Neutron Activation Analysis on Olmec Pottery: A View From La Venta

Conclusions

The goal of this project was to explore the nature of Olmec ceramic technology during the earliest occupation at La Venta and also the relationship between La Venta and San Lorenzo through testing Grove’s model of zonal complementarity. The results of this project indicate that La Venta’s ceramic technology was focused around a strong local procurement and production of their own pottery. Procurement patterns indicate that Isla Alor was an area where ancient Olmec potters were selecting their clay resources in the production of their pottery. A small non-local ceramic technology was also present during the earliest occupation of La Venta. However, at this time, the compositional database of Olmec pottery and ceramic raw materials is not capable of explaining where or whom La Venta was interacting. Yet, compositions of clays at San Lorenzo vary enough to conclude the non-locally produced group 1 could not be sourced to San Lorenzo. Of the two models that have been proposed to explain the spatial patterning between the 4 principal Olmec sites, "mutual antagonism" and "zonal complementarity", neither can be rejected at this time. Further, the continuing debate of La Venta’s Early Formative placement cannot be completely understood until the non-local pottery group 1 is provenanced. Still, as more ceramic analyses from various Olmec sites incorporate compositional studies, the chances of finding which region or regions were interacting with La Venta, during the Early Formative, can substantiate La Venta’s temporal placement during the San Lorenzo phase. Previous ceramic analyses at La Venta, which have employed a typological method, have been stunted because preservation of ceramic materials is so poor. Using NAA as an analytical tool goes beyond the confines of preservation and enables characterization of a sample based solely on composition. The findings of this project show strong hope for understanding ceramic technology and catching up with other aspects of Olmec culture at La Venta.

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