Developments in Ceramic Materials Research

Postclassic Maya Ceramic Advances 25
Figure 12. Plot of chromium and iron base-10 logged concentrations showing the separation of Snail-
Inclusion Paste ware samples. Labeled samples represent the Trapeche ceramic group and unlabeled
samples represent the Paxcamán and Fulano ceramic groups. Ellipses represent 90% confidence level
for membership in the two Trapeche Pink compositional groups (Cecil and Neff 2006:Figure 8).
The paint used for the painted decoration on many of the vessels during the Postclassic
period is a different value and chroma than that of the slips. This may suggest that Maya
potters are using different pigments for the painted decoration and the slips. Through the LA-
ICP-MS analysis of the red and black painted decoration, I was able to suggest that this is
indeed the case. The red paint used for painting red-on-paste decorations is chemically
different from that used for red-and-black painted decoration and the exterior slips.
Additionally, the black paints used for black-on-paste decoration and red-and-black
decoration are chemically distinct (Cecil and Neff 2006:1488-1489). This suggests that the
Maya potters chose different pigments depending on the decorative programs being created.
CONCLUSION
While the different kinds of analyses presented above provide various categories of
information about Postclassic slipped pottery, it is not until all three categories are examined
together with the ethnohistorical record and other archaeological excavation data that the
power of analyzing pottery with a combination of analytical techniques comes to light. By
conjoining these data some interesting technological and stylistic combinations occur
reflecting the choices made by Postclassic potters. These choices in turn reflect the potter’s
(and presumably the society in which they live) different sociopolitical identities.
During the late Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic (ca. AD 900-1250) period in central
Petén, new types of architecture and pottery indicate that new sociopolitical groups may have
entered into the area. Civic-ceremonial architecture (Pugh 2001a) and C- and L-shaped range