Un modelo etnográfico para interpretar el estilo técnico cerámico del Intermedio tardío (ap. 1100-1450 d. C.) en el altiplano de Carangas, Bolivia

Abstract

This text discusses the notion of pottery as a symbol for ethnic identity. This is crucial for the interpretative model of Señoríos Aymaras, which is widely accepted by pre-colonial archeology for the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1450 AD) in the Bolivian highlands. We propose an alternative interpretation based on an “archeology of encounters”. This highlights the role of ceramics in the construction of imagined communities through commensal practices. A technical style approach is utilized based on the ethnography of Andean pottery. The results of the petrographic analysis of ceramics from four regions on the Carangas plateau (Oruro – Bolivia) was compared with an analysis of morphologic and decorative patterns, and these are then discussed in relation to the ethnographic model of “swallow potters”. This model makes it possible to rethink the agents involved in Late Intermediate Period pottery production and its distribution, and to reflect on the relation between pottery, community and identity.

Keywords

• Late Intermediate Period
• petrography
• archaeological ceramics
• south-central Bolivian Andes
• stylistic technique