Local variants or imports? Defining petrographic fabrics among regional ceramic traditions at La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico

Situated in the Malpaso Valley of Zacatecas, Mexico, the site of La Quemada was one of a series of polities that developed along the northern frontier of Mesoamerica during the Epiclassic period (A.D. 600–900). Ceramic wares that were widely distributed in the region have been used as evidence for interaction among the polities. The social mechanism responsible for this broad distribution of decorative styles and diagnostic vessel shapes, however, remains unknown. This paper analyzes 297 ceramic sherds and 33 clay sediments using petrographic and elemental methods to ask the following questions: Can different clay sediments be distinguished within the Malpaso Valley? Were the ceramics used by La Quemada residents made in the Malpaso Valley, participating in and contributing to broader ceramic styles, or were they imported from outside the valley? If ceramics were produced locally, was their production centralized or were there multiple production locations? Through an evaluation of the geological and archaeological variability discernible in the Malpaso Valley, we present empirical linkages between fabric classes and spatially restricted clay sources and argue that, though potters participated in and contributed to broad stylistic networks, pottery was made locally, in more than one location in the Malpaso Valley.