Technical choice in pottery production : a west Mexican example

Abstract

This thesis identifies the pottery engineering techniques of ancient Mexican potters from the site of La Queseria in the Balsas depression of Guerrero. I used data from petrography, geologic maps, clays from the area, x-ray diffraction and mechanical testing to determine whether these potters were using different clays for different functional designs. I determined that the potters used local clay for all pots, that some relation exists between the function of the pot and its material and processing technology, and that hence these potters were engineering their pottery.