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Ceramic and Artifact Analysis

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4. Characterizing Tabascan
Ceramics
4.1. Introduction

Of crucial importance to understanding the development of complex society along

the southern Gulf Coast is the development of fine-grained area chronologies for the
region. While some areas and time periods have well-developed chronologies, many

gaps remain to be bridged, and the western Tabasco Coastal Plain is not an exception.
In this chapter I discuss the history of pottery studies in the Grijalva delta, the struc-

ture of the classification scheme employed, and aspects of the pottery manufacturing
process related to the classification of pottery. I discuss regional pottery wares, their
corresponding types and subtypes, and shared regional and extraregional technolog-

ical and stylistic traditions in the next chapter. By regional, I refer to the western
portion of the Tabasco Coastal Plain, the uplands and Sierra flanking the southern

edge of the plain, and the adjoining coastal lowlands to the west, the Coatzacoalcos
Basin and surrounding tertiary uplands. Extraregional refers to the Greater Isthmian

Area and its subtraditions and the eastern portion of the Tabasco Coastal Plain as
well as Mesoamerica as a whole. In Chapter 6, I discuss the ceramic chronology for
the western Grijalva delta area. This is not a complete chronology. It focuses on the

late Early Preclassic through Middle Preclassic, a portion of the Late Classic, and
a poorly bounded segment of the Late Postclassic. Because I undertook collections

at abandoned modern houselots within the survey area to obtain a sample of recent
pottery, this recent tradition is also described. Discussion related to the archaeologi-
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cal context of individual types, forms, and patterns of use is presented in Chapters 3

and 6.
The archaeological phases and their associated complexes defined here include a

sequence of seven Early through Middle Preclassic phases, including the Pellicer,
Molina, Palacios, Early Puente, Late Puente, Early Franco, Late Franco, and Cas-
tañeda phases. The Palacios phase is divided into two facets, and further research

may justify the division of the Early and Late facets of the Palacios phase into two
phases. The Puente and Franco phases, originally defined by Sisson (Sisson 1976),

are each divided into two phases. The Late Franco and Castañeda complexes overlap
chronologically and represent two partially contemporaneous complexes respectively

present within the extreme western portion of the Grijalva delta and central Grijalva
delta. Arenal distributary sites are associated with two well-defined phases, the Late
Classic period Early Arenal and Late Arenal phases, and a less well documented pre-

ceding Copilco phase. Poorly differentiated Postclassic surface collections are grouped
under the Ahualulcos Cintla phase, however a great deal of further research is required

to properly define the Grijalva delta Postclassic period ceramic sequence. For mod-
ern pre-Plan Chontalpa pottery, a final phase and complex, the Provo, is defined.

Throughout this report, the same name is used for both an archaeological phase and
its defining complex of pottery types and forms. Several sub-complex names are de-
fined, and I use a modifier based on the defining site and the overall complex name, for

instance, type and decorative differences indicate important differences between the
San Andrés Early Puente and Early Puente complex ceramics recovered at Pajonal

sites.
The typology and chronology presented here are based on data from my survey and

excavation of sites along the Pajonal paleodistributary and from San Andrés (Barí
1). Research at the site of San Andrés has proved invaluable for refining substantial
portions of the ceramic chronology of the western Grijalva delta. In particular, I
 155

have been able to substantially refine the Middle Preclassic period sequence. As I

have already discussed in Chapter 3, much of the material I recovered from Pajonal
sites is from mixed context, although I was fortunate to sample a series of middens

providing a much better delineated pottery sample. Another substantial proportion

of the material I analyzed was from surface collections. The situation at San Andrés is
dramatic in its reversal. A substantial proportion of the pottery recovered from that

site was obtained from a series of extensive middens and ancient pits. Some of the
sample was derived from sequential floor fill, but this represents a small proportion of

the overall sample. The San Andrés sample includes a number of reconstructed near
whole or substantially whole vessels in primary depositional context. The recovery of

a number of large vessel fragments helped to clarify the complex of vessel forms in use
during the Middle Preclassic. The sherds that I recovered from Pajonal sites yielded
much less direct information about vessel form due to their frequent fragmentation

and mixing. San Andrés material frequently facilitated the identification of vessel
form in the Pajonal sample.

The discussion of the respective characteristics of wares and types draws heavily
upon attribute definitions presented in the appendices on ware (Appendix A), form

(Appendix B), and design attributes (Appendix C) which summarize design decisions
pertaining to paste manufacture, color, and finish; overall vessel form; and the individ-
ual components of vessel form and decorative design. These attribute and modal data

were generated during the attribute analysis of all rim, base, and decorated or oth-
erwise uncommon body sherds recovered from the excavation and surface collection

of sites within the Pajonal project study area. For comparative purposes, attribute
and mode information from other research within the Grijalva delta is included. I

include form, modal, and attribute data from San Andrés as well. My research on
San Andrés materials is continuing, and its presentation is incomplete here. The data
I generated during the attribute analysis of Pajonal and San Andrés materials were
 156

entered into an SQL database (PostgreSQL (PostgreSQL development team 2003))

for later tabulation and study. To facilitate statistical comparison, I also undertook
the conversion and entry of ceramic data from Sisson’s (1976) dissertation in a com-

patible format. I chose PostgreSQL because of its robustness with large data sets, its
support of standard SQL and regular expression-based queries, and the availability of
software bridges to the statistical analysis package, R (Ihaka and Gentleman 1996),

in which much of the analysis and graphing of data was undertaken. These data are
available on request.

Previous ceramic research

The pottery taxonomy presented here and the chronology presented in the follow-

ing chapter draw substantially on the pioneering research of Heinrich Berlin (1955,
1956) at Huimango, Tamulte de las Sabanas, and Juárez in the Grijalva delta and

Atasta, Jonuta, and Tecolpan within and south of the Usumacinta delta; Edward
Sisson (1976) within the Plan Chontalpa Pilot Project area and portions of the Río

Seco paleodistributary; Piedad Peniche Rivero (1973) at Comalcalco and the adjoin-
ing Late Preclassic site of Los Pinos; Sylviane Boucher (1981) at Comalcalco; and,
to a lesser degree, Román Piña Chán and Carlos Navarrete (1967) at sites along the

Río Blasillo paleodistributary and south of the delta apex; and Carlos Inchaustegui’s
(Inchaustegui 1987) ethnographic research on modern Chontal pottery traditions.

Each characterized segments of the pottery tradition of the Grijalva delta area. The
location of sites where key research on regional chronology has been undertaken is
shown in figure 4.1. Drucker’s (1952) pioneering but flawed ceramic typology devel-

oped for La Venta is an important point of comparison, although like other modern
researchers, I do not draw directly on his classificatory scheme. Some of the subse-

quent research at La Venta, including Squier’s (1964a) dissertation research on La

Venta pottery, Hallinan, et al’s (1968) summary of pottery excavated during their
 157

1968 La Venta work under Robert Heizer, and Piña Chan’s (1964) work linked with

the construction of the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City are also im-
portant points of reference. The incompletely published research of William Rust

(1987, 1988, 1992, 1994) which describes a local taxonomy of La Venta area pottery
and an associated chronology is also drawn on when appropriate, in particular his La
Venta type collection. Research by the Proyecto Arqueológico de La Venta (PALV)

is invaluable for the Middle Preclassic, including Rebecca González Lauck’s disser-
tation and subsequent research at the site (González Lauck 1990), Judith Gallegos

Gómora’s excavation of Platform D-7 (Gallegos Gómora 1990), and current masters
research by Chris van Gestel on pottery excavated by Rebecca González in the course

of her doctoral research in Complex B at La Venta. Data on Early Preclassic pottery

traditions at and around La Venta has been augmented by research by Raab (1997)
at the Isla Alor site which has an important Early Preclassic occupation. E Wyllys

Andrews’ (1986) analysis of imported Maya pottery at La Venta provides a starting

point for the analysis of this rare but telltale component of western Grijalva delta

ceramic assemblages. Despite the labors of these and other scholars, the pottery ty-
pology and chronology of the Grijalva delta is still poorly described with some rather

large lacunae. While the Early to Middle Preclassic period sequence is increasingly
well understood, the Late Preclassic and Early to Middle Classic period sequence is
poorly to not at all known. Research by Berlin, by various researchers at Comalcalco,

by the New World Archaeology Foundation, by the PALV and by Sisson and myself
within the area of the Plan Chontalpa Pilot Project area provide an incomplete and

unclothed framework for the Late Classic and portions of the Postclassic. Almost
no Early Classic period sites have been sampled and, despite the importance of the

Tabasco Coastal Plain during the period of Aztec imperial expansion as a trade cor-
ridor and cacao production zone primus inter pares, the Late Postclassic period is
very poorly described. Both Sisson (1976) and I describe some of the earliest aspects
 158

of the Tabascan pottery tradition, however, as discussed below, we have a very small

sample derived from two deep soundings in western delta sites. Following the lead
of Sisson, I have also been able to substantially refine the Middle Preclassic ceramic

sequence based on my work at Pajonal sites and study of San Andrés pottery. I have
preliminarily summarized some aspects of this sequence in conference papers (von
Nagy et al. 1998, von Nagy et al. 2002, von Nagy et al. 2000); however, it is presented

in more complete form here.

The pottery chronology of the western Tabasco Coastal Plain is built on four scaf-

folds. Sisson (1976) provided the outline of a Early to Middle Preclassic period
sequence with some data on the Late Classic period for the central portion of the

delta with a focus on the area that had been developed as the Plan Chontalpa Pilot
Project just prior to the inception of his dissertation field research. He defined a six
phase sequence beginning with a San Lorenzo Bajío phase equivalent Pellicer phase

dominated by a complex of red-slipped and plain brown dishes, bottles, and plain
tecomates. This is followed by the Chicharras phase equivalent Molina phase marked

by the appearance of differentially fired bottles and dishes, and, significantly, the
use of imported volcanic ash for temper. The local manifestation of Early Horizon

influenced pottery, the Palacios phase, follows the Molina phase and is marked by
gouged-incised and groove-incised dishes and bowls, an apparent reduction in vol-
canic ash temper use, and a technical mastery of differential firing. Following the

Palacios phase, the Nacaste phase equivalent Puente phase is the local expression of
the transition to the Middle Preclassic period. It is marked by the appearance of

rare white-slipped dishes and the frequent use of simple rim parallel groove-incision
and, occasionally, double line or other breaks. The Franco phase, marked by the

appearance of composite-silhouette dishes and an increasing shift from fine control

of differential firing to mottled firing, follows and demonstrates strong linkages to
the Palangana phase at San Lorenzo and the Chiapa III (Escalera and other sub-
 159

regional complexes) horizon in the state of Chiapas. Sisson’s final Preclassic phase,

the Castañeda, is the Grijalva delta expression of the Chiapa IV (Francesa and other
subregional complexes) horizon, characterized by distinct vessel form and exterior

treatment. The second scaffold of the western Tabascan chronology is Berlin’s (1956)
definition of three major pottery horizons for the Tabasco Coastal Plain: the Late
Classic period Jonuta and Postclassic period Early and Late Cintla horizons marked

by respective Fine Orange groups. The third scaffold is the definition of the Late
Classic period Río Grijalva I and Early Postclassic period Río Grijalva II phases for

the site of Comalcalco by Peniche Rivero (1973) which, together with Sisson’s and
Berlin’s Late Classic data, provide a working framework for those periods. Finally,

the diverse and ongoing work at and around La Venta has resulted in an increasingly
well-understood Middle Preclassic sequence and some information on subsequent Late
Classic and Late Postclassic to Early Colonial periods. Research by Piña Chán and

Navarrete (1967) provides some chronological structure for the southern portion of
the Grijalva delta.

The gaps in our knowledge of the chronology of western Tabasco are significant.
The earliest portion of the Early Preclassic period, the time period from the incep-

tion of pottery use by long-established Grijalva delta populations to the development

of the Palacios complex, is incompletely described. Although the Molina complex is
adequately described, earlier pottery complexes, like the Pellicer, are very poorly doc-

umented and tend to be deeply buried. As I discuss in the next chapter, bioturbation
is a significant factor at some estuary sites, in particular San Andrés, and has led to

the erroneous identification of a very early tradition of pottery Rust (1992), Rust and
Leyden (1994). After the Castañeda phase, the chronological sequence for the Gri-

jalva delta is sporadically documented until the Late Classic period, and, despite some
information on Early to Late Postclassic pottery traditions, these remain very poorly
described. Drucker, Heizer and Squier (1959: Offering 26) illustrate Early Colonial
 160

pottery for La Venta but, aside from a few improperly identified Colonial vessels, no

published information exists for the Colonial and subsequent periods. A general lack
of interest in the region is one factor; however, the dynamic nature of the landscape is

another contributing factor. Research, focused on a few important sites — La Venta

and its periphery, Comalcalco, and a limited number of smaller Preclassic sites —
has resulted in a species of auto-selection against the under-sampled time periods.

Areas of the Grijalva delta likely to preserve sites from the under-documented time
periods, including the Chontalpa proper for the Postclassic and the west-central por-

tion of the delta west of the Río Seco for the Early Classic, have been all but ignored.
The same can be said of the Usumacinta delta for which we have some information

on the Late Classic period (for instance Hernández and Alvarez 1978, Ochoa 1988,
Ochoa and Casasola 1978), but comparatively little for the Preclassic and Postclassic
periods. Usumacinta paleodistributaries from these respective time-periods have not

been surveyed and nor have sites been sites tested.

Data on Grijalva pottery traditions and chronology are complemented by exten-

sive data on pottery from sites throughout the Greater Isthmian Area and beyond.
Key comparative references include Michael Coe and Richard Diehl’s research at San

Lorenzo (Coe and Diehl 1980) and more recent research on pottery traditions at that
site (Cyphers 1997) and within the lower Coatzacoalcos drainage (del Carmen Ro-
dríguez and Ortíz Ceballos 1997, Symonds et al. 2002, Symonds 1995) and its afflu-

ents. Ponciano Ortíz Caballos’ study of Tuxtla pottery (Ortiz Ceballos 1975) and the
Proyecto Matacapan’s subsequent research on Tuxtla pottery traditions (Ortiz Cebal-

los and Santley 1988, Pool 1990), as well as Phillip Arnold’s (Arnold III 1991) work on
ethnographic traditions are also important comparative resources. Barbara Stark’s

(1989) work on Classic period pottery at Patarata provides a slightly more distant
point of reference along the Gulf Coast and helps to underscore the regionalized na-
ture of Classic and Postclassic period Gulf Coast pottery. In the other direction along
 161

the Gulf Coast, ceramic data from Beutelspacher (1993) who conducted mitigation

work at Itzantun along the Almandro affluent of the Grijalva distributary southeast
of Villahermosa just south of the Tabasco state boundary, and Laura Ledesma Gal-

legos (1992) who provides data on Colonial ceramic patterns at the important Early
Colonial vicarage of Oxolotan which is located immediately south of the Colonial
Tabascan capital, Tacotalpa, provide some of the few points of reference on pottery

traditions within the large segment of the Tabasco Coastal Plains and adjacent high-
lands between the Chontalpa and Usumacinta deltas. Berlin’s (1956) work at Juárez

located on a beach-ridge within the recent ridge system of the modern fused out-
let of the Grijalva and Usumacinta deltas provides a point of comparison. Within

the Usumacinta delta proper and its associated coastal ridge systems, Berlin’s (ibid )
work at Atasta, Jonuta, and Tecolpan, Robert Rands (1967, 1969, 1974, 1987) work at
Nueva Esperanza and Trinidad on the Usumacinta Floodplain and at Palenque, and

Ray Matheny’s (1970) work on Aguacatal ceramics provide a framework to compare

this region’s pottery traditions to that of the Grijalva delta with which it shares a

long tradition of modal ties. I also draw upon data from the sites of Nakbe (Forsyth
1993), Altar de Sacrificios (Adams 1971), and Seibal (Sabloff 1975).

Grijalva delta pottery shares important modal ties with the pottery traditions of
Chiapas, in particular the western interior of that state and, through more distant
linkages, the Pacific Coast. Key points of comparison include San Isidro (Lee 1974b,

Lowe 1981: and type collections), Mirador and Plumajillo (Agrinier 1984, Peterson
1963: and type collections), and to a lesser extent Chiapa de Corzo and adjacent

sites within the western Central Depression (Agrinier 1964, Dixon 1959, Lowe 1962,
Lowe and Agrinier 1960, Treat 1986). Culbert (1965) provides comparative infor-

mation on the Late Postclassic as does Navarrete (1966). From the Pacific Coast
I draw on the work of Andrew McDonald (1983) at Tzutzuculi, Susanna Ekholm
(1969: and type collections) at Izapa, various scholars working within the lower Río
 162

Naranjo drainage (Coe 1961, Coe and Flannery 1967, Love 1989) and the Mazatán

area (Ceja Tenorio 1985, Clark 1994, Green and Lowe 1967, Lowe 1975: and type
collections). . Important summaries of Chiapan chronology include Lowe (1978) for

eastern Mesoamerica, Lesure (1998), Blake et al. (1995) and Love (1993) for the Pa-
cific Coast, and Lowe (1977, 1989) and Lee (1974a, 1989) for the Central Depression
and Middle Grijalva areas. I also draw on recent unpublished reappraisals of Chiapas

chronology (Clark and Cheetham 2001). Other important ceramic studies referenced
here include the ceramic sequence at Laguna Zope (Zeitlin 1979), the Valley of Oax-

aca during the Early Preclassic (Flannery and Marcus 1994), Chalcatzingo in Morelos
(Cyphers 1987, Cyphers and Grove 1987), and the Basin of Mexico during the Early

and Middle Preclassic (Niederberger 1987).

 163

Figure 4.1.: Gulf coast sites with important published regional chronological informa-
tion.
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Classifying Grijalva delta pottery

Preclassic pottery wares and types for western Tabasco were originally described by

Sisson (1976) in a slightly modified type-variety format. His work, which focused on
sites within the central area of the Grijalva delta, was preceded by Drucker (1952),

Piña Chán and Covarrubias (1964), Squier (1964a) and Hallinan et al. (1968). In
the course of my work with San Andrés material it rapidly became clear to me that

material from that site and others, including La Venta, showed insufficient difference
from Sisson’s descriptions and Pajonal materials to justify a completely new taxon-
omy for the La Venta area. While differences in philosophy may have underpinned

Rust’s choice to completely rewrite the taxonomy, I have chosen to work with an eye
to historical precedent in regards particularly to Preclassic materials. Thus Sisson’s

ware and type names are retained here for both San Andrés and Pajonal materi-
als. Variation between La Venta area and Pajonal pottery is restricted to frequency

differences in the relative numbers of types, some type-level variation, and subtype
(variety) level variation. Names are borrowed from Rust in those cases where types
from San Andrés have no equivalent in Sisson. In other cases, new names have been

given although I have tried to use previous work as a guide. Late Preclassic, Late
Classic, and Early Postclassic period pottery traditions at and near Comalcalco are

partially described by Peniche Rivero who developed a type-variety based taxonomy

in the course of her licenciatura thesis research at that site. Subsequent research by

Boucher (1981) fills in the picture for utilitarian pottery at Comalcalco. Although
research continues at Comalcalco, results have not yet been published. Ware, group,
and type units are retained from these earlier works when appropriate and are modi-

fied only if necessary. In some cases multiple taxonomic names exist for what should
be considered a single ware or type. In cases of naming conflict, historical precedent

is used in this report.

This catalog defines wares, groups, and types of pottery recovered in excavations
 166

or surface collections within the Pajonal study area and, to facilitate discussion and

comparison, at the site of San Andrés (Barí 1) adjacent La Venta. A few rarer types
and wares are found exclusively at San Andrés; however, most are found across the

western Grijalva delta during the Preclassic pointing to a single pottery tradition
(sphere) allied with but somewhat distinct from that found to the west within the
Coatzacoalcos river basin and environs. For the Classic and Postclassic period, west-

ern Tabascan pottery forms part of a pottery tradition or sphere encompassing all of
the Grijalva delta area and much of the remaining Tabasco Coastal Plain, with the

Grijalva delta forming an essentially unified regional subdivision of the Jonuta and
Cintla horizons defined by Berlin (1956). The classification of pottery for those peri-

ods draws heavily upon work at Comalcalco and other Late Classic and Postclassic
sites in the central and eastern portions of the Grijalva delta.
Tabascan pottery, like all other pottery traditions, is marked by an evolving het-

erarchical system of design which saw reoccuring vessel forms, patterns of decoration
and iconography, and patterns of slipping and painting matched with multiple for-

mulas for paste composition. At some times paste, form, surface treatment, and
decorative attributes fell into exclusive patterns; however, at other times this was less

so. This is prominently the case in the Early and Middle Preclassic when vessels,
apparently serving the same functions as best as can be determined with the current
rather small sample population, were nevertheless likely to be made of a variety of

pastes fired at times to a brown, at other times differentially, at still other times to
a solid, highly burnished black, and, more rarely, to a sometimes creamy, sometimes

bright white. It is during this Preclassic period of restricted experimentation that the
hierarchical classification system which is employed here is least efficient.

The classification system employed here emphasizes the categories of ware and type
as utilized by Sisson and originally defined as part of the type-variety system devel-
oped by Wheat et al. (1958), Willey et al. (1967), and Sabloff and Smith (1969).
 167

Here, the type is treated as the most natural category in the sense that it encap-

sulates recurring sets of design decisions (attributes and modes) from temper choice
to surface decoration (Adams and Adams 1992). In this sense, the type as used

here approaches the definition used in other Mesoamerican pottery studies such as
that of Flannery and Marcus (1994: 43), who define a type as “. . . a set of vessel
forms, all featuring the same clay body and surface treatment . . . ” with a specific

geographic distribution in this case, the Valley of Oaxaca. However, while Flannery
and Marcus (1994: 3) argue that geological difference should be irrelevant to type

definition, the general poor condition of Tabasco Coastal Plain ceramics and clear
presence of broadly chronologically relevant design decisions involving choices of tem-

per and temper particle size distributions argue for their inclusion as important if not
central variables in the overall taxonomy of pottery type. From the point of view of
the manufacturing process, ware is a somewhat unnatural category in that it encap-

sulates both early and late design choices on the part of the potter. Nevertheless, it
is a convenient analytical grouping. In this taxonomy types are defined on the basis

of vessel form and overall decorative schemes, and are considered subsets of wares
which are stable sets of paste recipes, surface treatment techniques, and firing deci-

sions. Categories of group and variety are downplayed except in those cases where
they are well established classificatory units for regional and imported pottery, such
as the Fine Orange groups and imported Middle Preclassic Maya waxy pottery. In

the case of Fine Orange, the sample is still too small and much of it too fragmentary
to establish well-described types. Research at San Andrés has provided a small but

significant sample of Preclassic Maya waxy and orange-ware imports from Chiapas
with good stratigraphic control. Within the area of the Pajonal survey, only a handful

of waxy ware sherds were recovered.

Variety as a classification unit is excluded in part due to the poorly preserved na-
ture of much of the pottery which at best can be placed within the stable types. As
 168

research progresses, varieties based essentially on decorative modes may be estab-

lished. Where such patterns of variation have been established, I prefer to simply
label them in a sequential fashion (A, B, C, . . . ) rather than apply a name. In the

case of Classic and Postclassic period pottery systems, varietal distinctions have been
made at Comalcalco and neighboring sites by Peniche Rivero (1973), Boucher (1981)
and others. I note these in the discussion of types where appropriate.

My use of the category of ware used is partly analytical and partly reflective of
what may have been culturally perceived pottery category differences. It privileges

some analytical distinctions, such as particle size distribution, which may not have
been perceived as distinctive by the producers and consumers of the pottery and ig-

nores other geological distinctions reflective of clay source differences but not paste
recipes that nevertheless produced visually distinctive vessels. In particular, among
the differentially fired pottery wares of the Early and Middle Preclassic — Naran-

jeño Black-and-white, Desengaño Black-and-white, Encrucijada Black-and-white, and

Carmen Black-and-white — there are examples in which the light zones fired to a

cream to white (the overwhelming majority) and others to a yellowish-red. The lat-
ter commonly occur at La Venta and adjacent sites. Such color differences may reflect

the utilization of different clay sources, although a recent reanalysis of pottery recov-
ered by Rebecca González (1990) in her Pozos 1 and 1-A at La Venta by Christopher
van Gestel (personal communication, 2001) suggests that a large proportion of the

deeply yellowed, differentially fired sherds there were heavily stained after burial by
dissolved iron oxides percolating through the soil.

In the catalog below, I employ the concept of meta-ware as a mechanism to group

sets of wares that share technological and cultural aspects of design and manufac-

ture. For example, although absent at Pajonal sites, the temperless differentially
fired ware Carmen Black-and-white is common in Late Franco phase lots at the site
of San Andrés and at La Venta (Squier 1964a). It is subdivided into a set of types
 169

defined by form, decorative, and firing design decisions which parallel those of the

volcanic ash-tempered ware Encrucijada Black-and-white. To the consumer, each set

of types would have been indistinguishable as final products. The distinction between

tempered and temperless pottery in this instance is purely analytical, although the
potters themselves would have recognized the wares as distinctive variations in the
manufacturing process of fine serving vessels. It is even possible that knowledge of the

distinction was communicated to the consumer, but the exterior appearance gave no
clue. Similarly, a distinction between the white-slipped, gray-paste ware Limón White

and its yellowish-red-paste analog Blasillo White is essentially analytical, pointing to

different clay resources used by potting communities. The finished vessels would not

be distinguishable.

4.2. Diagenesis

Pottery refiring

The study of Tabascan pottery, especially Preclassic pottery, is made difficult by

a series of human and natural processes which formed part of the pre- and post-
depositional life-cycle of the ceramic artifact. Stone was expensive on the Tabasco
Coastal Plain. The raw material of each and every metate, mano, pestle, saw, abrader,

and blade had to be imported. There were no stream cobbles to arrange in the
traditional three-stone pattern of the Mesoamerican hearth. Objects of wood and

baskets or mats of reed could serve some functions, but not all. For instance, it is
unlikely that pots rested on logs in the fire; the ubiquitous tecomate and later necked

olla could be too easily upset. Perhaps, most sat on the ground with embers pushed up
against their sides. The flat base of many tecomates and jars suggests a design adapted
for stability in the hearth without supporting stones. Other forms, such as relatively

rare comal-like vessels possibly employed to toast chiles, cacao, or even maize, may not
 170

have been placed directly on the coals which would have quickly cooled from lack of

oxygen and provided a less than ideal toasting environment. If pots and comals were
to sit securely amid or above the embers, then the used, broken remnants of grinding

tools or fragments of last year’s tecomate would have to substitute for proper hearth
stones. Much later, in some portions of the southern Gulf Coast, notably among the
modern residents of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan (Krotser 1980: 125), flattened conical

firedogs, tenamaztle, were employed. However, there is no archaeological evidence

of Preclassic or later firedog use on the western Grijalva delta. It is worth noting

that ground stone tools found at Grijalva delta sites manifest no evidence of repeated
heating. In the highlands and better geologically endowed lowland areas, a craftsman

may have picked up a piece of sandstone or other coarse rock to use as an abrader.
In the delta lowlands of the southern Gulf Coast, the same craftsman might reach for
an odd sherd. The raspy volcanic ash temper of fine Preclassic and even some Classic

period pottery served as an excellent abrader. The fisherman, too, plying his trade
in a nearby lagoon or river, had only a few choices for materials to weigh down his

nets. Shell might be used, or pottery, but never stone.

The absence of lithic resources also impacted architectural design decisions. The La

Venta Olmec experimented with clay and adobe as primary architectural materials
complementing what we might guess was a well-developed tradition of wood and
thatch usage, but architectural stone was restricted to the basalt post analogs in the

A Complex and limestone wall facing blocks around the base of the C-1 pyramid at
La Venta. Late in the Classic and into the Postclassic periods, fired brick became the

natural architectural choice for a region devoid of any building materials other than
clay, sand, wood, and plaster (Thompson 1960). Brick occurs in massive quantities

at the polity capital, Comalcalco, and in lesser to symbolic quantities at other sites,
including Arroyo Hondo (see Figure 7.16). Like the clay sickles and facing cones
of ancient Sumer and the pottery boiling stones of Poverty Point in the Mississippi
 171

lowlands, clay served in the Tabasco lowlands when in other regions stone would have

been preferred.
There is good evidence for the intensive reuse of pottery in Tabasco, especially

in Preclassic period contexts. At San Andrés fine, ash-tempered pottery sherds oc-
casionally show up as disks suggesting that they may have been used as abraders.
Triangular abrading files of the same ware are also present at that site, as are small

disks which resemble gaming pieces. At La Venta, Drucker (1952: 143–4) docu-
mented the presence of pottery disks manufactured of both coarse and fine-paste

wares in nearly every level of each of his test trenches. He felt these may have served
as small covers, gaming pieces, counters, weights, or even spindle-whorl blanks, al-

though completed spindle whorls are absent at La Venta, San Andrés, and other
Preclassic Grijalva delta sites. At that site as well as San Andrés a number of coarse
and fine-ware sherds have been reworked into net-sinkers with a characteristic oval

to rectangular shape and double opposed notches. Drucker (1952: 144) also doc-
umented a small collection of pottery “saws” where one break of a sherd had been

ground down to a straight, bilaterally beveled edge. The manufacture of these “saws”
was restricted to sand-tempered sherds. Sinkers are absent at Pajonal sites which

for the most part were more distantly located from the lagoons where they may have
been primarily used. The reworked sherds of the Preclassic period are replaced later
by biconical pottery sinkers specifically manufactured for the task. Biconical sinkers

are documented at La Venta (see Drucker 1952: 142) where they probably date to
the Postclassic Ahualulcos occupation of that site. Some larger sherds at San Andrés

have haphazard splashes of asphalt on the interior or exterior¸ suggesting their use as
brush rests or incidental locations where an excessive brush-load of asphalt was wiped

away before the craftsperson could continue to glue or seal some now lost object.
Much more important than the incidental reuse of pottery sherds as the raw ma-
terial of tools is the intentional or otherwise post-breakage refiring of pottery sherds.
 172

A small proportion of pottery from Pajonal sites (3.5%, but much higher in some in-

dividual excavated lots), a much larger proportion from San Andrés (von Nagy et al.
1998) and, to judge from the descriptions of the frequency of orange-fired pottery, a

large proportion of sherds at La Venta (Drucker 1952, Squier 1964a) show evidence
of intensive post-breakage refiring. Some lots, especially those recovered from pits at
San Andrés, but also fill and midden deposits at other sites are almost completely

comprised of sherds which were refired. Some larger body sherds are refired only
on one side as if the arc of the sherd helped support a cooking or asphalt pot with

one toe in the glowing embers and another buried. Most of the refired sherds are
intensively reburned in a highly oxidizing environment producing a range of color

change from reddish-yellows (5YR 7/8) to weak reds (7.5YR 5/4) through to reds
(7.5R 5/8). Some sherds are just refired to the point where it is still obvious they
were once differentially fired, at other times there is no hint of their original color. In

some examples the refiring is rather mild producing a buff. A small number of sherds
are intensively refired on one side but not at all on the other indicating that they

were placed halfway into the earth when refired, perhaps as some kind of support.
None of the sherds observed to date demonstrate the extreme exposure to sintering

heat, spalling, bubbling, warping, characteristic of deformed firing wasters although

many may be de facto wasters from ceramic production (Stark 1992: 188).
The presence of post-breakage refiring and the variation in frequency of refiring

suggests that multiple processes are represented. Some sherds may have lined the
base of hearths or accumulated through the year in the hearth as larger sherds used

to bolster pots broke and fragments were left behind to fire and refire again and again
with each day’s cooking. Eventually these all may have been swept out during pe-

riodic cleanings of the hearth and deposited in pits and middens where they mixed
with unrefired pottery, charcoal, broken figurines, discarded tools, and food remains.
Other sherds may have been used as supports for vessels in open air firings or pit fir-
 173

ings. The high frequency of refired sherds at San Andrés may be indicative of pottery

production at that site. Stark (1992), Pool (1990), and Arnold III (1991) discuss the
material correlates of pottery production and associated production modes at various

points in Southern and Central Veracruz prehistory, and Stark (1985) provides an
overview of ceramic production and its archaeological correlates in Mesoamerica as a
whole. Pottery production is indicated by three classes of evidence categorized by Pool

(1990: 101) as production technology (facilities and tools), production by-products

(deformed and de facto wasters) and production results (statistical biases towards a

restricted subset of the overall set of forms and types employed by a distinct society
or community at a distinct point in time). While kilns and explicit tools such as

molds and deformed wasters provide exceptional indications of production activities

at archaeological locals, for example those studied by Pool (1990) at Matacapan, both
Stark (1992: 189) and Pool (1990: 106) point out that identification of production

loci is frequently problematic, especially in cases where permanent production facili-

ties (kilns, for instance) are absent. Ancient production may be reflected in statistical

skews and quantities of de facto but not deformed wasters. At San Andrés and in Pa-
jonal lots with large quantities of reburned sherds neither statistical nor technological

indications unambiguously indicate pottery production. Reburned sherds are mostly

intermixed with unrefired waste in disposal middens and include examples of all form
and type categories. Nevertheless, the high frequencies of reburned sherds, especially

from Unit 1 at San Andrés, where they are associated with a series of overlapping
pits, might be taken as an indication that at least a portion of the refiring is the result

of their use as incidental furniture in the pottery-manufacturing process or that they

are de facto wasters from the process. However the sherds were refired, it did not in-

volve accidental refirings during milpa burnings at previously occupied localities. The
many sherds collected from the surfaces of sites within the Plan Chontalpa, which
today are milpa and cane fields, do not demonstrate intensive refiring. The relatively
 174

mild heat of a milpa burn or even the intensive heat of a cane field burn apparently

do not provide a sufficient thermal environment nor a long enough burn to result in
the intense color transformations observed.

The common pattern of reburning, especially in Middle Preclassic assemblages,

suggests that orange-fired ware categories developed by Drucker (1952), like his Fine
Paste Buff-Orange, and later researchers for Middle Preclassic pottery may in fact

be nothing more than chimeras generated by extensive sherd reuse and reburning. In
assemblages without evidence for reburning the only fine-paste sherds that occur are

either black or differentially fired. Rarely, a large enough sherd to suggest a completely
white vessel is recovered, but orange-fired sherds tend to co-occur with other evidence

of refiring such as multitonal sherds and refired coarse wares. This is the case at
Pajonal Distributary sites, at San Andrés, and at La Venta (Christopher van Gestel,
personal communication, 2000). Taken together, this evidence argues strongly that

orange-wares were not manufactured until later in the Tabasco sequence.

Iron oxide staining

Iron oxide staining is a local taphonomic issue of particular importance to pottery

recovered from the site of La Venta and other sites on the La Venta saltdome uplift.

It may also impact pottery collected from deposits associated with other saltdome
uplifted islands and with heavily weathered older terrace soils. As discussed above,

many examples of the light portions of differentially fired fine-paste pottery from
La Venta are a distinctive very pale brown to reddish-yellow that appears to be the
result of the post-depositional exposure of sherds to iron oxide-rich ground water.

I have not systematically sherds from La Venta; however, both Gallegos Gómora
(1990: 21) and Christopher van Gestel (personal communication, 2000) report these

color variants. Clay composition studies (see below) by Methner (1997) hint that the
abundant oxide-rich clays of La Venta were depreciated by ancient potters in favor of
 175

Recent delta clays. Since fine differentially fired pottery manufactured of the same

source clay is characterized by creamy to white light zones in delta sites and pale
brown to yellowish-red light zones on the La Venta island, it seems parsimonious to

conclude that the vast majority of such coloration is diagenic and not intentional
when not related to reburning. In cases that I have examined, staining is sometimes
uneven and distinct from color differences characteristic of fire clouding with sharp

color boundaries and staining fronts sometimes present.

Chemical reduction

Evidence from San Andrés (Units 7 and 8) suggests the post-depositional reduction
of surface and slip iron-oxide colorants in reducing soil environments shifting observed

surface colors towards buffs and light browns from browns and oranges. This evidence
typically includes sherds with reduced exteriors characterized by light-colored rinds

on both original vessel surface and on the surface of breaks, indicating a diagenic pro-
cess. Thin-slipped Nicapa ware and other imports appear to have been particularly

susceptible to such changes where the depositional environment was transformed into
a reducing environment by subsidence and a concomitant engulfment by the perma-
nent water-table. Older, deeply buried and downward transported sherds with low

original surface and interior carbon content may have been particularly impacted by
this process, resulting in the post-depositional creation or enhancement of buff-colored

versions of previously brown to pale brown sherds. Buff-colored sherds recovered from
below the Barí levee at San Andrés by Rust and the Proyecto Laguna Costera may
all be artifacts of this process.

Mechanical erosion

Classificatory problems introduced by incidental and reuse reburning are com-

pounded by the soft-fired character of Tabascan pottery (See Shepard in Drucker
 176

1952) combined with characteristic annual wet-dry, clay expansion-contraction cy-

cles of the tropical deltaic environment. While a healthy sub-tradition of slipped

and painted or otherwise sealed pottery existed, mechanical weathering destroyed the

surface on a large proportion of the pottery sample. Sherd surfaces frequently de-
tach from sherd bodies during dry screening. Examples of the local hematite-based
red slip tradition are more or less well preserved, with slip frequently still occurring

within striations on the vessel outer wall. Examples of the local kaolin white-slipped
tradition are usually very poorly preserved with only small fragments of the white

to cream slip usually present. An overrepresentation of unslipped vessels is probably

characteristic of Tabascan ceramic assemblages, but the degree of overrepresentation

is indeterminable. Imported slipped pottery is more durable. Slip preservation is

favored in those locations where sherds were recovered from waterlogged conditions.
Preservation of slip on sherds recovered from above the historic annual lowstand of

the watertable is often terrible. Many sherd surfaces are further damaged by cleaning.
The wet screening undertaken at San Andrés decreased this problem and allowed for

the recognition of painted red-on-brown types.

Carbonate deposition

Surface carbonate deposition on the exterior of sherd surfaces and breaks is a

problem in some depositional contexts. Soil carbonate deposition is characteristic of

the Tabasco Coastal Plain with nodules and occasionally larger sheets closer to the
estuaries naturally occurring near and below the water table. These natural occur-
rences ultimately derive from the carbonate charged waters of the Tonalá, Grijalva,

Usumacinta, and other rivers, which, in turn, derive their carbonate load from lime-
stone bedrock within their catchment areas. Estuarine deposits contain high levels of

carbonates (Gutiérrez Estrada and Solis 1983), and carbonate nodules were common
in the lower levels of several operations at Pajonal sites, especially lagoonward sites
 177

such as EPS-70. Normally, sherds are little affected by this soil and groundwater

carbonate load; but, in certain contexts dissolved carbonates occur in higher concen-
trations leading to deposition on the sherds. In one particular case, at San Andrés,

sherds from the uppermost excavated levels (especially 1 and 2) of Unit 5 are heavily
coated with illuviated calcium carbonate. The sherds from lower levels of the same
unit and the upper levels of nearby units are not coated. This localized high dis-

solved carbonate load is indicative of a human contribution to the overall carbonate

budget of the site. In this particular instance, the elluviated carbonates may derive

from a lime production facility, a decomposing shell midden, or a now completely

decomposed lime floor. The first is the most likely interpretation. A large concentra-

tion of oyster shells with intermixed carbon and Late Postclassic period sherds was
found immediately adjacent to this unit and excavated as part of it (Proyecto Laguna
Costera fieldnotes and field observations by the author).

The five processes outlined above, post-breakage reburning and reuse, iron oxide
staining, iron oxide reduction, mechanical weathering, and carbonate deposition, to-

gether conspire to make the analysis of Tabasco Coastal Plain (and other tropical
Gulf Coast pottery) a particularly trying process. They force the ceramicist to recon-

ceptualize the classification process as well. While it would be desirable to develop a

classification strategy and typological nomenclature based, for instance, on the rich
variation encapsulated within the type-variety system for Maya pottery to the east,

a strict adherence to the procedures of Maya pottery classification is not possible. In

particular, subtle variations in surface and slip color, also important in the classifica-

tion of Chiapas Highland and Pacific Coastal Plain pottery, cannot be used for the
classification of pottery from the Tabasco Coastal Plain. Out of necessity, variations

in paste character, temper choice, form, and decorative attributes are emphasized
over color distinctions.
 178

4.3. Ware classification

Following type-variety nomenclature the category of ware is treated as encompass-

ing technological and design decisions made concerning the production of paste, the
treatment of pottery surfaces following the modeling of the vessel before or after
the application of decorative motifs, and the manner in which the vessel was fired

(Rice 1987, Sabloff and Smith 1970). Paste recipes and firing modalities of necessity
are given the most consideration. Ware as defined within the type-variety system

is in reality a hybrid category encapsulating aspects of design related to six distinct

subdivisions of the pottery manufacturing process: 1) the mixing and aging of the

paste from clay and temper raw materials, 2) the finishing of the raw newly formed
vessel surface, 3) the application of washes, slips, or paints prior to or following the
decoration of the vessel with stamps, incision, grooving, and other techniques, 4) the

polishing, burnishing, or application of substances designed to finish the vessel surface

prior to firing, 5) firing and refiring processes in the case of differential firing modes,

and 6) the final application of sealants, paints, or other finishes following firing. The
wares described in this catalog reflect differences in all of these substages of the man-

ufacturing process. As noted above, due to postdepositional processes we have good

information about paste creation and firing and much less information about the
treatment of the surface. The former aspects have proved key in the definition of

Tabascan pottery wares. We know little about the patterns of slip and paint applica-
tion and their frequencies, but a much larger and earlier sample may help elucidate

these patterns.

Paste recipes

The manufacture of pottery paste in Tabasco as elsewhere involves two fundamen-

tal physical steps: the acquisition of clay and temper raw materials, usually from
 179

different localities, and their subsequent blending (Inchaustegui 1987, Rice 1987).

In Tabasco, the traditional pottery system continues to function within the area of
dense delta settlement known as the Chontalpa. I discuss this below in the broader

context of raw material availability, acquisition, and use. In the Chontalpa, Chontal
and mestizo potters manufacture vessels for home consumption, local market, and a
small state-sponsored and private market in traditional crafts with pottery sold in

special stores (Inchaustegui 1987, Ochoa 1974, Torres Quintero and Rodríguez Laz-
cano 1996). The state has from time to time been directly involved in the vocational

training of potters, especially during the socialist years under Tomás Garrido Canabal
(Torres Quintero and Rodríguez Lazcano 1996) . Domestic pottery, including toast-

ing vessels for coffee, simple hemispheric bowls, comales, jars, large urn-like bowls
for mixing pozol and cooking pots, is manufactured by women in Chontal communi-
ties who are charged with the entire manufacturing process (Inchaustegui 1987) and

mestizo men elsewhere. Ritual pottery is manufactured in various workshops and

at home. Forms include incense burners, candleholders, plates and bowls of various

sizes, the latter for use in todos santos offerings to deceased relatives. Large bowls
are made for adults, small ones for the children. Pottery and wood objects carry

significant meaning in the Chontal system of knowledge, and are required for ritual
(Inchaustegui 1987).
In the communities of Cuauhtémoc, Vincente Guerrero, Allende, and Simón Sar-

lat arrayed around the lagoons at the northeast edge of the old delta country of the
Chontalpa, pottery production begins with a trip undertaken by a group of women

into the mangrove. Within the mangrove the potters search out locations suitable
for excavation. When found, they dig deep into the underlying clays searching for

reduced gley clays below the peaty upper soil horizon. It is this grey-blue clay, which
fires a yellowish-red, that is prized as best for potting (Inchaustegui 1987: 129).
The secondary alluvial clays sought by these women may either be the well-sorted
 180

backswamp clays deposited in great sheets flanking active distributary channels or

brackish water clays laid down in the calm of the estuaries. Studies of estuary sedi-
ments, however, indicate a highly reworked environment with extensive zones of fine

sand, coarse, and fine clayey-silt deposits (Galaviz Solis et al. 1987, Gutiérrez Estrada
et al. 1982, Gutiérrez Estrada and Solis 1983). The clay which the women recover
commonly contains CaCO3 nodules. Highly sorted deltaic clays similar to the man-

grove clays utilized by Chontal potters underlay vast portions of the Tabasco Coastal
Plain providing a ready and highly workable raw material with little need of further

preparation. Much of this clay is oxidized; however, one need only dig down into the
watertable to find reduced deposits. Occasionally, small pockets of fine to very-fine

sand1 form lenses within these backswamp and mangrove clays. These sands may be
accidently incorporated into the paste. Examples of Fine Orange-like and other fine-
paste ceramics with with low (1–2%) frequencies of fine to very fine sand inclusions

are relatively common in Late Classic and Postclassic collections. These inclusions
are interpreted as such and not as temper, perhaps indicating differing methods of

preparing Fine Orange pastes. Secondary alluvial clays also form a principal source
for pottery production in southern Veracruz. In her study of modern Nahuat potters

within the Coatzacoalcos river region, Krotser (1980) documented the use of riverine
clays acquired from the monte behind channels in communities located along affluents
of the Coatzacoalcos River. Other sources of clay utilized at one time or another by

Coatzacoalcos potters include outcrops associated with older saltdome uplifted geo-
logical strata, for instance the kaolinitic clays of the Concepción Formation (Coe and

Diehl 1980: 16). Similar sources of clay may have been available to Grijalva delta
potters from the Tertiary deposits that lie to the west and south of the delta plain.

The fluvial transportation system could have made these clays available to potters

1
Throughout this dissertation particle size terminology follows the Wentworth scale commonly
used in soil and geological analysis. The scale is summarized in table 4.1.
 181

located downstream from these deposits and outside of the normal relatively short

distances traveled by potters to acquire raw materials.

Ethnographic data on Chontal temper use parallels archaeological data, with sand

serving as the temper of choice. In the Grijalva delta, sand occurs naturally in
bands along the margins of active distributary channels and the base of abandoned
and senescent distributary channels. Long stretches of buried sand bodies are found

several meters below the surface where old paleochannels lie buried. Along these
channels sand is naturally sorted into pockets of differing particle size distributions,

sometimes occurring as fine sand-dominated bodies such as point bars, more often as
medium to coarse-dominated channel bottom deposits. Sand deposited along channel

axes may have high frequencies of granule-sized particles. Another source of sand
occurs along the Gulf edge in the dunes and ridges of the coast. These sources would
have served communities located within the sometimes extensive beach-ride systems

of the old and new delta mouths. Chontal potters today pay close attention to locating
well-sorted deposits of fine to medium river sand (Inchaustegui 1987: 129). Similarly,

modern San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan potters to the west acquire river sands from point
bars located on the inside of meanders (Krotser 1980: 125). Chontal potters use a

1:2 ratio of sand temper to clay, tossing one handful of sand for every two of clay, a
ratio similar to archaeological examples.

Clay composition

Variation in clay composition is little studied on the Tabasco Coastal Plain. How-
ever, there is probably little significant variation in clay chemical composition across

the Holocene lowlands of the Tabasco Coastal Plain except for possible differences
between clays deposited within the Usumacinta delta from those deposited within

the Grijalva delta. The cyclically shifting depositional regimes of both Recent deltas
have deposited mixed, secondary clays across this vast area from their two respec-
 182

tive source areas. Therefore, there is no reason to expect that clay sources within

either delta would differ significantly from any other source within each delta. As
discussed below some compositional distinctiveness appears to derive from the influx

of slightly different sediment from the series of smaller rivers which also drain onto
the coastal plain. Differences are also documented between Recent clay deposits in
the modern floodplain and older clay deposits within the rolling, laterized Pleistocene

terrace along the southern fringe of the deltaic plain and within the scattered, some-
times uplifted outliers of older terrain in the delta plain such as the La Venta and

Villahermosa “islands” (Methner 1997). These older clays are far more oxidized and
have undergone in-situ weathering and alteration.

Anna Shepard (see Drucker 1952) conducted one of the few studies of clay type at
a site within the Tabasco Coastal Plain. As part of her study of La Venta fine-paste
sherds, Shepard refired 12 of 32 fine-paste (Desengaño Black-and-white ware) sherds

to 850◦ C and then to 1000◦ C in an air environment to determine thermal behavior.

Before firing, the colors of the sherds ranged from red to orange to gray to black.

After firing, red, brown and light gray sherds reduced to a clear red, and buff sherds
became a slightly redder and clearer color. These two slight distinctions led Shepard

to posit two source clays.

A more recent compositional study undertaken by Methner (1997) at La Venta
shows that potters at that site and at the site of Isla Alor (Barí 2) utilized clays

compositionally similar to a clay sample taken near Isla Alor and dissimilar to the
extensive, weathered clays of the uplift island and to clay samples taken closer to

San Andrés˙ Three pottery sample groups, the first from Squier’s (1964a) test pit C
in Complex B, the second from Rust’s (1987) operation 28, test pit 2 in Complex

E, and the third from Raab et al.’s (1997) testing program at Isla Alor, were sub-
ject to neutron activation analysis along with a series of clay samples taken from
clay deposits on the La Venta uplift and within the adjacent Recent delta deposits.
 183

These pottery sample groups were typologically subdivided using Drucker’s system

of “wares.” Methner’s work demonstrated that all of the sampled pottery, excluding a
small imported group, derived from a compositionally similar clay regardless of ware.

Furthermore, it indicates that while most of the pottery from La Venta and Isla Alor
in his sample was manufactured with an Isla Alor-like clay, the pottery is dissimilar
from clay sources sampled at other localities along the Río Barí Distributary, such

as San Andrés. His work seems to indicate a compositional difference between clays
deposited in an area receiving sedimentary input from two sources, both the Gri-

jalva river and the Tonalá river (Isla Alor) and an area which received predominant
sedimentary input from a single source, the Grijalva river via the Barí Distributary

(San Andrés)2 . It is not surprising that ancient potters at La Venta and Isla Alor
would have used clay sources deposited within the former area of source blending as
both sites are located quite near the Tonalá river and at the far western edge of the

Grijalva delta. His research suggests that pottery manufactured at sites and with
clays derived from localities further within the Grijalva delta may be composition-

ally distinguishable from pottery manufactured at La Venta and other sites near the
Tonalá. If such a difference can be established, it might be possible to document local

exchange patterns.
Aside from a demonstrated preference for Recent delta clays, clay source was not
important to Tabascan potters, who achieved color differences through the manipu-

lation of firing environment and utilization of additives or imported clays in the case
of slips, although some differences in paste color lend support to Shepard’s assertion

concerning clay sources. I have not conducted a systematic study, but many exam-
ples of recent Chontal pottery manufactured of gleyed mangrove clays are lighter and

clearer in color than the vast bulk of ancient utilitarian pottery which almost without

2
It should be noted that deeper clays underlying San Andrés and predating the development of
the Barí and Blasillo distributaries would have derived predominantly from transport by the Tonalá.
 184

a doubt was manufactured using clays derived from the oxidized upper soil horizons

of backswamp deposits. A difference between gray and yellowish red fired pastes is
characteristic of some Preclassic complexes and is used here as an analytical (though

probably not cultural) axis of variation. Blasillo White and Limón White ware fire
a reddish-yellow and gray respectively, and both have a similar cream to white slip.
Estero Red also fired gray in contrast to Azucena Plain and Bronce Unslipped which

were contemporaneously manufactured. This color distinction suggests variation in

raw material though firing environment was certainly also involved. A currently un-

examined axis of variation which may account for the differences in final firing color
noted by Shepard is the degree to which the source clay was oxidized. In a study of

Oaxacan clay sources and pottery manufacturing technologies utilized in the Early
Preclassic Payne (1994) demonstrated a firing difference between gleyed backswamp
clays and oxidized clays. I am currently undertaking a firing study using oxidized

and gleyed clay samples from San Andrés and Pajonal sites to address this.
Most western Tabascan pastes are monolithic in structure, consisting of temper

particles in a fairly uniform matrix with occasional hints of lamination. Some pastes
developed more laminated structures during firing. Peniche Rivero (1973) defined a

utilitarian ware at Comalcalco, Comalcalco Corriente, on the basis of the laminated

structure of the paste which fired to a light gray rather than the browns of Comalcalco
Coarse. The porosity of the pastes which make up Tabascan pottery is generally mod-

erate with few pores visible to the naked eye. Some pastes are much more markedly
porous, such as rare Late Franco complex Tonalá White, immediately identifiable by

density alone with large pores and laminations forming upwards to 50% of its paste
volume. In some cases, the pores are still filled with bits and pieces of carbonized

plant matter. The highly laminated structure of Comalcalco Corriente, which I have
not studied, may be the result of similar high levels or organic inclusions in the paste
mixture. Similarly porous pottery is present in the La Venta type collection put to-
 185

gether by William Rust as part of his research into the settlement on and around that

site (Rust 1987: and personal observation).

Temper composition

The vast majority of pottery manufactured since the second millennium B.C. in
Tabasco is sand-tempered with a smaller proportion tempered with volcanic ash de-
rived from deposits flanking the volcano Chichón. A small proportion of Middle

Preclassic and larger proportion of Late Classic and Postclassic period pottery is
temperless. Temper kind and particle size distribution play a central role in the

ware systematization below. Sisson (1976) first established the importance of particle
size among other characteristics in his ware classification. Just as Chontal women

do today, ancient Tabascan potters carefully selected the kind of sand they would
incorporate into the paste prior to vessel formation. These temper choices imply
a developed understanding of the consequences of using different particle size dis-

tributions and tempers in the manufacture of vessels destined for different purposes.
Sand-tempered, differentially fired vessels are almost invariably tempered with fine to

very fine riverine sands. These vessels were primarily service and specialized storage
or preparation vessels. Day to day cooking, storage, and “industrial” vessels used in

craft production tended to be manufactured of medium to coarse sands with periods

of preference for fine sands and others for very coarse sand. Despite the mechani-
cal superiority of ash-tempered pottery (Arnold III 1991, Rye 1976, Shepard 1956),

this tempering material appears to have been restricted to serving and some storage
vessels due to cost. Cultural choice in temper size is chronological but also spatially

determined, dependent on fashion and the proximity of appropriately sorted sand

bodies. Differentially, black, white, brown, and orange-fired ash and temper-free pot-

tery was restricted to service and ceremonial use. Ash-tempered pottery was most
important during the Preclassic, although, examples continue into the Late Classic,
 186

when it was supplanted by the Fine Orange tradition. The cost of tempering pottery

in terms of labor and economic exchange could vary from a short trip to the local
sand quarry to the maintenance of elaborate local and regional systems of exchange

designed to facilitate the importation of large quantities of pumice and ash for the
manufacturing process. It is no accident that Middle Formative ash-tempered pottery
is most common at elite sites such as La Venta, San Andrés (Barí 1), and Zapata

(EPS-15) and less so in the low ranking villages and hamlets that spread out around
these.

Sisson (1976) distinguishes four Preclassic sand-tempered domestic day-to-day wares

generally fired to a ubiquitous brown to buff. These are Azucena Plain, Bronce Un-

slipped, Eden Unslipped, and Gogal Plain. Assignment of sherds to one or another
of these categories is based on details of surface finish (plain or matte) and particle
size distribution of the sand temper. All of these are unslipped, with a simple wash

roughly covering most temper particles. Azucena Plain, Bronce Unslipped and Eden
Unslipped generally have scattered temper particles jutting out of the surface while

Gogal Plain, the finest of this group, generally presents a smooth surface. Azucena
Plain has a distinguishing polished luster, while the other three tend to be matte. Go-

gal Plain serving vessels are commonly polished. Azucena Plain and Bronce Unslipped
are tempered with fine to coarse sand, Eden Unslipped with coarse to granular, even
pebble-sized grains, and Gogal Plain with very fine to fine sand similar in particle

size distribution to the fine temper in differentially fired Naranjeño Black-and-white

and black-fired Pejelagartero Black. During sorting of brown wares they generally

do fall into these categories, but, the question still remains whether this distinction
is apparent and subject to investigator bias or statistically valid. If firm statistical

boundaries between the various temper size distributions do not exist, then we must
be prepared for a great deal of variability in type counts.
 187

Analysis of particle size distributions of sand-tempered wares

To deal with this very serious classificatory issue, I undertook a statistical analysis

of particle size distribution in a subsample of sand-tempered pottery. The results of

this analysis are presented in Tables 4.2 and 4.3 and are discussed below. Particle

size distributions of the sand temper reflect two sets of processes: geological deposi-
tion processes and cultural processes of decision-making and raw material processing.

Particle size distribution, expressed as mean particle size, particle size spread (a mea-
sure of sorting expressed as a standard deviation or logarithmic standard deviation
of average particle size), skewness (a measure of tendency in particle size) and kur-

tosis (a measure of the ratio of sorting) along with the degree particle rounding, the
mineral makeup, and microscopic features of grain faces are regularly used to dis-

tinguish geological deposition environments (Lindholm 1987). When used to study

sand temper these measures can be used to help elucidate the source environment

and cultural choice involved in the selecting and exploiting of sand resources. The
selection process appears to balance cultural notions of the “proper” temper reflecting
necessities of paste behavior, surface finish, and thermal behavior with cost measured

primarily in the distance of the workshop to the sand source (for a discussion of cost
in pottery production see Arnold 1985). A complete analysis of temper procurement

behavior might include the sampling and description of a much larger set of deposi-
tion environments, as well as a more robust sampling procedure designed to test for

spatial and chronological changes independent of ware and type classifications. The
study undertaken here was aimed at 1) creating minimal quantitative descriptions of
temper for those wares in which temper particle size distributions form part of the

ware definition and 2) determining whether or not the established wares capture the
statistical variation in particle size distributions.

A variety of sand depositional environments exists in the Tabasco Coastal Plain,

ranging from beach ridges and dunes, to lagoon floor deposits, to channel bed and
 188

meander accretion bank deposits, to overbank flood deposits. The signatures of many

though not all of these have been described in a series of research projects undertaken
by the Coastal and Oceanographic Institute of the National Autonomous University

of Mexico (Ayala Castañares and Gutiérrez Estrada 1990, Galaviz Solis et al. 1987,
Gutiérrez Estrada et al. 1982, Gutiérrez Estrada and Solis 1983), although their re-
sults are not directly comparable to this research. Most sedimentological analyses

of Tabascan depositional environments consider the entire particle size range of sedi-
ments rather than the restricted sand-sized particle range considered in this study.

I took a series of random samples of unequal size from each of the sand-tempered
pottery wares derived from surface collections of number of Pajonal sites. These

samples were restricted to rim, base, and other portions of vessels which could be
securely identified to a type within each ware category. In the case of Fine Orange,
type-level identification was not possible. A total of 462 sherds were analyzed from 50

operations at Pajonal sites. Sherds from San Andrés were not analyzed. A further 55
volcanic ash-tempered sherds were similarly analyzed. Sample size differences reflect

differences in the size of the recovered sample and laboratory time constraints in the
field where the sherds where analyzed. I processed large samples of Bronce Unslipped

and Naranjeño Black-and-white, while the samples of Pejelagartero Black (which had
essentially the same paste as Naranjeño Black-and-white), Gogal Plain, and Eden
Unslipped were relatively small. Late Classic and Postclassic pottery samples are all

small. Sample sizes are summarized in Tables 4.2 and 4.3.

To facilitate analysis, I broke each sherd to expose a fresh paste surface. A 25 mm 2

area of surface was chosen, and this was placed under low 12x magnification using
a hand lens. Using a standardized size gauge with representative Wentworth size

classes marked off (see Table 4.1) as a reference guide, I counted the number of par-
ticles of each Wentworth size grade within the visual field. I also recorded the degree
of particle rounding and type of minerals present, together with provenience data,
 189

vessel form, vessel type, as well as multiple metric measures. Once tabulated, I trans-

formed the raw Wentworth scale count data using the method of moments Lindholm
(see 1987: Table 7.2) and calculated the arithmetic (mm) and logarithmic (φ) mean,

variance, coefficient of variation (mm), logarithmic standard deviation (φ), skewness,

and kurtosis for each sherd in millimeter and phi scales. Mean and variance measures
provide information on the “average” particle while skewness measures distribution

asymmetry, and kurtosis the ratio of sorting between the tails. The calculated mea-
sures reflect both the depositional environment and any post-quarry alteration of the

temper, such as the purposeful removal of large sand grains.

The count data were also used to calculate an estimated ratio of temper to clay

using an average particle cross-sectional area for each size grade. The average particle
area for each size grade was multiplied by the count for each size grade. These were
then summed and divided by the total 25 mm2 visual field to obtain a percentage

of temper for each sherd analyzed. Sherd data was grouped by ware, and temper
percentage medians, quartiles, means, and standard deviations were calculated. As

can be seen in Tables 4.2 and 4.3 temper percentages for the utilitarian wares Bronce
Unslipped, Eden Unslipped, Gogal Unslipped, Comalcalco Coarse, Frontera Plain,

and Santa Ana Plain are similar to the modern rule of thumb of two handfuls of clay
for each of sand. In several cases a ratio of 1:4 or 25% is suggested by the data.
It is also evident that temper proportion as a percentage of paste as measured here

shows significant variation in all these wares reflecting 1) uneven mixing and hence
statistically skewed counts, 2) a lower probability of counting large sized grains in each

sample, and 3) variation in paste recipes. Nevertheless, these wares differ markedly
from paste recipes for wares used to manufacture predominantly serving vessels which

range from 1:2 to 1:10 parts sand to clay. Comalcalco Brown, Comalcalco Black, and
Fine Orange have levels of sand inclusion suggesting the accidental inclusion of lenses
of fine sand into the clay during the procurement of this resource.
 190

Wentworth size class φ Millimeters

Granule -2.0 to -1.0 2.0 to 4.0
Very coarse sand -1.0 to 0.0 1.0 to 2.0
Coarse sand 0.0 to 1.0 0.5 to 1.0
Medium sand 1.0 to 2.0 0.25 to 0.5
Fine sand 2.0 to 3.0 0.125 to 0.25
Very fine sand 3.0 to 4.0 0.0625 to 0.125
Coarse silt 4.0 t o 5.0 0.031 to 0.0625

Table 4.1.: Wentworth particle size classification scheme with phi and mm values.
After Lindholm (1987: 23).

Once the count data was obtained and derivative calculations performed, records

were grouped by identified ware and other vectors. For each group a ware mean,
median, and standard deviation was calculated for the average particle size, spread,

kurtosis, and skew using the phi scale. These derivative data were then used in a
series of student’s t and analysis of variance modelings to explore the presence or
absence of inter-ware variation in temper characteristics. The raw phi data was also

imported into the statistical analysis program R for exploratory graphing. The co-plot
shown in Figure 4.2 summarizes the raw phi data along two axes, logarithmic mean

particle size and logarithmic standard deviation. As can be seen, the spread of Bronce
Unslipped and Eden Unslipped samples in the upper row appear very similar, but, as

further tests bear out, are nevertheless statistically distinct. Gogal Plain, Naranjeño
Black-and-white, and Pejelagartero Black together occupy a subregion of graphical
space distinct from the medium to coarse distribution of Eden Unslipped and Bronce

Unslipped. Graphical data and statistical analysis support the classification of these
latter three as distinct wares.
 191

Figure 4.2.: Co-plot of logarithmic mean and standard deviation of temper particle size
for Early and Middle Preclassic sand-tempered wares. Top row: Bronce Unslipped
and Eden Unslipped; Bottom row: Gogal Plain, Naranjeño Black-and-white, and
Pejelagartero Black.
192
 193

Type Percentage Size Count

Mean Spread
Bronce Unslipped s 14% 0.47 0.25
x 22% 1.91 0.81
m. 18% 1.92 0.75 93
Eden Unslipped s 21% 0.61 0.25
x 38% 1.56 0.89
m. 39% 1.56 0.88 18
Gogal Plain s 20% 0.66 0.27
x 25% 2.2 0.68
m. 16% 2.3 0.63 21
Naranjeño Black-and-
s 9% 0.39 0.20
white
x 11% 2.65 0.59
m. 8% 2.67 0.58 173
Pejelagartero Black s 7% 0.67 0.23
x 11% 2.57 0.50
m. 11% 2.55 0.52 29

Table 4.2.: Temper proportions as a percentage of paste and particle size distribution
statistics for Preclassic period sand-tempered pottery wares. Population median
(m.), mean (x), and standard deviation (s) are given for the percentage of temper
as a proportion of the paste volume. For particle size distributions the population
median, mean, and standard deviation are given for the mean particle size and
logarithmic standard deviation, a measure of sorting. Table 4.4 presents a scale for
temper particle size sorting.

To explore the graphically and visually suggested temper differences, I constructed

three analysis of variance models examining in turn mean temper particle size, mean
temper percentage, and degree of temper sorting between the three Early and Mid-

dle Preclassic utilitarian wares Bronce Unslipped, Eden Unslipped, and Gogal Plain.
These present the single greatest classification conundrum as Naranjeño Black-and-

white and Pejelagartero Black are defined principally on the basis of their color (firing)
and fine sand temper. The analysis of variance models, summarized in Table 4.5, indi-

cate that neither particle size nor degree of particle sorting were efficiently segregated
during the classification process. When all three wares are considered together, how-
ever, paired one-sided student’s t tests at 95% confidence indicate a significant mean
 194

Type Percentage Size Count

Mean Spread
Comalcalco Coarse s 30% 0.70 0.24
x 27% 2.41 0.88
m. 11% 2.54 0.89 21
Comalcalco Black s 1% 1.38 0.18
x 1% 2.67 0.13
m. 1% 3.43 0.00 7
Fine Orange s 5% 0.47 0.26
x 2% 3.18 0.25
m. 1% 3.42 0.23 32
Centla Plain s 6% 0.60 0.24
x 5% 2.66 0.65
m. 3% 2.77 0.57 4
Frontera Plain s 24% 0.60 0.29
x 34% 2.09 0.84
m. 34% 2.16 0.91 17
Santa Ana Plain s 23% 0.23 0.15
x 37% 1.87 0.92
m. 38% 1.85 0.92 7

Table 4.3.: Temper proportions as a percentage of paste and particle size distribu-
tion statistics for Classic, Postclassic, and Modern period sand-tempered wares.
Population median (m.), mean (x), and standard deviation (s) are given for the
percentage of temper as a proportion of the paste volume. For particle size dis-
tributions the population median, mean, and standard deviation are given for the
mean particle size and logarithmic standard deviation, a measure of sorting. Table
4.4 presents a scale for temper particle size sorting.

Logarithmic standard devia-

Degree of sorting
tion
0 – 0.35 Very well sorted
0.35 – 0.50 Well sorted
0.50 – 0.71 Moderately well sorted
0.71 – 1.0 Moderately sorted
1.0 – 2.0 Poorly sorted
2.0 – 4.0 Very poorly sorted
>˚4.0 Extremely poorly sorted

Table 4.4.: Degree of particle size sorting in phi units. After Lindholm (1987: Ta-
ble 7.3).
 195

particle size difference between Bronce Unslipped and Eden Unslipped but not Bronce

Unslipped and Gogal Plain. Student’s t tests are summarized in Tables 4.6 and 4.7.
Table 4.8 summarizes the results of a paired, one-sided student’s t test examining the

relationship of mean particle size between Bronce Unslipped and Naranjeño Black-
and-white. In this test a statistical distinction between the choice of temper particle
size for each ware is strongly supported. A final student’s t test indicates a significant

distinction between Gogal Plain and Naranjeño Black-and-white. This is summarized

in Table 4.9.

The graphical and statistical analysis above combined with stratigraphic and vessel
form differences in the frequency of coarse, medium, and fine temper support the

segregation of sand-tempered pottery into distinct wares characterized by general

patterns of particle size choice. They also indicate, however, a great deal of variation
in both temper and a resulting inefficiency in ware assignment on the part of the

investigator when sorting the utilitarian, brown-fired wares Bronce Unslipped, Eden
Unslipped, and Gogal Plain. Statistical analysis supports a significant difference

between Naranjeño Black-and-white (and Pejelagartero Black which is statistically

indistinct from Naranjeño Black-and-white) and these three utilitarian wares. This

suggests that a degree of effort was expended by ancient potters to locate the rarer
deposits of fine sand required for the manufacture of the fine black and differentially
fired vessels of the Early and Middle Preclassic periods. The sands utilized in the

manufacture of utilitarian pottery are present along much of the courses of the ancient
distributaries which meandered through the Tabascan countryside, whereas fine sand

was likely to be located at point bars and other isolated spots along these channels.
Neither resource would have been particularly distant from any ancient community

and it was not necessary to resort to more distant resources such as beach and dune
sands. Beach sands contain significant quantities of small shell, and there is no
evidence for such shell in these types. The coarser size range of Eden Unslipped
 196

Analysis of variance in mean particle-size

Variation between classes
mean of samples 1.91
sum of squares 0.21
d.f. 2
mean explained variance 0.11
Variation within classes
sum of squares 35.25
d.f. 129
mean explained variance 0.27

F ratio 0.3900
Probability of null hypothesis 0.6797

Analysis of variance in particle sorting

Variation between classes
mean of samples 0.80
sum of squares 0.02
d.f. 2
mean explained variance 0.01
Variation within classes
sum of squares 8.09
d.f. 129
mean explained variance 0.06

F ratio 0.1800
Probability of null hypothesis 0.8378

Table 4.5.: Analysis of variance of mean particle size and particle size spread in the
temper of Bronce Unslipped, Eden Unslipped, and Gogal Plain. A null hypoth-
esis of no significance difference in mean particle size and particle size spread is
stipulated for these tests.
 197

Bronce Unslipped Gogal Plain Measured difference 0.29

mean 1.91 2.2 d.f. 25
variance 0.22 0.43 t 0.025 2.060
count 93 21 95% interval 0.31
T 2.33
probability of H0 0.03228

Table 4.6.: One-sided student’s t test of mean particle size difference between Bronce
Unslipped and Gogal Plain. A null hypothesis of no difference in mean temper
particle size between the two populations is stipulated.

Bronce Unslipped Eden Unslipped Measured difference 0.35

mean 1.91 1.56 d.f. 21
variance 0.22 0.37 t 0.025 2.080
count 93 18 95% interval 0.32
T 3.19
probability of H0 0.01486

Table 4.7.: One-sided student’s t test of mean particle size difference between Bronce
Unslipped and Eden Unslipped. A null hypothesis of no difference in mean temper
particle size between the two populations is stipulated.

Bronce Unslipped Naranjeño B/W Measured difference 0.74

mean 1.91 2.65 d.f. 163
variance 0.22 0.16 t 0.025 1.980
count 93 173 95% interval 0.11
T 12.97
probability of H0 0.0

Table 4.8.: One-sided student’s t test of mean particle size difference between Bronce
Unslipped and Naranjeño Black-and-white. A null hypothesis of no difference in
mean temper particle size between the two populations is stipulated.
 198

Naranjeño B/W Gogal Plain Measured difference 0.45

mean 2.65 2.2 d.f. 22
variance 0.16 0.43 t 0.025 2.074
count 173 21 95% interval 0.3
T 3.06
probability of H0 0.00294

Table 4.9.: One-sided student’s t test of mean particle size difference between Gogal
Plain and Naranjeño Black-and-white. A null hypothesis of no difference in mean
temper particle size between the two populations is stipulated.

was probably obtained from channel center sands, whereas the somewhat finer sand

temper of Bronce Unslipped is more suggestive of channel bank sand deposits. The
fine sands of Azucena Plain, Gogal Plain, Naranjeño Black-and-white, Palma White,

and Pejelagartero Black similarly came from channel bank deposits. While the fine
sand was appropriate for the production of finely finished serving vessels, the medium,

coarse, and granule-sized sands added structural strength to cooking and storing
vessels (Rice 1987).
Late Classic and Postclassic sand-tempered pottery demonstrates similar attention

to grain size, falling into two groups. Most of Late Classic utilitarian pottery belongs
to the ware Comalcalco Coarse and is characterized by well-sorted, coarse-skewed

medium to fine sand temper. Types associated with this ware are ubiquitous at
Arenal sites, at Comalcalco, Huimango, and other Late Classic sites throughout the

Grijalva delta (Berlin 1956, Peniche Rivero 1973, Piña Chán and Navarrete 1967).
The second group comprises a fine sand tempering tradition manifested in the ware
Ahualulco Red and the type Ocoaxa Corrugated, a late type of Gogal Plain ware.

Volcanic ash-tempered wares

Sand was not always the temper of choice for the manufacture of fine serving,

storage, and ritual vessels. During the Preclassic period, volcanic ash was preferred
 199

and great efforts expended to acquire it from its moderately distant probable source,

the area around the volcano Chichón to the southeast. The volcanic ash temper
in use at Grijalva delta sites is markedly different from the dark, basaltic ash of

the Tuxtlas (Christopher A. Pool, personal communication, 2002). Vessels tempered

with it tend to stand out in areas to which they were exported. Exported examples
are documented in southern Veracruz at Tres Zapotes (King 2002: and personal

communication, 2002) and in Chiapas at San Isidro (personal observation, ceramoteca,

New World Archaeological Foundation). Coe showed sand to be the only temper

used in San Lorenzo pottery; thus it is likely that the use of volcanic ash and ground
pumice temper was specific to the Tabasco Coastal Plain (Coe and Diehl 1980). Ash-

tempered Grijalva delta pottery appears not to have been exported to San Lorenzo or
other tested sites within its economic sphere. Volcanic ash usage may continue into
the Classic, although current evidence is somewhat equivocal. At Comalcalco the

group Centla Corriente (Ahualulco Red) occasionally is reported to contain volcanic

ash particles within the paste, possibly as an admixture to the normal fine-sand

temper employed. Pumice was traded into the delta during the Late Classic from the
uplands around the Chichón volcano so volcanic raw materials were certainly present,

probably available to potters during the Late Classic (see Chapter 7). Alternatively
volcanic eruptions could occasionally drop ash onto the delta landscape as it did in
1982, as well as pump ash into the Grijalva and thence the deltaic system. Either

mechanism would result in the inclusion of ash within backswamp and mangrove clay
formations which might later be used by potters. Eruptive episodes are documented

around A.D. 623 and A.D. 1300 (Tilling et al. 1984). These episodes form part of
a periodic sequence of 5 documented volcanic eruptions with intervals of 350 to 650

years during the last 2000 years. The inclusion of volcanic ash into delta clay bodies
undergoing deposition during these volcanic events either through direct ashfall or
 200

water borne deposition of the very fine sand to silt-sized ash particles during flooding

has not been documented.

Volcanic ash temper is common at Maya sites to the east, including sites within

and near the Usumacinta delta such as Aguacatal, Trinidad and Palenque. It is also
present at sites along the coast of Campeche. At Aguacatal, Panalac Pumice Tem-
pered ware occurs during the Late Classic (Matheny 1970). Ash-tempered pottery

is present at Trinidad and Palenque in the form of Peten-like polychrome vessels of

the Taxinchan and Murcielagos complexes (Rands 1974). In Campeche ash temper is

used in Celestun Red ware found in quantities along the coast (Simmons and Brem
1979: 87). Simmons and Brem argue that, in the case of at least the Usumacinta delta

system sites, a Chiapan source is possible if not probable. The volcanic ash temper
using production systems of these adjoining regions form part of a greater tradition
of ash use present both in the Peten and Yucatán lowlands, as well as further east

(Ford and Rice 1995, Simmons and Brem 1979).

Volcanic ash is preferable to sand as temper for two reasons. It has a lower level of

thermal expansion than quartz sand (Arnold III 1991, Rice 1987), and, because ash
occurs as sharp, irregular glassy fragments, it forms a stronger bond with clay than

subangular and rounded river sands (Arnold III 1991, Shepard 1956). As a result,
pottery tempered with ash is stronger and more resilient than pottery tempered with
other materials. Preclassic Grijalva delta potters invariably utilized ash to manufac-

ture extremely thin walled (3 mm) ritual and service vessels. Statistically, Desengaño
Black-and-white vessels are thinner than Naranjeño Black-and-white vessels (DBW

mean:5.33±1.83 mm, n=393; NBW mean:6.20±1.96 mm, n=697; t = 7.2939, df =

859.077, p-value = 6.841e-13 ; alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is

not equal to 0; test performed in R). Volcanic ash varied in availability in popular-
ity through the Early and Middle Preclassic periods, but it is ubiquitous. Within
the western Grijalva delta during the Middle Preclassic florescence of La Venta, its
 201

availability appears tied to the position of ancient communities within the socioeco-

nomic network, with ash-tempered pottery far more prevalent at elite communities
like San Andrés than at lesser village and hamlet-sized communities. Earlier, during

and prior to the Early Horizon Palacios phase, volcanic ash temper is common at
smaller, less obviously important sites. It was at such smaller sites that Sisson (1976)
first noted and my research confirmed a trend in the relative ratio of ash-tempered

Desengaño Black-and-white and sand-tempered Naranjeño Black-and-white pottery.

During the Early Preclassic Molina and Palacios phases Desengaño Black-and-white is

well represented in collections indicating a well-developed system of regional exchange

facilitating the import of ash. During the succeeding Early Puente it is less frequently

represented. Most serving vessels at the small Pajonal sites are then produced from
Naranjeño Black-and-white. The ratio to Early Puente phase sand-tempered to ash-
tempered types at La Venta has yet to be established, but the small collection of Early

Puente phase material from San Andrés is characterized by sand-tempered pottery.

At San Andrés as at La Venta, most service and ritual vessels are manufactured of

ash-tempered clay during the Late Puente and succeeding Early Franco phases when
the regional volcanic ash exchange system was reactivated.

Volcanic ash temper shows a great deal of variability. It appears in some pottery
as a coarse pumice-like inclusion with occasional gray pumice particles upto several
millimeters in size. It may appear as a sharp, raspy inclusion of very fine to coarse silt-

sized glassy particles sometimes with, mostly without occasional larger white pumice
particles. Because volcanic ash occurs in naturally sorted outcrops which are finer at

the top of the deposit of an eruptive episode becoming coarser towards the bottom
(Arnold III 1991: 23), ash was probably delivered to potters in a pre-sorted state

necessitating little further effort on their part. The absence of further preparation
may account for the presence of occasional large pumice bodies in the paste. Although
volcanic ash probably arrived with some larger pumice-like inclusions, the presence of
 202

larger pumice bodies in the paste may have resulted from the processing of pumice or a

tuff rather than ash into the raw temper material (Drucker 1952: 240). As discussed
earlier, pumice is occasionally found in both Preclassic and Classic contexts. It is

possible that a proportion of the volcanic ash was imported as pumice and ground
prior to the mixing of the paste; however, despite the large amounts of volcanic
ash imported into La Venta and utilized in its pottery (Drucker 1952: 24) little

pumice has been recovered in excavations within the core of that site. Nor has pumice
been recovered at the site of San Andrés. This may not be relevant as the pottery

recovered there may have been manufactured at workshops located anywhere within
the extensive, dispersed urban system of La Venta. A few examples include large

biotite phenocrysts also common in the imported Chiapan andesitic cobbles made
into metates, manos, and other implements throughout the Grijalva delta and in the
andesitic pebbles brought up from the channel base of the Grijalva delta at and below

the delta apex. Phenocryst rich temper is not as desirable as pure glassy ash and
may have been actively selected against by ash miners and pottery producers (Shepard

1964, Simmons and Brem 1979). Volcanic ash from the Tuxtlas is generally darker,
more rounded, and lacks the occasional phenocryst inclusions and light-colored small

pumice bodies (Christopher A. Pool, personal communication). During the Early

Franco phase volcanic ash-tempered pottery feels softer to touch, without the raspy
feel of earlier pottery and with only coarse silt-sized particles present. Indeed, at

times the only means of differentiating ash-tempered from temperless pottery is under
magnification where the presence or absence of glassy ash particles can be clearly

discerned. Infrequently, ash and sand appear mixed in a single piece. Drucker (1952:
240) noted this rarity in sherds recovered in Complex A excavations at La Venta. The

rareness of mixed temper suggests rather strict cultural rules of paste composition.
Elite consumers possibly placed increased value on the volcanic ash-tempered vessels
 203

because of its increased raw material cost, aside from any value ascribed to aesthetic

matters related to vessel wall thinness, size, form, and decorative attributes.
The variation in apparent paste texture serves in part to distinguish between the

two most important ash-tempered wares, Desengaño Black-and-white and Encruci-

jada Black-and-white. Desengaño Black-and-white tends to be tempered with sharp,
very fine sand and coarse silt-sized, angular particles of ash. As Sisson (1976) first

noted, it is raspy to touch, rather like fine sandpaper. Sherds of broken Desen-
gaño Black-and-white ware vessels made perfect polishing tools. A short triangular

cross-section “file” manufactured of Desengaño Black-and-white was recovered at San

Andrés. Encrucijada Black-and-white tends to have a smoother, less raspy touch

Although far rarer, volcanic ash continues to be used during the Late Classic.
At Comalcalco it appears in the ware Palmillas Amarillenta-Porosa, which has a
gray, ashy paste and a yellow-red slip (Peniche Rivero 1973: 74). Along the Arenal

Paleodistributary Late Classic ash-tempered pottery, Rosario Gray ware, only occurs
in the lower levels of Operation 7 at EPS-72. Rosario Gray is distinguished by the

large pumice fragments which occur in the paste along with the ash or ground pumice
temper.

Temper-free wares

During the late Middle Preclassic period a temper-free variant of Early Franco com-
plex Encrucijada Black-and-white, Carmen Black-and-white, developed. This ware,

which was used to manufacture a similar range of vessels and types as Encrucijada
Black-and-white, frequently feels similar to touch as Encrucijada Black-and-white.

Under microscopic examination, however, it becomes clear that it lacks temper. In

her thin section analysis of La Venta pottery for Drucker, Shepard (Drucker 1952)

was the first to note this temperless pottery although these results were not included
in her appendix to his report on La Venta ceramics. Squier (1964a: 205) elaborated
 204

on this in his dissertation, a critical review of Drucker’s Olmec chronology, noting

that fine, untempered pastes were common though rare in the collections he exam-
ined under magnification derived from phase I–IV offerings excavated in Complex A.

Carmen Black-and-white is documented at San Andrés but not at Pajonal sites which
had much sparser Late Franco phase occupations.
The presence of ash-tempered and temperless pottery with similar, almost indistin-

guishable textures and visual characteristics introduces another classification problem

for Middle Preclassic pottery. Because these reflect important differences in pottery

manufacture and are chronologically sensitive, the segregation of Encrucijada Black-

and-white and Carmen Black-and-white into distinct wares is necessary. As a practical

matter of ceramics analysis, however, it is not so simple. Distinguishing the two fre-
quently involves resorting to hand lens or binocular microscope examination of fresh
surface breaks. Taking recourse to these methods has obvious consequences for the

sorting process and, not the least, time. In the end, a robust analysis of Early Franco
and Late Franco phase and later pottery will require that a sample of fine-paste pot-

tery be subject to microscopic examination to determine the actual frequencies of

tempered to temper-free pottery.

Surface recipes

Tabascan pottery is characterized by both pre- and post-firing techniques of surface

manipulation. Surfaces are usually smoothed, although some wares are characterized
by the absence of a surface finish or by extremely coarse smoothing of the surface.
Most pottery wares are smoothed and finished with a wash of the same clay used to

manufacture the vessel. Fewer are finished with a slip. There is evidence for softer
paints or slips applied after or between firings during the Preclassic. Some imported

waxy ware sherds are double-slipped with a red overlying a buff.

Most Preclassic pottery is unslipped. Most wares have a thin wash, one to several
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tenths of a millimeter thick, applied after the vessel had been smoothed. In the case

of the coarse, brown-fired utilitarian wares, this wash is minimally processed after
application. Decoration was usually applied before the paste and overlying wash

had dried. Finer pottery was well-burnished after the wash which generally followed
decoration. When preserved, this black, black-and-white, and white pottery has a
polished luster. Slip occurs frequently during two periods, the Early Preclassic prior

to the dramatic increase in popularity of differentially fired pottery preceding and

during the Early Horizon and, later, during the Middle Preclassic period. Red slip

made by mixing ground hematite with clay was applied to the bulk of pottery during
the Pellicer and, to a lesser extent, Molina phases. The hematite was procured in

nodules, possibly mined from the older Pleistocene and earlier deposits which ring the
Recent plain. Small hematite nodules were recovered in Late Puente phase contexts in
Operation 4 at Zapata (EPS-15) and at San Andrés. These nodules are a close match

to the color of red-slipped Uvero Red ware sherds recovered from earlier contexts at
Pajonal sites and at San Andrés. This slip is the same as that employed on Early

Preclassic Cárdenas Red ware and Middle Preclassic Canto Red ware vessels. The
hematite ranges in color from 7.5R 3/2 to 7.5R 3/6 closely comparable to fired slip

colors of 7.5R 3/8, 4/2, 4/4, and 5/6. Some examples are specular with mica plates
upwards of 0.5 mm wide. The nodules form within the backswamp clay, although
most such nodules in Recent backswamp deposits are small. Most likely the raw

material of the slip was imported from communities controlling regional hematite
deposits. The largest example of hematite pigment recovered at San Andrés is about

the size and shape of a commercial charcoal briquet with evidence of wear around all
edges.

There are few examples of pottery slipped in other colors from Preclassic collections.
Both black and white-slipped pottery are present in low frequencies in collections from
the Preclassic. A single Molina phase example, a small Tocayo Black tecomate, is
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known from the estuary margin site which underlies San Andrés (Pohl and Pope 1999,

von Nagy et al. 2000). It is related to Mojonera Black which marks the appearance of
black pottery during the Chicharras phase at San Lorenzo (Coe and Diehl 1980: 154).

Later, during the Middle Preclassic, white-slipped pottery makes an appearance but
always occurs in very low frequencies. Very few examples of either Limón Incised
or Blasillo Incised are present in Pajonal site collections, and, it is similarly rare in

early collections from San Andrés. A tough white paint composed of clay and, prob-
ably shell-derived, lime is present in collections from San Andrés but not from rural

Pajonal sites. It was brushed on the interior of tall, narrow flat-based coarse-ware
pots and large Desengaño Black-and-white jars to seal the vessels against leakage.

Peniche Rivero (1973) reports a similar usage of calcareous sealant in the Late Pre-
classic Los Pinos complex pottery where it is found applied to coarse, sand-tempered
jars. The Los Pinos sealant tends to brownish-yellow (10YR 6/8).

The post-firing or inter-firing application of clay-based slips or paints is documented

in Early Franco phase collections from San Andrés. There a small proportion of

Desengaño Black-and-white ware vessels, currently only Tecolutla Incised urns, are
painted with a thick, white-firing coat of clay which at places overlaps the underlying

differential firing boundaries. The slip or paint is soft and easily removed. In all cases
the surface of the paint is eroded. Postdepositional refiring-related drifts of white
across the surface of some Desengaño Black-and-white sherds appear to mimic this

eroded paint.
Classic period Grijalva delta potters employed a distinctive repertoire of pottery

finishes and decorative techniques. These are best understood for the Late Classic
and subsequent Postclassic periods. This is the time period to which sites along the

Arenal paleochannel and most of the other sampled sites from the central and eastern
portions of the delta date, especially Comalcalco. The range of pottery present at
that regional center, primarily known from its urban core, is much greater than at the
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smaller, less important sites which dot the meandering distributaries of the Classic

period Grijalva delta and the outer margins of the Pleistocene terrace and flanking
uplands. At these smaller sites, black-slipped pottery predominates among the finer

portion of assemblages. As was the case during the Preclassic period, the majority
of vessels were coarsely tempered and washed but without slip or surviving slip.
Peniche Rivero (1973: 50–51) reports that a small proportion of these coarse ware

vessels at Comalcalco were finished with a calcareous wash on the interior or exterior,
sometimes paired with a red slip or paint. Such treatment is undocumented at other

contemporaneous sites. A small proportion of Late Classic and later assemblages

were manufactured of Fine Orange or Fine Orange-like pastes (slightly gritty with

naturally included very fine river sands). These are slipped in orange, red, white,
cream, and brown, when it can be determined. Uneroded Fine Gray sherds are
slipped gray. Rare examples of red-painted, black-slipped pottery are also known

from Arenal channel contexts. At Comalcalco a wide range of locally produced as

well as imported polychrome pottery has been recovered from various elite contexts

within the site core. Peniche Rivero (1973) and subsequent researchers document a
local geometric tradition on Comalcalco Orange vessels characterized by the rendering

of red, white, and black painted designs on an orange base. Resist treatment is also
present. This polychrome version of the ubiquitous fine serving orange ware vessels
is absent from collections acquired from Arenal distributary sites. The size of the

excavated sample is very small and focused testing at elite Arenal distributary sites
may reveal the presence of polychrome vessels. Cream-slipped pottery, Comalcalco

Cream, manufactured of the same fine orange-fired paste as Comalcalco Orange is

present in the earliest collections at Comalcalco. At Huimango Berlin (1956: 128)

recovered a few examples of a polychrome version of Comalcalco Cream similar to

Comalcalco Orange with red, orange, and black-painted areas. Red-slipped, fine sand
tempered pottery becomes important in the Early Postclassic period. Ahualulco Red
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is known from surface contexts at late sites along the Arenal corridor but was not

recovered from excavated contexts. Sisson (1976: 442) recovered a single sherd of
Ahualulco Red type in the uppermost level of his excavation at T-2 (San Félipe) in

association with other Postclassic materials. Red-slipped, coarse sand and fine sand
tempered pottery is also present in Comalcalco collections where it occurs as a variant
of Comalcalco Burda (Comalcalco Coarse) and Comalcalco Corriente. At Huimango

red slip was applied to some of the necks of Comalcalco Coarse jars and to the interiors
and exteriors of Comalcalco Coarse bowls. (Peniche Rivero 1973: 50, 52).

The Late Postclassic saw incremental changes in surface finish choices. Fine Orange
(Matillas and Cunduacan groups) pottery is slipped in orange, red, black, and a rare

white (Berlin 1956: 135). Most Late Postclassic pottery is a variant of the orange ware
tradition manifested at Comalcalco as Comalcalco Orange or continues the course
utilitarian ware tradition with fine sand tempered wares also present. The use of red

slips may also continue on coarse sand and fine sand tempered pottery.

Firing recipes

Firing technique is the final attribute subsumed here under the category of ware.
Together with slip and paint, firing techniques played a major role in the Tabascan

potter’s repertoire of color production techniques. As discussed above, source clays

on the alluvial plain are essentially uniform in composition firing to yellow-reds and

reds under high heat and oxidizing conditions. The most important axis of variation
in Tabascan alluvial plain clays is between the organically rich reduced gley clays
below the water table and the more oxidized clays of upper soil horizons. Some firing

differences may have been achieved by choosing between these reduced and oxidized
variants or by choosing clays on the basis of the degree and nature of organic inclusion.

Pigments which were incorporated into clay-based washes and slips are limited to the
hematite nodules used to produce Preclassic red and the thin red slips applied to
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later Fine Orange pottery and domestic Ahualulco Red ware. White firing clays were

acquired and used for the production of white slips on Preclassic and later vessels.
Some later brown and black slips and paints documented at Comalcalco and other

sites may have used other imported pigments to achieve their color effects. Most of
the base color variation, however, was achieved through carefully controlled firing and
refiring of vessels.

For most Tabascan pottery firing was straight forward. Utilitarian pottery wares
throughout the entire Tabascan sequence were generally low-fired in the relatively

oxidizing environment of an open-air kiln. Most sherds of these wares have broad
incompletely fired cores (94% in the case of Bronce Unslipped), at times extending

to the surface where the pot would have been mottled by smudging and incomplete
oxidization. Fine pottery was another matter. The same clays used to produce the
light and reddish-browns of wares like Bronce Unslipped and Comalcalco Coarse were

used to produce creamy whites, light and dark grays, blacks, dusky reds and oranges
produced by varying the firing environment and, in some cases, double firing vessels.

Many ware-level distinctions made in the catalog below hinge on these firing dif-
ferences. Pejelagartero Black and Naranjeño Black-and-white are manufactured with

the same paste recipe, as was the far rarer Palmas White. The former occur in similar
ranges of forms and are finished in similar ways. Pejelagartero Black and other black
wares such as volcanic ash-tempered Tancochapa Black were fired in an environment

designed to provide a long and hot enough burn to sufficiently fire the paste and then
smothered to smudge the exterior and interior pores with carbon producing black

clear-through pastes (Rice 1987: 158). Palmas White was fired in a similar reducing
environment long enough and with sufficient oxygen present to burn off all the organic

carbon clear through the vessel but not hot enough to begin the process of creating
ferric oxides to turn the paste orange. Figure 4.3 depicts recognized firing modes.
Differentially fired Naranjeño Black-and-white, Desengaño Black-and-white, En-
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crucijada Black-and-white, and Carmen Black-and-white were fired in a multistep

process involving both smudging and non-smudging reduction environments. The

precise control of light and dark zones, sometimes including vertical color registers

as well as more common horizontal control of light/dark opposition in Desengaño

Black-and-white, Naranjeño Black-and-white, and, more rarely, Encrucijada Black-
and-white, hints at a double firing process during which a vessel would be initially

fired to a uniform black rather than white as suggested by Coe and Flannery (1967:
33) for Early Preclassic coastal Guatemalan pottery. Black and differentially fired

vessels are ubiquitous in Tabascan assemblages, whereas white clear-through vessels

are exceedingly rare. Statistically one would expect a higher number of white clear-

through sherds from vessels diverted from or broken prior to a second smudging firing
than is in actuality the case. Few examples of smudging exist in collections from
Pajonal sites or from San Andrés (firing mode Io) and, in general, light areas are

relatively thin whereas dark zones extend through the core.

Figure 4.4 summarizes production steps involved in the majority of recognized firing

modes. Differential firing techniques are divided into 5 classes based on the type of
initial firing a vessel received and the general outcome. Class I firing involved the

production of initially black vessels then refired to produce light zones. The most
plausible manner in which ancient Tabascan potters controlled the distribution of
color is through the use of abundant fine sand as an insulator both setting vessels

deeply within a layer of sand and filling the interior when called for. Class II vessels
appear to have been produced by a process similar to those outlined by Coe and

Flannery (1967: 33) with vessels originally fired white clear-through then refired with
smudging material to produce deeply penetrating blacks. In at least one case, mode

Ii, the vessel was probably inverted prior to refiring. Class III firing involved the
production of white clear-through vessels followed by light smudging. Class IV firing
began with a black vessel which was inverted, and perhaps filled, prior to refiring.
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Finally, Class V firing involved the production of mottled vessels with irregular clouds

of light and dark areas. Precision in achieving the desired outcome seems to have
varied with some vessels demonstrating great control over the firing process and others

much more sloppily executed.

The rarity of white-fired Early and Middle Preclassic vessels contrasts with the
range of white-fired types defined by Coe and Diehl (1980) at San Lorenzo, including

Chicharras through San Lorenzo phase Xochiltepec White, Ixtepec White and Nacaste
phase Remolino White. The rare to moderately common Chicharras and San Lorenzo

phase white wares as well as the white-slipped El Tigre and La Mina Whites (Tables 1,
2, 3, and 4 Coe and Diehl 1980), have no counterparts in the Tabasco Coastal Plain

during that time period. Only during the Early Puente phase do white-slipped vessels
appear in the form of Limón White and Blasillo White, close counterparts to El Tigre
and La Mina White respectively. White clear-through pottery appears in the form

of Palma White by the Late Puente phase. All three of these types are rare. There
appears to have been a cultural preference for differential and black-fired pottery

throughout the Early and Middle Preclassic Grijalva delta area. Gray-paste pottery
is vastly more common within the Coatzacoalcos Basin as well. Given the relative

rarity of gray-bodied pottery within the Grijalva delta I would not be surprised if most
or all gray bodied pottery was imported from the Coatzacoalcos region or, perhaps,
manufactured by potters who learned their craft in the Coatzacoalcos Basin before

moving to Grijalva delta communities. Despite many similarities in both popular and
elite material culture between the lower Coatzacoalcos area and the Grijalva delta,

these culturally informed color preferences suggest important differences between the
Coatzacoalcos and Grijalva delta Olmec pottery traditions. It would be premature

to ascribe cultural or ethnic implications to these differences.

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4.4. Type classification

The type categories I employ are based primarily on decorative and form modes

with priority given to decorative modes. Both the form modes and decorative modes
used here to describe the pottery are fully described in Appendices B and C. Decora-
tive and form modes frequently cross-cut ware definitions, at times producing parallel

type classifications for what may have appeared as the same ethnocategory to the pot-
ter and consuming public. Everyone may have recognized the difference between a

sand-tempered or ash-tempered dish with otherwise identical decoration; but, it is

less likely that ash-tempered and untempered vessels would be visually distinguished

by the consumer. This caveat reminds us that the classification of pottery used here
reflects more the analytical issues relevant to archaeologists than the classificatory
units the potters themselves understood.

Data on vessel form and decorative attribute patterns were systematized as part of
the study. The form catalog was augmented with additional form information from

the study of San Andrés materials. This expanded catalog is presented in Appendix
B. My form classification is ultimately based on Sisson’s and a correspondence is given

within the catalog. Information on rare wares and types represented by extremely
small samples (as low as a single sherd) is included in the catalog rather then lumping
them under a less useful category such as “import”.
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Figure 4.3.: Stylized cross-sectional representations of differential firing modalities in

Early and Middle Preclassic pottery of the Grijalva delta area.
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Figure 4.4.: Schematic illustration of production steps in differential firing. The five
classes are discussed in the text. The left column represents an initial firing, and
the right column represents second firing variations. Classes I and IV begin with
an initial firing producing a black clear through vessel. Classes II and III begin
with an initial firing producing a white clear through vessel. Class V vessels have
mottled firing and may have been fired only once, or may have been fired a second
time without carefully placed insulating material to prevent the burn-off of paste
carbon. Dashed lines represent the top of fill sand placed around and within vessels
prior to the second firing. Vessels are either fired with mouths open upwards or
are inverted with mouths placed within the insulating sand body. The rotation
arrow represents vessel inversion. Classes I, IV, and V are overwhelmingly the
most common differentially fired modes. Firing modes are defined in Table A.7 in
Appendix A.
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