Studying technological practices at a local level: neutron activation and petrographic analyses of early ceramic period pottery in central Chile

Abstract

We discuss neutron activation and petrographic analyses of domestic ceramics and some raw materials from five archaeological sites in the Valdivia de Paine locality, in Central Chile. During the time period studied, the area was occupied by small-scale horticultural groups with disperse and sedentary or semi-sedentary settlement patterns. The analyses indicate that diverse local raw material sources were used in pottery production, and shared by members of different co-residential units and between different cultural groups. The data indicate as many similarities as differences among the technological practices of pottery-producing groups who lived in spatial proximity. The results have implications for the understanding of pottery-producing communities at a local level, as well as small-scale groups in general.