MCI Project Summaries 2008 - Smithsonian Institution

MCI 6172 Spanish Colonial Glazed Pottery
MCI Staff: Javier Iñañez, R. Jeff Speakman, Nicole C. Little, Judy Watson, Lynn B. Brostoff,
Odile Madden
This research project focused on the technological characterization of colonial pottery
dating from the 16th to 17th centuries, such as majolica ware and glazed utilitarian pottery,
produced in Latin America, and the impact of those technologies on the Native American
pottery.
Majolica and glazed pottery exports were very important European trade items during the
colonial period. It is historically and archaeologically known that other kinds of glazed pottery
played an important role, not only as part of the cargoes in the ships, but also in the way of life of
these societies. A deep knowledge of these two kinds of pottery is vital for a better understanding
of trade and especially colonization including acculturation processes of the autochthonous
societies under the colonial impact. The identification of differences between autochthonous and
colonial ceramics helped to determine social and cultural features of the acculturation process.
This project provided an important step in understanding colonial pottery in the
Americas. Moreover, it represented one of the first attempts to assess acculturation processes in
North American autochthonous societies through the study of ceramic materials using
archaeometric techniques. In addition, this work represented an important achievement on the
knowledge of ancient technology pottery of this historical period. Finally, this project
represented a combination of analytical techniques and anthropological studies to deepen the
understanding of the colonial impact and acculturation processes.
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