Technological persistence in ceramic production in the southeastern Hispaniola. The case study of El Cabo (600–1502 CE)

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, vol. 65, pp. 101387

Abstract

This research aims to provide a better understanding of the diffusion of ceramic morphological traits in the Greater Antilles and how communities experienced and integrated new ideas into their manufacturing traditions. The chaîne opératoire approach together with the communities of practice theory produce a holistic methodology to unveil social and temporal connections between artifacts, sites and communities. A detailed petrographic and macro-trace analysis of the ceramic manufacturing techniques for the site of El Cabo (Dominican Republic) is provided. Results evidence a complex homogeneous assemblage characterized by one major techno-group but petrographic heterogeneity. The communities, who lived in El Cabo, experienced and integrated changes in vessel shape and style (from Ostionoid to Chicoid features), though maintained conservative and stable traditions in the main technological steps. The petrographic heterogeneity implies that the inhabitants of El Cabo were probably involved in a broader regional network of interaction and were thus not limited to their community for the production of their pottery. Communities from different locations were, as shown by the presence of raw materials from various and distant geological environments, affiliated with a common ancestor represented by the persistence of one shared technical tradition.

Authors 5

1. Simone Casale corresponding Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Leiden University · Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, Leiden 2333CC, The Netherlands

   Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Reuvensplaats 2, Leiden 2311BE, The Netherlands

2. Kwinten van Dessel Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, Leiden 2333CC, The Netherlands

3. Menno L. P. Hoogland Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Leiden University · Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, Leiden 2333CC, The Netherlands

   Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Reuvensplaats 2, Leiden 2311BE, The Netherlands

4. Patrick Degryse Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University · KU Leuven

   Affiliation as printed

   Division of Geology, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, Leiden 2333CC, The Netherlands

5. Corinne L. Hofman Aachen Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   KU Leuven · Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   Division of Geology, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

   Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Reuvensplaats 2, Leiden 2311BE, The Netherlands