Archéologie

Tarascan ceramic sherds from two Postclassical archaeological sites (900.1450 AD) at the Malpaís of Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexico, were investigated by combining Back Scattered Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (BSEM EDS), µ-X-Ray Diffractometry (µ-XRD), µ-X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (µ-XRF) and µ-Raman Spectroscopy. These sherds are famous for their forms and decorations although the composition of its raw materials remains so far unknown and focused only on the composition of the ceramic paste. For the purpose of surface decoration characterization, the pigments used in slips and paintings were identified as hematite, magnetite, amorphous carbon, graphite and lignite. Furthermore chemical and molecular structure determination allowed the identification of technological aspects such as the firing temperatures and atmospheres used in ceramics production.

Les données archéologiques révèlent que la région de Zacapu a été marquée, au début du XIIIe siècle apr. J.-C., par de profonds changements socio-politiques associés à des mouvements de populations, annonçant la naissance du royaume tarasque. L’enjeu de cette étude est d’observer ces phénomènes à la lumière d’une approche technologique du mobilier céramique, en s’appuyant sur le matériel inédit de trois sites du bassin de Zacapu dont la chronologie s’étend entre 850 et 1450 apr. J.-C. Les chaînes opératoires des céramiques ont été reconstituées pour mettre en évidence leurs similitudes ou leurs différences techniques, ainsi que leurs caractéristiques morpho-stylistiques, afin de déterminer s’il existe une continuité dans la production aux périodes précédant la formation du royaume tarasque. Cette étude est complétée par un recours à l’analyse pétrographique qui permet d’identifier les sources d’argiles utilisées par les potiers. Le fonctionnement socio-économique de l’artisanat céramique a également fait l’objet d’un examen approfondi, tant pour caractériser l’organisation de l’activité productive en elle-même que celle de la diffusion des produits finis. Enfin, une dernière partie saisit les implications socio-culturelles des résultats obtenus et tente de les relier à l’histoire des populations tarasques.

Ceramic Technology and “Cultural Borders”. The Example of Ceramic Decoration Techniques of two Postclassic Sites from the Malpaís of Zacapu (Mexico): Palacio and Malpaís Prieto

Technical behaviors within the ceramic operating sequences may reflect sociocultural identities. Investigation of techniques, gestures, and know-how helps us to estimate whether the changes observed from one period to the other are endogenous (cultural evolution of the local traditions) or related to population changes.

At the Malpaís of Zacapu, we use Postclassic ceramics to assess the possible arrival of a group of migrants in the thirteenth century. We aim to understand whether there is technological continuity between the Palacio (AD 900-1200) and the Milpillas (AD 1200-1450) phases. This study focuses on one aspect of the operating sequence: the decoration. The technological analysis discussed here highlights differences in the ceramic production between these two phases. These data support information from ethnohistoric sources that a new group of people arrived in the region during the thirteenth century.

Tarascan ceramic sherds from two Postclassical archaeological sites (900-1450 AD) at the Malpaís of Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexico were investigated by combining Back-Scattered Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (BSEM-EDS), µ-X-Ray Diffractometry (µ-XRD), µ-X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (µ-XRF) and µ-Raman Spectroscopy. These sherds are famous for their forms and decorations although the composition of its raw materials remains so far unknown and focused only on the composition of the ceramic paste. For the purpose of surface decoration characterization, the pigments used in slips and paintings were identified as hematite, magnetite, amorphous carbon, graphite and lignite. Furthermore chemical and molecular structure determination allowed the identification of technological aspects such as the determination of firing temperatures and atmospheres used in ceramics production.

Este volumen describe la cerámica utilitaria y también la cerámica ritual presente en el ajuar funerario de los numerosos esqueletos encontrados en Vista Hermosa. El hallazgo de tres vasijas que representan a Quetzalcóatl-Ehecatl y numerosas cerámicas decoradas con sus atributos demuestran la influencia cultural mexica en la Huasteca posclásica. Pero, se trata de un Quetzalcóatl “huastequizado” y dotado de los atributos del dios huasteco Cipak.
Además, los autores describen, gracias a ciertos análisis químicos y petrográficos, la vida cotidiana de los habitantes de Vista Hermosa: alfarería, hilado, tejido, comida…

In Mesoamerica, the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) is characterized by the long-distance circulation of pottery with a very hard and shiny coating with a metallic aspect, known as Plumbate ware. Plumbate is linked stylistically to the Toltec culture but was produced in workshops in Soconusco (Chiapas). The discovery of a similar collection of sherds during recent work at the site of El Palacio (Zacapu, Michoacán) shows that Plumbate ware also reached this region of Western Mexico. We carried out instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) on 11 of the Zacapu fragments and compared the results to the data from ceramic pastes from the region of Soconusco and Pátzcuaro Basin (Michoacán). Ten sherds were produced in Michoacán and are thus a local imitation, whereas the last fragment corresponds to a Tohil-type Plumbate paste and was transported over a long distance. This raises questions of the modalities for the circulation of this pot and the conditions allowing for production of an imitation (transfer of technical know-how?), which we suggest is linked to the Toltec culture in the center of Mexico.

Book review of Alexander RANI T. (ed.), Technology and Tradition in Mesoamerica after the Spanish Invasion, Archaeological Perspectives, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 2019.
296 p., bibliogr., índice, 76 fig. (en negro y blanco), 28 tabl., ISBN: 978-0826360151.

In 2019, the SFDAS celebrated its fifty years of existence. A full week devoted to SFDAS and Sudanese heritage was held in September 2019 at the French Institute in Khartoum and at the National Museum of Sudan, these events being placed under the aegis of the French Embassy in Sudan. The fiftieth anniversary edition of the SFDAS is the natural conclusion of this week of celebrations, closed by the press conference at the National Museum on the occasion of the official handing over to the Sudanese authorities of the Soleb panel, of the stele of Lady Ataqelula of Sedeinga and the relief of the candace of the temple of Amun at el-Hassa, all of which have benefited from restoration programs.

The jubilee work of the Sfdas has received the support of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) and the National Museum of Sudan, the Collège de France, the Louvre Museum, the University of Central Florida, the French Embassy in Khartoum and the French Institute of Sudan, and has been published with the assistance of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (Ifao) and the National Center for Scientific research (CNRS), laboratory UMR 8167, Orient et Méditerranée.