Tapping into the Past: First Approach to a Diachronic Material Characterization of Mayapán Pottery

The great city of Mayapan has experienced a technological change in pottery making, and our results confirm a shift in the raw materials and possibly the potters’ knowledge about them. The dynamics of change during the Postclassic period in the Maya area are reflected in the material changes used to make pottery. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on a collection of 248 pottery items from the archaeological site of Mayapán in Yucatán, Mexico, dating from the Middle Preclassic to Postclassic periods (700 BC–1500 CE). Non-invasive methods were used for the entire pottery set, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS). Additionally, for a representative subset, minimally invasive techniques such as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) were employed. The resulting data enabled the identification of materials used in the pottery’s manufacture. The elemental composition of the objects was determined, revealing correlations between elements such as Si with Al that yield a R2 factor of 0.94. The results indicate the presence of smectite clays, carbonates, and iron oxides. The results show that a higher proportion of carbonates was found in the pieces from the Postclassic period compared to those from the Preclassic period, which may be associated with a change in the manufacturing process. Likewise, the Postclassic pieces are distinguished by a greater contribution of the Mg-OH signal, unlike the Preclassic and Classic, which show a greater contribution of the Al-OH group. The implications for the technological knowledge of the potters suggest the use of different technologies across various periods and material changes driven by shifts in political and economic relations in the city and the northern plains.