The Nature of Governance in Secondary Centers of the Classic Period, Mixteca Alta, México

Laboratory Method

The artifacts collected in the field were washed and consequently classified. Dating pottery was based on a comparison of the Valley of Oaxaca and Nochixtlán Valley (in the Mixteca Alta) ceramics. Caso, Bernal and Acosta’s 1967 book on the ceramics of Monte Albán and Spore’s 1972 archaeological settlement survey of the Nochixtlán Valley were my main references. Mixteca Alta ceramics were heavily influenced by those of the Valley of Oaxaca and the presence of imitations of these were used to date the sites. In addition to cataloguing the ceramics for periodization information, I created (Heredia n.d.) a ceramic classification based on vessel function (cf. Smith et al. n.d.; Lind 1987). The functional categories are serving, utilitarian (cooking, storage), ritual, fancy, and unknown (cf. Smith et al. n.d.). Functional analysis of pottery will allow me (during the analysis phase) to assess the degree to which feasting or other politically relevant ritual activities are restricted to elite residential areas. The distribution of decorated serving bowls or other unusual serving vessels will be of special interest in this analysis.

The lithics were classified by artifact type (flake, core, micro flake, preform, point, blade, ax, metate, mano, chunk, bead, etc.), raw material and color.

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