Ceramics at Piedras Negras, Guatemala

Ceramic Production and Technological Innovation

While the chronological and typological research presented here is important, it is the expected result whenever excavations are reinitiated at a previously explored site like Piedras Negras. The benefit of this research comes when the expanded type catalog is placed against the remarkable historic record available for Piedras Negras. Beginning in A.D. 639 with the accession of Ruler 2, monuments were erected at Piedras Negras, on average, every six years for the next 123 years (Martin and Grube 2000; Proskouriakoff 1960). This historical record allows us to date the ceramic complexes at Piedras Negras with a rare degree of precision. When the provenience data for resist-reserve ceramics is placed against the chronological and historical data available for Piedras Negras, a remarkable pattern results.

The period between 580 and 650 A.D. was a period of rapid change at Piedras Negras. After suffering a defeat by forces sent from Pomoná, México, around 554 A.D., the city quickly rebounded, becoming the primary political and economic power for the region. This period of reorganization and growth is evidenced in numerous ways, including the destruction of the Early Classic palace (whose remains are interred beneath the West Group Court) (Garrido 1998, 1999), the construction of numerous monumental structures on the Acropolis and elsewhere, the destruction of Early Classic monuments, and the settlement of all areas that would be the focus of continued construction and occupation. In short, by the end of the end of the Balche ceramic phase, Piedras Negras had achieved the basic form that it would maintain for the next 200 years.

This same period was also a time of rapid social and political change in the Usumacinta Basin and elsewhere in the Lowlands. Throughout the Lowlands, this period was characterized by the escalating pace and intensity of inter-polity and inter-elite competition. The escalating pace of competition is visible in a number of ways, including an increasing concern with warfare on carved inscriptions, as well as by a growth in the number of titles during the Late Classic, and the more frequent depictions of lesser nobility on monuments (Culbert 1991).

It seems very likely that the changes occurring in the ceramics of Piedras Negras at this time were intimately related to the architectural, social, and political changes affecting the site and other sites elsewhere in the Lowlands. Beginning in about A.D. 580, the pottery at Piedras Negras begins to diverge dramatically from the pottery produced elsewhere in the Lowlands. At this time, the potters of Piedras Negras began to concentrate on the production of resist-decorated pottery. By 700 A.D., resist and resist-polychromes are the dominant decorative mode. At Piedras Negras, even the types most commonly associated with positive painting elsewhere, such as Palmar Orange Polychrome, have resist or resist-reserve elements incorporated into their decorative programs.

The ubiquity of resist and resist-reserve ceramics at Piedras Negras, combined with the excellent provenience data developed as a result of the recent excavation at that site have allowed us to track the development of this ceramic style with a great deal of precision. Resist decorated ceramics first appear in highly elite contexts, such as the Acropolis. These early examples are carefully decorated and well fired. Later, more crudely executed resist and resist-reserve pottery becomes common and is recovered from all levels of settlement and from all areas of the site. This pattern suggests that the earliest iterations of resist-decorated pottery were made under elite supervision, and for elite consumption, and only gradually became available to the wider population.

The pattern evident in the distribution of resist-decorated wares is best demonstrated by examining the timing and context of several terminations and special deposits in which these ceramics appear. It would seem to be no coincidence that the earliest occurrence of resist-decorated ceramics is in contexts ostensibly related to conspicuous displays of wealth. The earliest known resist-decorated ceramics, for example, are known from a late Early Classic (late facet Naba) termination found beneath a layer of burned clay in front of Structure J-20 in Court 3 of the Acropolis. The lack of other materials such as bone or obsidian, and the high number of reconstructable vessels recovered indicate that these materials were deposited purposefully, over a short period of time, and were intentionally smashed. In addition to the numerous orange polychrome and orange monochrome dishes recovered, a number of unique types were found, including sherds representing at least two resist-decorated vessels. The first was a cream slipped dish decorated with a smudge-resist design consisting of a series of linked triangles. The second was an orange slipped dish, again decorated with a resist-decoration, but this time consisting of a series of linked discs in a band near the vessel’s rim. Vessels decorated with this technique are vanishingly rare at Piedras Negras. With the exception of these sherds and a few recovered from a possibly similar context elsewhere on the Acropolis they are known from nowhere else at the site.

Excavations in front of Structure F-2 sub 1 in the Northwest Group Plaza, yielded evidence of a very similar termination. Like the J-20 deposit, the F-2 termination consisted of well-preserved, predominantly polychrome ceramics sealed under a layer of burned clay and bajareque. The location of this deposit at the base of a new structure, the obvious indication of burning, the high concentration of fine pottery, and the relatively low number of vessels represented indicate that this deposit was most likely a building termination. Unlike the materials recovered from in front of J-20 these ceramics displayed: (1) an increase in Late Classic forms including barrels and bowls with out-curving walls, (2) an increase in specular hematite paint; and, (3) more sophisticated resist-reserve decorative techniques. Given these differences, the materials clearly postdate those found in front of J-20, though possibly by as little as 50 years. In all likelihood, the materials in this deposit date to the Balche phase.

A minimum of 8 vessels decorated with resist-reserve decoration were found in this deposit. This decoration included both bichrome smudge-resist and some polychrome-resist similar to that found in later, Yaxche phase, deposits. It seems clear that the execution and designs are similar, though less sophisticated than forms appearing later. Vessel forms represented in this assemblage seem to show some links to Late Classic forms, though it is impossible not to notice the variety of unusual forms, i.e., forms that have no definite analogs in either the Early or Late Classic. It seems clear that during this time, potters are working with greater freedom than in the past and are producing a wider variety of pottery.

A final example of the process under discussion comes from a deposit from a small residential group located just south of the West Group Plaza. Excavations near Str. N-10 uncovered a possible midden containing a large amount of excellently preserved ceramic vessels and figurines. It is estimated that this deposit contained the remains of at least 30 partially reconstructable vessels (Arredondo 1998; Muñoz and Fitzsimmons 1998). In addition to the numerous resist-decorated vessels found, the remains of three hieroglyphic vessels were found here. All three of these vessels were shallow bowls incised with Ruler 2’s name (Houston, personal communication 1998) (Figure 5). In addition to these hieroglyphic vessels, sherds of least two resist-incised vessels were found. The exact form of these vessels is not known, though they may have been cylinders. Close study suggests that the pattern of resist evident on these sherds could have been accomplished only by multiple firings, indicating that the artisan responsible for creating this vessel was a highly accomplished potter.

The presence of Ruler 2’s name on three of the vessels found in this midden indicates that an early facet Yaxche date is appropriate for this deposit. Ruler 2 ruled Piedras Negras from A.D. 639 to A.D. 689. The presence of specular hematite on a number of other vessels further indicates that an early facet dating is appropriate. Given the high quality of the ceramic material recovered from this deposit it is likely that this midden contains royal refuse and that the ceramics from this deposit were likely used by the highest members of Piedras Negras society. The precise nature of this deposit is not clear, however. There is little evidence for burning and the architectural associations of this deposit are not clear. It is possible that this deposit may represent the intentional destruction of ritual or otherwise highly symbolic materials.

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