The Development of a Visual Catalogue Comprised of Ceramic Potsherds from the Tarascan State

Carolyn Sommer* and Amy J. Hirshman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Field (Broad Category): Anthropology & Archeology (Behavioral & Social Sciences) 

Student’s Major: Anthropology 

Archaeologists excavate an array of materials that people left behind; this is how archaeologists document past lives. One problem that archaeologists face is the variation in the excavated artifacts, such as different materials, color, and shape. Archaeologists need to classify the artifacts, by seeking patterns in the different types, in order to understand what they are examining. This is especially true for ceramic artifacts. Ceramics are subject to extensive variation because of their versatility in creation and use. The information that can be derived from ceramics (e.g. cultural or technological change) makes them important archaeologically. The ceramics in this project originate from the pre-Hispanic Tarascan state, which emerged in western Mexico by the 1350s. The state’s capital, Tzintzuntzan, is located in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin. During the 1970s, Helen Pollard surveyed Tzintzuntzan and from the survey collection, created a typology, a type of classification, which consists of 151 potsherds (i.e. fragmented pieces of ceramic material). The original Tzintzuntzan ceramics collection was expanded to include the Urichu ceramics (early 1990s), which are the primary focus in this stage of the project. Using the information attached to each individual sherd, a database was created and maintained. A visual component will be included as a primary aspect of the database, and due to this, an establishment of ceramic artifact photography protocols is necessary. This collection of sherds and the corresponding database will be used to form a visual catalogue that will be referenced by archaeologists in both Mexico and the United States. 

Funding: Unknown 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course