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Taken with a Grain of Salt: Experimentation and the Chemistry of Archaeological Ceramics from Xaltocan, Mexico

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Abstract

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) of ceramics from Xaltocan (n = 651) displays high values for sodium and potassium and low concentrations of many transition metals and rare earth elements compared to other sites in the Basin of Mexico. Given that Xaltocan was situated on an island in the middle of a saline lake, the potential reasons for this chemical signature are diverse. On one hand, if the sodium and potassium were elevated due to some behavioral aspect of the potters, the Xaltocan chemical groups provide a glimpse at the behaviors of Xaltocan potters that permit more precise source designations. On the other hand, if this chemical fingerprint arose due to contamination in a saline post-depositional environment, the Xaltocan chemical groups would not be valid references for provenance studies. To evaluate these alternative hypotheses, we employ several lines of evidence: (1) comparison of the Xaltocan ceramics to over 5,000 NAA assays of clays and ceramics from the Basin of Mexico, (2) experimental doping of clays with water of different salinities and fired to different temperatures, (3) leaching experiments of archaeological pottery sherds (n = 22) recovered from the site of Xaltocan, and (4) laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry of the clay and temper fraction of a small sample of Xaltocan ceramics to determine which component is responsible for the elevated sodium and potassium values. The results suggest that the high sodium and potassium values were present in the ceramic paste before firing. We then use these newly established reference groups to better understand the role of Xaltocan in the regional economy. The type of experimentation employed in this study has proven to be an important method for determining the behaviors of ancient potters and distinguishing them from post-depositional processes.

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Notes

  1. From the Nahuatl term tequisquitl which refers to the salty crusts deposited along saline lake rims when the water level lowers due to dessication (Parsons 2001, p. 146)

  2. It must be kept in mind that raw clay sampling across the Basin of Mexico is highly localized and not representative of the whole region. Interpolated values are based on a Gaussian function built into ArcGIS 10. Interpolations close to actual data points are most reliable.

  3. Clay soils in the Basin are mostly vertisol and feozem, both of which consist of highly absorptive clay minerals.

  4. Voids are also formed by the bubbling of gases (such as CO2) that get caught within the glassy phase of the ceramic.

  5. It should be noted that K2CO3 was substituted for KCl due to cost and availability.

  6. Though, it should be noted that tequesquite minerals form primarily on the surface.

  7. The rise in sodium or potassium specimens after leaching could result from the leaching of other components thereby concentrating these elements. Alternatively, sample bias and instrumental error may contribute to the elevated numbers.

  8. These were almost all Early Postclassic wares that are rare or absent at the site of Xaltocan itself.

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Acknowledgments

This research was made possible, in part, through NSF grants #1110793 and #0922374 awarded to the University of Missouri Research Reactor. Additionally, NSF grant #1035319, awarded to John K. Millhauser. Millhauser, funded the initial analysis that led to the redefinition of the Xaltocan ceramic sample into new reference groups. Assistance with preparing samples was provided by Timothy Ferguson, Cody Roush, and Erin Gillespie. We also wish to thank researchers who have submitted samples from Xaltocan over the years, including the late Elizabeth Brumfiel, the late Mary Hodge, Deborah Nichols, Destiny Crider, Christopher Garraty, and Kristen De Lucia. Their initiative has made the Basin of Mexico one of the most thoroughly researched regions through NAA. Discussions with a number of other colleagues, including Jeffrey Ferguson, Matthew Boulanger, and Jaume Buxeda, also helped to facilitate the design of this research or to point out examples in the literature that have conducted similar experiments. James Guthrie helped to run a subsample of saline solution and leached liquids through the ICP–MS. Barry Higgins was consulted several times during the operation of the LA–ICP–MS.

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  1. Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Missouri Research Reactor Center, 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Wesley D. Stoner & Michael D. Glascock

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, 107 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Wesley D. Stoner

  3. Department of Sociology & Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8107, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8107, USA

    John K. Millhauser

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway C3200, Austin, TX, 78712-1723, USA

    Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría

  5. Department of Anthropology, Wichita State University, 114 Neff Hall, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA

    Lisa Overholtzer

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Stoner, W.D., Millhauser, J.K., Rodríguez-Alegría, E. et al. Taken with a Grain of Salt: Experimentation and the Chemistry of Archaeological Ceramics from Xaltocan, Mexico. J Archaeol Method Theory 21, 862–898 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-013-9179-2

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