Approach to the Manufacturing Process and Firing Temperature of the Pre‐Hispanic Maya Pottery From the Yohaltun Valley, Campeche, Mexico

ABSTRACT Reconstructing Maya lifeways and technology is a current challenge in archaeology. The Yohaltun Valley shows valuable archaeological evidence of the Maya culture, but this site has been scarcely studied. In this work, various analytical techniques were used to discuss and elucidate the raw material, technology, and manufacturing process parameters of pre‐Hispanic Maya potsherds from the Yohaltun Valley in Campeche, Mexico, which had been stored and safeguarded institutionally since the 1980s. It was determined that these pieces were composed of calcium‐rich mineral aggregates (> 35% wt) and a silicon‐rich matrix (9–22% wt) containing calcium (3–18% wt), aluminum (4–13% wt), and iron (1–11% wt), as determined by EDS. The impurities, clays, and minerals identified by XRD and FTIR confirmed that limestone from the Yucatan Peninsula in the northern Maya Lowlands was used as raw material. The use of the pinching technique to shape ceramic pieces was identified, as well as the use of methods involving coils or slabs. The surface defects observed by electron microscopy suggest that the clay pastes underwent shrinkage stresses associated with an open‐air drying and firing technique. The absence of calcium silicates, calcium oxides, or iron oxides and the presence of primary calcite and quartz indicate that firing temperatures below 700°C were used. The information presented in this work provides new evidence on the pottery manufacturing process used by the pre‐Hispanic Maya culture of Campeche.