Laguna de los Cerros:
A Terminal Classic Period Capital in the Southern Mexican Gulf Coast

Ceramic Analysis

Among the project’s activities, the ceramic material originated in 26 test units surveyed in Laguna de los Cerros during the 1997 and 1998 seasons was analyzed (13,409 sherds). The classification of the ceramic material was carried out based on the macroscopic characteristics of the paste and surface. Due to the poor preservation of most of the material, the surface characteristics could not always be defined. The forms (Figure 4 and Figure 5) and decorations were handled independently from the paste and surface. The comparative study of ceramics prior to the Terminal Classic period with already established sequences is underway, as also the corresponding illustrations.

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

The description of the main types identified is presented below:

ACHIOTE ORANGE

The paste is of a medium texture with an irregular fracture. Temper is small and is not abundant. The color is mainly intense orange (7.5 YR 5/8, 4-6/6; 10 R 4-5/8; 5 YR 5-6/6), though it may vary to beige and gray (7.5 YR 4/3, 5/4, 5/6; 10 YR 5/6, 6/8, 6/3, 5-6/4, 5/1) with a gray core.

The surface presents an orange slip (2.5 YR 3/3, 5/6, 4/8, 5/8; 5 YR 6/6, 6/8, 5/6, 7/8, 5/4) which at times may also be brown or yellowish (10 YR 5/2-3; 7.5 YR 4/2; 10 YR 7/6). The surface is finished with an excellent polish.

The variations present among the best preserved material include: (a) a light- brown to cream surface (10 YR 7/4, 8/6); (b) a technique of resist decoration which yields a somewhat variable color that ranges from reddish yellow, to brown, to reddish (7.5 YR 8/6, 7/4; 10 YR 5/2, 7/6, 8/2; 2.5 YR 4/8, 8/4, 5/8); (c) a dark surface with brown hues (7.5 YR 5/3) to black (2.5 Y 2.5/1); and (d) designs painted with a red slip (10 YR 3-4/6; 2.5 YR 6/8) on the orange surface (2.5 YR 4-5/8) or cream light-brown (10 YR 7/4, 8/6).

The most common form is the cajete (flat bowl) with an everted rim, followed by the sub-hemispherical cajete and the cajete with curved walls. Other less frequent forms are: the cajetes with straight walls, the hemispherical cajetes, and the plain bowls. The scarce forms are: the ring bases, the kidney-shaped cajetes, the cajetes with a bulky rim, the cajetes with an everted and downturned rim, the cajetes with curved walls and a small solid support, the cajetes with curved, diverging walls, the cajete with very outflaring walls, the double-silhouette cajetes, the recurved cajete, the cajete with an everted rim, the cajete with an undulating neck, lids, and effigy vessels. With a few exceptions, bottoms are flat; as to supports, they are scarce and are present only as hollow, cylindrical and rounded, and small, solid ones.

Most sherds do not exhibit incisions or painted motifs; the decorations consist of: a fringe of red slip at the rim, designs with the resist technique, one or two incised lines close to the rim, and complex incised motifs.

ANONA LIGHT GRAY

Due to the typical light gray color (10 YR 6/1) and the abundance of temper, the paste is a type diagnostic.

The surface has no slip and the orange color (7.5 YR 6/6) predominates, although a few sherds with yellow, brown and gray hues are present (7.5 YR 5/4; 2.5 YR 5/1; 10 YR 5/6, 5/1, 6/3).

The most frequent form is the straight-walled cajete followed by bowls with bulky rims, cajetes with curved walls, sub-hemispherical cajetes, bowls with everted rims, and plain bowls; less common are the cajetes with everted rims, the hemispherical cajetes and the common spherical vessels (tecomates) with direct rims. Regularly, bottoms are flat.

Even though most sherds are plain, the most frequent decoration consists of an incised line close to the rim.

CACHIMBA BLACK

The color of the paste fluctuates from medium to dark gray, and black, occasionally with the presence of brown hues (10 YR 6/2; 7.5 YR 5/4; 2.5 Y 6/1); the core is yellowish. The texture is compact and shows a regular amount of sand temper.

The unslipped surface presents a black color (2.5 Y 2.5/1) or is bicolored. The sherds show a quality finish, homogeneously applied.

Some sherds show the mark of the differential, controlled firing that produced the "white" rim (10 YR 6/2, 7/3; 2.5 YR 5/1, 7/4; 7.5 YR 7/4), leaving the rest of the vessel black. It should be outlined that frequently, the non reduced portion of the vessel exhibits a very light orange color.

Predominant forms are the straight-walled cajetes followed by the sub-hemispherical ones. Other common shapes are: cajetes with a bulky rims, cajetes with curved walls, cajetes with very outflaring walls and hemispherical cajetes. The less frequent forms are: the kidney-shaped cajetes, the cajetes with everted rims, the cajetes with everted and downturned rims, the cajetes with outflaring, curved walls, the double-silhouette cajetes, the hemispherical cajetes with bulky rims, the recurved cajetes, the plain bowls, the tecomates with bulky rims, the tecomates with direct rims, the effigy vessels and the cylindrical vases with a spout.

The decoration includes one or two incised lines close to the rim, and incised motifs in the fashion of the Limón Carved Incised and Calzadas Carved types from San Lorenzo (Coe and Diehl 1980:I:162-175).

CAMPAMENTO FINE ORANGE

The type known as Campamento Fine Orange designates the group that involves types with fine orange pastes, including the type defined by Coe and Diehl in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (1980:I:214-217), and types 1, 16, 33, 34, 34A, 46 and 66 defined by Symonds (1995; Symonds et al. 2002).

The sherds of the Campamento Fine Orange type present a fine paste with an intense orange color (7.5 YR 7/6; 5 YR 5-6/6. 6/8; 2.5 YR 6/8, 5/6); some sherds show traces of polish. The walls tend to be thin.

The surface color of the polished sherds is mostly orange, just alike the paste (2.5 YR 6/6, 5/8; 5 YR 6/6, 6/8, 5/4) though other hues, such as yellowish, gray and brown (10 YR 4/1, 5/3, 7/8; 7.5 YR 5/4) are also present. The surface in most of them is deteriorated and consequently the type of finish could not be confirmed. However, slips of different colors were observed: white (10 YR 8/1; 5 YR 8/1); cream to light brown (10 YR 7/6, 6/4; 7.5 YR 7/4); dark gray to black (2.5 Y 2.5/1; 10 YR 2/1; 10 R 3-4/1; 7.5 YR 4/1); black (2.5 Y 2.5/1) and cream (10 YR 7/6, 6/4; 7.5 YR 7/4); and red (5 YR 5/8; 10 YR 4/6).

The most common form is the sub-hemispherical cajete, followed by the cajete with everted rim and flat bottom. Less frequent are the cajetes with curved walls, the cajetes with straight walls, and the hemispherical ones. The following forms are scarce: the ring base, the triple-spouted hearth, the cajete with curved walls and basal flanges, the recurved cajete, the bowl with everted rim, the plain bowl, and the tubular spouts. The supports, also scarce, include the hollow, cylindrical ones, the rectangular and rounded ones, and the small, solid ones.

The scarce plastic decoration preserved includes: one or two incised lines located close to the rim, and incised horizontal and parallel lines. Samples with imprinted decoration are scarce.

CEIBA COARSE CREAM

Due to the similarities with the paste and forms of Ceiba Coarse, defined by Coe and Diehl (1980:I:221), this name has been maintained.

The cream color of the surface is also consistent with the paste (10 YR 6/2-3, 7/4, 7/6, 8/3; 7.5 YR 6/4, 7/6); it may show light orange shades. The core’s color is light to medium gray. It may present painted decoration with a red slip (10 YR 3/6) on the cream-colored surface (10 YR 7/4, 7/6, 8/3; 7.5 YR 6/4).

The surface has been smoothed with grooves and is frequently seen in a state of erosion.

The most common forms are the bowls: bowls with everted rims and the plain ones. Less common but abundant are the cajetes with curved walls, and the sub-hemisferical cajetes. Also present are the cajetes with everted rims and the cajetes with straight walls, together with other forms, such as bowls with undulating necks, recurved cajetes, hemispherical cajetes, cajetes with very outflaring walls, cajetes with everted and downturned rims, the ring bases, the simple handles and the hearths with appliqué ornaments. Hollow incense burner handles and tubular spouts are occasional.

MANGAL YELLOW

This type is defined by the distinctive yellow color of the paste (10 YR 6-7/6, 8/8; 5 YR 5/6; 2.5 Y 5/4), with occasional grayish tones. The amount of tempers is regular and they include white particles.

The surface is characterized by an orange slip, which may also show brown, gray, yellowish and reddish tones (7.5 YR 5/4, 7/8; 2.5 YR 5-6/4; 5 YR 5/6; 10 YR 6/6, 6/1). The regular and homogeneous finish is of a good quality.

As to the forms, the tecomate with a direct rim is abundant, followed by cajetes with bulky rims, cajetes with curved walls, cajetes with straight walls and cajetes with very outflared walls. The following forms are scarcely represented: the kidney-shaped cajetes, the cajetes with everted rims, the cajetes with everted and downturned rims, the hemispherical cajetes, the recurved cajetes, the sub-hemispherical cajetes, and the bowls with everted rims.

As to the plastic decoration, the most frequent incision consists of one or two incised lines close to the rim.

NANCHE COARSE ORANGE

The paste color fluctuates from orange to a reddish yellow (5 YR 5/6; 7.5 YR 6/6; 2.5 YR 4/8), with a coarse to medium texture with abundant temper, probably sands. The wall of vessels are thick, but some thin-walled sherds are also present.

Overall, the surface presents an orange slip which may vary with shades of brown (5 YR 5/6; 2.5 YR 4/8, 6/8; 10 YR 7/4). The finish consists of a grooved smoothing, while some sherds present an imperfect polish. Although the Preclassic sherds show a greater deterioration than the later ones, it may be noted that the finishing of the material tends to present grooves on the surface, while the later forms feature a higher quality finish.

The predominant form is the tecomate with direct rim, followed by the simple bowl, the bowl with everted rim, and the cajete with straight walls. There is a regular presence of: tecomates with bulky rims, cajetes with everted rims, cajetes with curved walls, cajetes with very outflaring walls, and hemispherical cajetes.

The plastic decoration typical of the Preclassic period includes punches and zoned incisions in enclosed forms. The incision of one line close to the rim is also frequent. The decoration of the Classic period is characterized by the application of a red slip on the lip, together with painted designs in the body of vessels.

YUAL FINE CREAM

At a macroscopic level it seems to be identical to Yual Fine Cream defined by Coe and Diehl (1980:I:220). The paste is similar to that of Campamento Fine Orange and Zapote Fine Orange to Grey, as mentioned by these authors.

The cream colored paste, at times with orange tones (5 YR 7/6, 8/3: 7.5 YR 6/8, 7/6), is very fine, temper is scarce, it is small in size, and remarkably hard. Vessel walls tend to be thin.

Although polished sherds are observed, surfaces are in general eroded, making it difficult to define the finish. Surface colors vary between cream and cream with yellowish or orange shades (5 YR 7/6, 8/3; 7.5 YR 6/8, 7/6). The surface may present vestiges of an orange slip (5 YR 6/6, 6/8; 7.5 YR 6/4) which may vary to brown; of white slip (7.5 YR 8/1); brown slip (7.5 YR 5/3-4); black slip (2.5 Y 2.5/1); and red slip (10 R 3/6).

In the sample under consideration, this type presents a larger diversity of forms than those reported for Campamento Fine Orange. The sub-hemispherical cajete and the cajete with everted rim predominate. The second place in importance corresponds to the cajetes with everted and downturned rims, the cajetes with straight walls, and the hemispherical and sub-hemispherical ones. There is a smaller presence of cajetes with bulky rims, of cajetes with curved walls with basal flanges, cajetes with diverging curved walls, cajetes with very outflaring walls, hemispherical cajetes with bulky rims, and recurved cajetes; the supports may be hollow, with a cylindrical, conical, rectangular and rounded shape, or either solid, with a rectangular shape, or small. In addition, incense burners with hollow, straight handles are present, as also bowls with everted rims and plain bowls, tecomates with direct rims, effigy vessels, and tubular spouts. Cajetes always present a flat bottom.

Plastic decoration is varied: the complex motifs made through thin incisions are the more frequent ones. Some incisions are medium to wide in size. The incision of one or two lines along the rim is also common. Sherds with mold imprints are scarce.

ZAPOTE FINE GRAY

We have borrowed the type’s name from Coe and Diehl’s classification (1980:I:218), because the paste seems to be identical to that of Zapote Fine Orange to Gray. The paste is of a light gray color (10 YR 6/1-2, 5/1; 2.5 Y 6/1) with a very fine texture, and hard.

The color of the surface is mostly gray, but some pink shades are also present (10 YR 5/1-2; 2.5 Y 7/3; 7.5 YR 7/4, 7/1), orange (5 YR 6/6; 7.5 YR 6/6) and black (2.5 Y 2.5/1).

The sub-hemispherical cajete and the cajete with straight walls are the most frequent forms, followed by hemispherical cajetes with everted rims, and bowls with everted rims. There is a lesser occurrence of: short cajetes with a ring base, kidney-like cajetes, cajetes with curved or straight walls with basal flange, cajetes with curved walls with a small, solid support, with diverging curved walls, with very outflaring walls and recurved; supports are scarce but the hollow, rectangular and rounded ones are present.

As to the decoration, the use of one or two incised lines close to the rim, incised lines horizontally arranged in the outer part, and complex incised motifs are dominant. Vestiges of painted motifs are infrequent.

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