| The Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico, where the sites of Miguel Aleman, the Conquista Campesina Complex (Conq-18) and the Pinuela Complex (PIN) are located, has been an object of study by archaeologists since the beginning of the nineteenth century. My project focused at this locale is concerned with craft production as related to the organization and the development of hierarchical social relations and how this relationship is reflected through diverse indexes. Although Plumbate ceramics are my principal source of information, I studied other ceramic types as well.;The analysis of craft production and consumption is an important source of information for understanding how ancient state economies worked and for reconstructing ancient lifeways. In respect to craft consumption, I carried out a quantitative analysis of the number of pots consumed in the overall area and also in each household cluster. The richness of these assemblages provides information about hierarchical differences between the social groups and how these groups were distributed within the area studied.;Analysis of the contexts of production offers information about the ceramic assemblages and their scale of production. Knowing both production and consumption contexts, I determined that the ceramics produced at the site were consumed locally; however pieces could also have been exported to other regions. The comparative analysis of assemblages from production and consumption contexts suggests an incipient social differentiation. I also noted the absence of any remains of household activities at the production contexts suggesting a segregation of activities. This segregation of activities may have been related to an increase in the scale of production and subsequently craft specialization.;In respect to craft specialization I assumed the presence of standardized final products. In order to identify standardization I conducted a statistical analysis of eight variables from the ceramic assemblages. Three of those variables were metric or technological: rim diameter, rim thickness and lip thickness. The other five variables were non-metric or morphological and included ceramic type, rim form, lip form, vessel form and color. The results obtained in this research contributes to the previous works focused on studying Late Classic settlements at Soconusco. |
