An Analysis of Ceramic Miniatures from Classic-Postclassic Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico
Open Access DepositedUnderstanding the Ollita
their association with termination events at Etlatongo and an engagement with Ñudzahui ontologies suggest possible connections with concepts of reciprocity, memory, and place-making.
While miniature ceramic vessels have been excavated across Mesoamerica, they receive little attention. Recent shifts in theoretical thinking towards materiality and craft production, however, allow us to better understand these vessels. This thesis focuses on 101 miniature ceramic vessels excavated from two households at Etlatongo, in Oaxaca, Mexico’s Nochixtlan Valley. One was occupied between the late Formative and early Classic periods (150-400 cal. CE, n = 20), the other during the Late Postclassic (1250-1520 cal. CE, n = 81). Analysis shows that miniatures are a more diverse category of artifact than expected in proportional and stylistic terms
there is both consistency and variability across the assemblage. The most common type are unslipped, sub-4 cm restricted vessels that this study labels Nochixtlán Miniatures. Miniatures from the Nochixtlan Valley and the nearby Central Valleys of Oaxaca demonstrate similarities in scale and proportion but significant differences in form and style, suggesting the existence of related but distinct communities of practice producing miniature ceramics. This project challenges previous interpretations of Nochixtlán Miniatures as children's toys
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