Indigenous Pottery Technology of Central Mexico during Early Colonial Times

Abstract

The Spanish colonization dramatically interrupted the autonomous development of ancient Mesoamerican culture. Nevertheless, indigenous societies learned to live with the conquest. It was not only a time of crisis, but also an extraordinary creative period. The complex interaction between the indigenous and European worlds gave way to new social systems, technologies and artistic expressions. In this process, material culture played a central role. Things provoked rather than just reflected people's particular responses and adaptations to the changing circumstances. After the Spanish conquest, for example, the encounter of Mesoamerican potters with European ceramics profoundly impacted the native pottery technology. Potters faced foreign ceramics and decided to adopt, reinterpret or reject them. This work presents insights into that process of transformation by focusing on the interaction of indigenous potters with the Spanish pottery in central Mexico during the early colonial period (ad 1521-1650). In that region, on the eve of the conquest, potters made a wide variety of objects, with many techniques and in many styles, in which dexterity, creativity and aesthetics played important roles. The Spaniards introduced new wares and new technologies to produce them. Emblematic were the potter's wheel, the glazing and the majolica ware. They were typical of the Spanish pottery technology at that time and implied a different understanding of ceramics. As will be shown, potters interacted with these novelties in different and complex ways. The pre-Hispanic ceramic technology persisted after the conquest, but the various dimensions of ceramic-making were differently impacted by such particular encounters. Clay recipes, method of forming and firing technology were maintained without change. In contrast, surface finishing and decoration evidenced great creativity.