society. This book provides a needed background to the serious issues involved in the classification and interpretation of Maya ceramics and also addresses the significance of ceramic analysis for defining transitions that occur within the archaeological record. The chapters in this volume will have lasting value for researchers engaged in both Maya studies and ceramic analysis in other parts of the world. Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase Series Editors Foreword xii ...