Social Interaction and Variation in Middle Formative Tlaxcala, Mexico: An Analysis of Ceramics from Two Village Societies.

Abstract

This study evaluates the significance of Middle Formative (900-500 B.C.) pan-Mesoamerican ceramic motifs by documenting variability in vessel use and decoration at two villages in central Tlaxcala, Mexico. The widespread art style of the later Early Formative period (1200-900 B.C.) is characterized by shared motifs on pottery that included depictions of animals and supernatural forces and has been the subject of much debate concerning chiefly competition and interregional interaction. During the Middle Formative period, widespread similarities in ceramic decoration were still found throughout Mesoamerica but take the form of simpler “double-line-breaks” that few scholars have addressed beyond commenting that they are abstract. The study examines variation in the designs and intra-site distribution of motifs at Amomoloc and Tetel to provide evidence for how Tlaxcala’s earliest sedentary communities used pan-Mesoamerican motifs differently at varying social and spatial scales, and across time. An illustrated database of designs from Amomoloc and Tetel links motifs with exact provenience information, and is compared with published examples from Xochitécatl, the Basin of Mexico, Chalcatzingo, the Tehuacán Valley, and the Valley of Oaxaca. At approximately 900 B.C., when Amomoloc was first settled, the presentation of food was not emphasized in ceramic assemblages, few pan-Mesoamerican motifs were used to decorate pottery, and villagers participated in long-distance exchange in a relatively informal manner. From 800-650 B.C., before the development of ranked societies in central Tlaxcala, food service became increasingly focused on bowls with pan-Mesoamerican motifs, as the presentation of food was likely an important arena for the negotiation of socio-political dynamics. At the local level, a high degree of stylistic variability in the execution of motifs is observable, yet the motifs adhered to a central Tlaxcalan design tradition, referencing styles from other regions, as interregional trade networks became more formalized. After 650 B.C., ceramic assemblages changed dramatically in color and shape, and decorated serving vessels became slightly less important to the internal dynamics of village life. Shared motifs exhibit greater standardization in the themes they referenced, and stylistic ties with Chalcatzingo decreased as ties to the Basin of Mexico were strengthened through the increased formalization of long-distance exchange networks.