A Chimu-Inka Ceramic-Manufacturing Center from the North Coast of Peru

Author(s): Christopher B. Donnan

Source: Latin American Antiquity , Mar., 1997, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 30-54
Published by: Cambridge University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/971591

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 A CHIMU-INKA CERAMIC-MANUFACTURING CENTER
FROM THE NORTH COAST OF PERU

Christopher B. Donnan

A Chimu-lnka ceramic-manufacturing center, dating ca. A.D. 1470-1532, has been located in the Jequetepeque Valley of
northern Peru. An analysis of a large sample of molds and over-fired sherds from the site indicates that the potters produced
both local and Inka-derivedforms-primarily mold-made utility wares. Since Inka aryballoid bottles were produced here, their
production, and presumably their use, was more akin to utility wares for commoners than to ceremonialZadministrative ware
for the elite. Although there were numerous potters involved in the production of large numbers of vessels, the production was
not organized with strict division of labor, but rather with each individual potter working on most stages of production.

Un centro de manufactura de cera'mica Chimu-lnka, fechado alrededor de 1470-1532 d. C., fue descubierto en el Valle de
Jequetepeque, en el norte de Peru. El analisis de un gran numero de ejemplos de moldes y material descartado del sitio indica
que los alfareros produefan formas derivadas del estilo Inka y tambieon formas locales-principalmente cera'mica de uso
domeostico, hecha en moldes. Ya que las botellas de tipo arfbalo fueron producidas en este lugar, su produccion y, presunta-
mente, su uso, estaba asociado a la ceramica usada por la gente del comun, mas que al uso ceremonial/administrativo de la
e'lite. Aunque habfan muchos ceramistas trabajando en la produccion de un gran numero de vasijas, e'sta no estuvo organi-
zada con una estricta division del trabajo, pero donde cada artesano trabajaba en la mayorfa de las etapas de la produccio'n.

The north coast of Peru was an important
area of ceramic production before
European contact. It was the source of
some of the most remarkable and well-known
Precolumbian ceramic styles, including
Cupisnique, Tembladera, Moche, Huari-Norteno,
Lambayeque, Chimu, and Chimu-Inka. During
the first centuries A.D., molds for producing
ceramics began to be used in this area, and mold-
making technology subsequently developed here
to a degree that surpassed most other regions of
the Western Hemisphere before European con-
tact.
While hundreds of thousands of ceramic
objects from the north coast of Peru have entered
museums and private collections, very little is
known about their production. A few studies have
been made of north coast ceramic technology
(Bennett and Bird 1964; Collier 1955; Donnan
l 965, 197 1, 1 993; Grossman 1969-1970;
Shimada 1 994b), but only a few sites where
Precolumbian ceramics were manufactured have
been investigated (Hayashida 1994; Russell et. al.
1994a, 1994b; Shimada et. al. 1994; Tschauner et.
al. 1994). Recently, a Chimu-Inka ceramic manu-
facturing center was located, and its preliminary
investigation provides important new insights into
the nature of Precolumbian ceramic production.
The Site
The site is located in the lower part of the
Jequetepeque Valley, approximately 15 km north-
east of San Pedro de Lloc (Figure 1). It is in the
area known as Canoncillo, approximately 100 m
east of the Duros of Canoncillo, on a sandy hill-
side at the north margin of an extensive algarrobo
forest. '
The site covers the ridge of a sand dune
(Figure 2). It is recognizable by the abundant
ceramic sherds, shell, and ash on the surface,
which contrast sharply with the surrounding sand.
The site is oval shaped, measuring approximately

Christopher B. Donnan * Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549

Latin American Antiquity, 8(1), 1997, pp. 30-54.

Copyright (C) by the Society for American Archaeology

30

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 REPORTS 31

Figure 1. Map of the lower Jequetepeque Valley showing the location of the ceramic production site.

180 m N-S by 60 m E-W, and slopes downward Chimu, or Chimu-Inka, although some Moche
from north to south. and Moche-Huari occupation also has been noted.
Extensive deflation of the ridge top has left a Our knowledge of the site is based almost
remarkable abundance of sherds on the surface, exclusively on a study of its surface features.
but has removed nearly all depth of midden. With the exception of several shallow holes dug
Although a few areas have up to 10 cm of midden
with a trowel to determine if there was any mid-
beneath the present surface, in most areas the den beneath the surface, and a small exploratory
sherds and shell are now resting on sterile sand. pit excavated into an ash deposit, no excavation
The surface of the site appears to be undifferenti- was conducted. On the other hand, all diagnostic
ated by sector, with an essentia-lly homogeneous sherds (rims, lugs, bases, decorated sherds, and
inventory of material evenly distributed over the mold fragments) were collected from the surface.
entire area. There is no surface evidence of archi- The collection, consisting of 1,359 sherds, pro-
tecture. vides the primary data for this report.2
The area where the site is located has abundant
Chronology
evidence of Prehispanic occupation, including
concentrations of refuse, adobe and stone archi- The site probably had only a brief period of occu-
tecture, ancient roads, i¢igation canals, and field pation. There appear to be no ceramics earlier
systems (Eling 1986; Hecker and Hecker 1990; than Chimu, nor any with European influence.
Wier and Eling 1986). Most of the material is Moreover, the inventory of ceramic forms is

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32 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 19971

Figure 2. The ceramic production site, looking northeast. The fence extends east to west across the southern portion
of the site.

extremely limited, suggesting that it is all rela-
tively contemporary material rather than the
result of a long period of occupation.
Although no Cuzco Inka ceramics were found,
numerous sherds were from vessels with forms
and decorations that are clearly Inka derived.
These indicate that the site was occupied after the
Inka conquest of the north coast of Peru, an event
thought to have begun around A.D. 1470. Since
there were no European-influenced ceramics, nor
any other European goods (glass beads, iron,
brass porcelain, etc.), it is likely that the site was
abandoned by the early part of the colonial period.
In sum, it would appear that the site was occu-
pied between approximately A.D. 1470 and
1535.3 The ceramics produced at that period on
the north coast of Peru are generally referred to as
Chimu-Inka.
Evidence of Ceramic Production
The most obvious indication of ceramic produc-
tion at the site was the high frequency of over-
fired ceramic fragments on the surface (Figure 3).
Hundreds of these were fairly evenly distributed
throughout the site area. They were clearly the
discarded remains of ceramic vessels that had
been destroyed by excessive temperature during
the Elring process. The excessive temperature
resulted in warping of the vessel walls and rims,
blistering and partial vitriElcation of the surfaces,
and the predominant dark color that characterized
these sherds.
No complete over-fired vessels were found,
but 108 of the sherds could be identiEled by ves-
sel form or decoration. They included fragments
of nearly every vessel form and decoration that
was represented in the other ceramics from the
site (see Ceramics below).
Another clear indicator of ceramic production
was the quantity of mold fragments found on the
surface of the site. Sixty-three mold fragments
were collected. The most common were for mak-
ing olla chambers (Figure 4a, b). These would
produce the chamber in two parts, with a horizon-
tal seam at the equator. Most were smooth on the
interior and would have created either the lower
half of the olla chamber or the undecorated upper
half. Some molds were incised (Figure 4a, b) to

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 REPORTS 33

d
e
f

h
j

. 8 o > sw o m

o 5
, , , . s I

l
cm

Figure 3. Fragments of over-fired ceramics.

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 lVol.

LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

34

0 5
I * , . I , e

cm
d

Figure 4. Fragments of molds for producing ollas (a-b) and jars (c-e).

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 REPORTS 35

create the upper half of an olla chamber decorated Table 1. Frequency of Ceramic Forms and Decoration.

with a low relief design (Figure 50. No molds

were found that would have produced the rims Sherds Over-fired

and handles of ollas-these apparently were hand n % n %

modeled and attached after the chambers were

removed from the molds (see Paste Types below). Molds 63 5.0

At least three of the molds were for the pro- Ollas with recurved rims 346 27.6 42 38.5

duction of jars. These would have produced ves- Ollas with straight or flaring rims 70 5 6 12 11.0

sels with vertical seams. One was a nearly Ollas with handles 27 2.2 1 .9

complete mold for forming one half of a jar cham- Jars 41 3.3

ber with a low relief design depicting anthropo- Strap-handle jars 66 5.3 12 11.0

morphized bird and animal figures (Figure 4c). Strap-handle jars with bird 27 2.2

Another would have produced a face neck jar Bowls with two handles 141 11.3 3 2.8

with a human face (Figure 4d), while a third was Lyre-shaped bowls

for the production of both the chamber and neck Tall-sided 28 2.2

of a jar (Figure 4e). Short-sided 11 .9

Several molds were for the production of stir- Rounded bowls 59 4.7 1 .9

rup spout bottles. Two of these (Figure 6a, b) Straight-sided bowls 9 .7 2 1.8

were exclusively for producing the stirrup spout. Aryballoid bottles

Once the stirrup spout was completed in molds Rim and neck fragments 36 2.9 13 11.9

such as these, it would have been joined to a Chamber fragments and bases 7 .6 2 1.8

chamber that was presumably made in another set Strap handles 21 1.7

of molds. In contrast, the other two molds for Lugs 2 .2

making stirrup spouts (Figure 6c, d) would have Polychrome-painted sherd 156 12.5 21 19.3

produced both the stirrup spout and the chamber Press-molded blackware sherds 59 4.7

in a single operation, thus eliminating the need for Press-molded redware sherds 30 2.4

chamber molds, and the additional step of joining Paddle-marked sherds 3 .2

the spout to the chamber. Miscellaneous sherds 48 3.8

One mold (Figure 6e) was for the production of Total 1,250 109

gambreled plates with lyre-shaped cross sections

(Figure 7a-j). The interior surface of this mold had
a design created with punctation, and thus would
have produced plates whose bottoms were deco-
rated with dots in low relief. One fragment of a
plate decorated in this way was found at the site.4
One mold was for producing aryballoid bottles.
These bottles are characterized by an oblate cham-
ber with strap handles on opposite sides, a tall flar-
ing spout, a pointed bottom, and a lug on the upper
shoulder of the chamber. They are one of the most
typical forms of Inka ceramics and were produced
both in the Cuzco area and in areas incorporated
into the Inka empire. The aryballoid bottle mold
found on the surface of the site (Figure 6f)
includes the portion for making the strap handle
on the side of the chamber (Figure 8a-e).
There were numerous molds for producing
heads and/or bodies of humans, birds, and ani-
mals (Figure 9).5 Among those recognizable from
the fragments are molds to make one half of the
heads of felines (Figure 9a, b, c), llamas (Figure
9d), and humans (Figure 9e, f).
The mold fragments collected from the surface
of the site are remarkably similar to one another
in appearance. All but one is oxidation fired. They
are normally very smooth and well finished on
the interior, but coarse and irregular on the exte-
rior. The exterior of many of the molds had one or
more small bumps near the edges, presumably to
align with similar bumps on the complimentary
half of the mold to facilitate alignment of the two
halves when they were lined with moist clay.
One lump of unfired clay, weighing approxi-
mately I07 g, was found on the surface of the site.
It appears to be pure clay, without temper added,
and its light cream color suggests that it may have
been to create the white slip painted on many oi
the ceramic vessels from this site.

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36 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 19971

\
f

9 0 5
, . . . . .

cm h

Figure 5. Ollas with flaring rims (as), handles (d-f), and a bird face (g), and a jar (h).

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 REPORTS

73

0 5
| * * , I |

cm f

Figure 6. Fragments of molds for producing stirrup spout bottles (a4), plates (e), and arybal oid bottles (f).

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38 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 1997]

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Figure 7. Bowls.

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 REPORTS 39

a
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Figure 8. Aryballoid bottle fragments of handles (as) and gambrels of lower chambers (f-i).

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40 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY lVol. 8, No. 1, 1997]

b
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F;gure 9. Fragments of molds for producing feline heads (as), llama heads (d), human faces (e), and human bodies (f).

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 REPORTS 41

One final piece of evidence for ceramic pro- dots, and scroll motifs forming a continuous hor-
duction at the site was the abundance of charcoal izontal band around the upper chamber. One
on the surface, and the presence of several large example has a bird face modeled into the rim,
deposits of ash. The ash deposits were not sys- with earlike elements projecting out from the rim
tematically excavated, but their surface appear- on two sides (Figure 5g).
ance suggests that they were round or slightly Fragments of jars also were abundant on the
oval shaped with a diameter of approximately 2 surface of the site (Figures 5h, lla-c). These are
m. They contained dense deposits of light gray generally crudely made, with uneven surfaces. A
ash, up to 10 cm deep. Sterile sand beneath the few were painted with an overall red slip, and
ash showed evidence of intense heat that caused some had traces of a thin white slip applied to
the sand to oxidize and become slightly reddish their rims and upper chambers.
orange. The ash deposits are presumably where Numerous sherds of strap-handled jars also
the ceramics were fired. were found (Figure 1 ld-h). They tend to have the
same uneven surface treatment as the other jars. A
Ceramics
few have an overall red slip on their exterior sur-
The ceramics collected from the surface of the face. The handles are generally lenticular in cross
site reflect both the ceramic use and ceramic pro- section, although some have round cross sections.
duction that occurred there. In most instances, it One distinctive form of strap-handled jar has a
is not possible to determine if a ceramic fragment neck modeled in the form of a bird. The smallest
was from a vessel that was broken during or one found is complete and exhibits some organic
shortly after manufacture before it was used- black pigment painted on its chamber and handle
or if it was from a vessel that was used by people(Figure llh). It is 9.4 cm high, but fragments of
working at the site. others indicate that they were normally much
More than 37 percent of the diagnostic sherds larger some as much as 27 cm high.
on the surface of the site were fragments of Bowls with two handles were very common
necked ollas (Figures 5a-g, 10). These can be (Figure 12). Their form is probably derived from
divided into three basic types: those with Inka bowls with two handles (Rowe 1944:Figure
recurved rims (Figure 10), those with straight or 8f). The handles, which project from opposite
flaring rims (Figure Sa-c), and those with handles sides of the chamber near the rim, exhibit consid-
(Figure Sd-g). The most common are those with erable variation in size, form, and placement.
recurved rims. These and the ollas with straight or They can be round, oval, or lenticular in cross
flaring rims tend to be somewhat larger than ollas section. The bowls are generally undecorated, but
with handles, and are generally undecorated. some have the interior of the rim and part or all of
Some, however, have a red slip applied to the rim
the exterior surface painted with red slip (Figure
and upper part of the chamber (Figure Sb, c) or 12a, h). A few have thin white slip applied in an
are decorated with an application of thin white irregular horizontal band on their exterior near the
slip applied in uneven lines or crude dots on the rim (Figure 12e, h) or on the upper part of the
rim and upper chamber (Figures Sa, lOd). Some handles.
ollas had one or more rows of bumps on the upper Bowls without handles also were common.
chamber (Figure lOa, b) created by reaching They exhibit considerable variation in form,
inside the chamber while the clay was still moist although most have either lyre-shaped (Figure
and pressing outward with one finger. 7a-j) or rounded (Figures 7k, 13a-d) profiles.
Some ollas with handles are undecorated or Less common are bowls that have relatively
simply have an uneven application of white slip straight sides and a sharp angle near the base
and/or bumps on their upper chambers. In most (Figure 13e-h). The latter are generally reduction
instances, however, they have low relief press- fired, while those with lyre-shaped profiles are
molded designs (Figure Se, f) a decorative form generally oxidation fired. All examples of bowls
not found on ollas without handles. The press- with rounded profiles are oxidation fired.
molded designs are geometric, consisting of lines, Four fragments of rounded bowls have unusual

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Figure 11. Jars (as), strap-handled jars (d-g), strap-handled jar with bird head (h-i).

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44 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 1997]

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Figure 12. Double-handled bowls.

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Figure 13. Bowls (a-h), aryballoid bottle rim (i) aryballoid bottle lug (j).

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46 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
decorative elements on their rims two nearly
flat half circles of clay with shallow incisions
near the outer edge (Figure 13b-d). It is likely
that they are derived from Inka plates that have
this form of decorative element.6 Unfortunately,
none of the four fragments is sufficiently com-
plete to determine what may have been present on
the rim opposite the decorative elements.
However, two complete examples of similar
Chimu-Inka bowls in the Museo Bruning in
Lambayeque have identical pairs of decorative
elements on opposite sides of the rim.7
The bowls without handles generally are
undecorated, but some have red slip on their inte-
rior surface and on the exterior near the rim
(Figure 7k). Others have a rim decoration consist-
ing of black-slip dots on a white-slip stripe
(Figure 7e), white-slip dots on a red-slip stripe
(Figure 7h), or simply black-slip dots (Figure 7g)
or stripes (Figure 7k) on an unslipped surface.
One fragment was decorated with a scroll-and-
line motif in black slip on the unslipped exterior
of the chamber (Figure 7i).
One small sherd had a polychrome slip design
painted on its concave surface (Figure 14a).
Although this sherd has no trace of a rim, it must
have been from an open vessel form presum-
ably a bowl. The design is reminiscent of the fern
pattern that is characteristic of Inka ceramics and
known to have been painted on the interior sur-
face of Inka plates.
Another vessel form that is clearly borrowed
from Inka ceramics is the aryballoid bottle.
Numerous fragments of this form were recovered,
including rim and neck fragments (Figures 13i,
15), lugs (Figure 1 3j), chamber fragments
(Figures 8f-i, 16), and strap handles (Figure
8a-e). Only three sherds of the bases of aryballoid
bottles were found-each had a small, but dis-
tinctly flat bottom.
The production of aryballoid bottles clearly
involved much more effort and skill than the pro-
duction of other ceramics at this site. Surfaces were
carefully smoothed and painted with polychrome
slip. The slips were of better quality and were more
carefully applied than those on the other vessel
forms. Some aryballoid bottles were painted with
the fern pattern (Figure 16b-e, g), a typical Cuzco
Inka aryballoid decoration (Rowe 1944:47).
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[Vol. 8, No. 1, 19971
Although many of the polychrome painted
ceramic fragments could not be attributed to spe-
cific vessel forms, it is likely that nearly all are
from the chamber portions of aryballoid bottles.
The variety of color combinations and design
motifs (Figure 14b-l) implies a considerable vari-
ation in the decoration of aryballoid bottles.
Some fragments of press-molded blackware
and press-molded redware vessels were recovered
from the surface of the site (Figure 17). Mold
fragments for producing press-molded ceramics
were also recovered. Only three paddle-marked
sherds were found, and two of these may be from
the same vessel. This implies that paddle marking
was rare in the Chimu-Inka ceramic inventory
from the Jequetepeque Valley.
Other miscellaneous ceramic fragments recov-
ered include several sherds of large ollas, one of
which was decorated with circular depressions
(Figure 18a), a miniature jar with double handles
(Figure 1 8b), and a variety of bottle spouts
(Figure 18c-f). Also found were two figurine
fragments (Figure l9a, c), a fragment of a face
neck jar (Figure 19d), several grater bowl frag-
ments (Figure l9e), and miscellaneous lugs and
handles (Figure l9f-i). A few fragments of both
stirrup spout and double-chambered whistling
bottles were recovered, but these were too small
to provide a clear idea of the vessels from which
they were derived.
Paste Types
All of the ceramics are made of terra-cotta clay;
no examples of kaolin paste were found. The tem-
per is consistently sand or fine gravel. There is,
however, a remarkable range of variation in the
size of the temper grain, as well as the amount of
temper used in the ceramics.
Some vessel categories were consistently
made of clay with fine sand temper. These include
all bowls without handles (Figures 7, 13a-h),
strap-handled jars with necks modeled in the form
of bird heads (Figure llh), and press-molded
blackware (Figure 17). Cooking ollas (Figures
Sa-g, 10), on the other hand, almost invariably
had coarse temper in the clay that was used to
construct the chamber, but a much finer temper in
the clay used to construct the rim. If the ollas had
handles (Figure 5e-g), the handles also were
 z /e
REPORTS 47

S t: +*y X ,-
- i

s:e i:
d :b:t HS o
j- aVs #j *:

-tS>;-

_ f
e

0 5
l { t l , ,

cm
k
I

Figure 14. Polychrome slip-painted sherds.

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48 LATIN AMERICAN ANTlQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 19971

a b c

r1
7

0 5 i
I , . . I ,

cm

Figure 15. Fragments of aryballoid bottle rims (a-h) and neck (i).

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 REPORTS 49

|il,
h

0 5
| I i j t |

cm

Figure 16. Aryballoid bottle chamber fragments.

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os LATIN AMERICAN ANTlQUITY [Vol. 8, No. 1, 19971

__ h -

g o 5 i
, . . . , i

cm

Figure 17. Press-molded blackware sherds.

a b c
< X i:4:Lo:

f iS t) 04 cm

d e f

Figure 18. Rim of a large olla (a), miniature double-handled jar (b), and bottle necks (c-f).

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 REPORTS 51

b
cZ

c d

h
g
0 5
, . . . . ,

cm

Figure 19. Miscellaneous ceramic fragments.

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52 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
made of clay with fine temper.
Strap-handle jars (Figure 1 ld-g) are similar to
cooking ollas in that the chamber usually was
made of clay with coarse temper, but the necks
and strap handles were made of clay with much
finer temper. This suggests that they also may
have been made for cooking. The same is true of
bowls with two handles (Figure 12), whose cham-
bers are made of coarse-tempered clay but han-
dles are made of fine-tempered clay.
Aryballoid bottles were distinct from all the
other vessel categories in having virtually no con-
sistency in paste type. To some extent, the larger
the aryballoid bottle, the coarser the temper, but
there were many exceptions. Moreover, some ary-
balloid bottles had coarser temper in their cham-
bers than in their rim, while others used the same
paste type throughout. Nor did the temper charac-
teristics correspond to the complexity or quality
of the polychrome slip painting.
One possible explanation for the remarkably
wide variation in paste type used in the aryballoid
bottles is that the sample may include vessels of
local manufacture as well as those made else-
where. While this may account for some of the
variation, the fragments of over-fired aryballoid
vessels (which presumably are all of local manu-
facture) include considerable variation in paste
type. This implies that aryballoid bottles were
made at this site by various potters working with
their own distinctive clay.
Conclusions
The ceramic-manufacturing center provides new
insights into the nature of Precolumbian ceramic
production, particularly as it was practiced on the
north coast of Peru during the last decades before
European contact. At that time, the north coast
had been conquered by the Inka, and the ceramics
used in the area included both traditional local
forms and new forms that were borrowed from
Inka ceramics. Both traditional and new forms
were produced at this center, with a system of
production that was heavily dependent on the use
of molds for constructing the vessels.
Although a great variety of ceramics was pro-
duced at the center, it did not include the full
range known to exist on the north coast at this
time. The emphasis was on utility wares pri-
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[Vol. 8, No. 1, 1997]
marily vessels for cooking and serving food. The
ceramics were generally well made, and emi-
nently functional, but little effort was spent to
smooth and polish the surfaces or decorate the
vessels with carefully incised or painted designs.
When paint was used, it was normally a thin,
poorly made white slip that was applied in wide
uneven lines or irregular, randomly placed
blotches. With the exception of the polychrome
slip-painted aryballoid bottles, few vessels in the
sample had a slip-painted decor that would have
required even a minute of the potter's time. The
ceramic production was clearly aimed at quantity
rather than quality and must have been tied to a
large population creating a constant demand for
common utility vessels.
Vessels generally thought to have been used by
the religious and administrative elite are notice-
ably absent from this site. These include kero-
shaped drinking cups, pacchas (ceremonial
vessels), and high-quality blackware vessels with
elaborate press-molded designs and/or highly
burnished surfaces. Presumably they were pro-
duced in other centers that functioned under more
direct state control. The fact that aryballoid bot-
tles were produced at this site, suggests that their
production, and presumably their use, was more
akin to that of utility ware for commoners than it
was to ceremonial/administrative ware for the
elite.
The wide range of paste types used in the man-
ufacture of the ceramic vessels implies that the
clay was not prepared in large quantities to be
used communally by various potters, but rather in
relatively small quantities by individual potters,
or family units, each of whom prepared the clays
to their own specifications.
Furthermore, within each vessel form pro-
duced at this site, subtle differences between ves-
sels imply that we are looking at the work of
many different potters. This is well exemplified
by the variation in two-handled bowls (Figure
12). Each example of this vessel has essentially
the same form and would have served the same
function. Yet the subtle differences in shape, rim
form, handle form, and position of the handle
strongly suggest that they were made by different
potters. The same is true of each of the other ves-
sel forms, including aryballoid bottles, where
 REPORTS 53

great variation in paste and slip-painted decora- on the north coast of Peru reported by Hayashida
tion has been noted. All this implies that, although (1994) and Tschnauer et al. (1994), indicate that
this site had numerous potters involved in the pro-ceramics in this region also were produced locally
duction of large numbers of vessels, the produc- and were largely for local consumption.
tion was not organized under any central It is hoped that evidence of ceramic production
authority with strict division of labor. will become available from more regions. As
In this regard, it is interesting to consider the
Spurling (1992) concluded in his study of Inka
Inka ceramic-producing site of Milliraya, located ceramic production at Milliraya, the vanations
near the northern margin of Lake Titicaca. have major implications for understanding the
Colonial-period documents indicate that during organization of state-level production, speciEl-
the reign of Wayna Qapaq, the Inka took 1,000 cally in terms of internal task specialization, stan-
weavers and feather workers and 100 potters fromdardization, administrative systems of indirect
neighboring areas and resettled them in Milliraya control, and ultimately, the distnbution of the
to produce for the state (Murra 1978; Spurling ceramics produced.
1992). The ceramic production site at Canoncillo
may have resulted from a similar state-directed References Cited

resettlement of potters from neighboring areas, Bennett, W. C., and J. B. Bird

1964 Andean Cultural History. American Museum of
with the expectation that they produce for the
Natural History. Natural History Press, Garden City,
state. New York.

Inka-period ceramic production in the Mantaro Collier, D.

region of highland Peru involved a somewhat dif-
ferent system (Costin 1986; Costin and Hagstrum
1995). There the data suggest that Inka ceramics
were manufactured at state facilities that were
physically and organizationally distinct from the
household-based -workshops where the local
Wanka-style pottery was produced. Apparently,
local potters were recruited by the state on a part-
time (mit'a) basis to produce ceramics in the state
style. There is no indication, however, that the
potters were brought in from neighboring areas.
In the case of the ceramic-manufacturing cen-
ter at Canoncillo, it is not possible to determine
whether the potters were local people who had
been recruited by the Inka state on either a full-
time or part-time basis or were simply local pot-
ters working on their own. It is clear, however,
that local Chimu- and Inka-style ceramics were
both produced at this site.
Studies of provincial Inka ceramic production
in the Mantaro Valley and Tarma regions of the
central Peruvian highlands, as well as in the
Titicaca area of the southern highlands, have
1955 Cultural Chronology and Change as Reflected in
the Ceramics of the Viru Valley, Peru. Fieldiana:
Anthropology Vol. 43. Field Museum of Natural
History, Chicago.
Costin, C. L.
1986 From Chiefdom to Empire State: Ceramic
Economy Among the Prehispanic Wanka of Highland
Peru. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of
Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Costin, C. L., and M. J. Hagstrum
1995 Standardization, Labor Investment, Skill, and the
Organization of Ceramic Production in Late
Prehispanic Peru. American Antiquity 60:619-639.
D'Altroy, T. N., and R. L. Bishop
1990 The Provincial Organization of Inka Ceramic
Production. American Antiquity 55: 120-137.
Donnan, C. B.
1965 Moche Ceramic Technology. Nawpa Pacha Vol 3.
Institute of Andean Studies, Berkeley, California.
1971 Ancient Peruvian Potters' Marks and Their
Interpretation through Ethnographic Analogy. American
Antiquity 36:460466.
1993 Ceramics of Ancient Peru. Fowler Museum of
Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles.
Eling, H. H.
1986 Pre-Hispanic Irrigation Sources and Systems in the
Jequetepeque Valley, Northern Peru. In Andean
Archaeology, Papers in Memory of Clifford Evans,
edited by R. Matos, S. Turpin, and H. Eling. Monograph
No. XXVII. Institute of Archaeology, University of
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demonstrated that provincial Inka ceramics were Grossman, J.

normally produced and consumed within regions
rather than transported far from their centers of
production (D'Altroy and Bishop 1990). The
ceramic production center at Canoncillo, as well
as other contemporary ceramic production sites
1969-1970 A Huaquero's Discard: Eleven Associated
Molds from Huaca Facho, Peru. Nawpa Pacha Vol. 7-8.
Institute of Andean Studies, Berkeley, California.
Hayashida, F. M.
1994 Produccion ceramica en el imperio Inka: una vision
global y nuevos datos. In Tecnologfa y organizacion de
la produccio'n de cera'mica prehispa'nica en los Andes,

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edited by I. Shimada, pp. 443-476. Pontificia
Universidad Catolica del Peru. Fondo Editorial, Lima.
Hecker, W., and G. Hecker
1990 Ruinas, caminos, y sistemas de irrigacio'n prehis-
pa'nicos en la provincia de Pacasmayo, Peru'.
Patrimonio Arqueologico Zona Norte 3. Instituto
Departamental de Cultura-La Libertad, Trujillo, Peru.
Murra, J.
1978 Los olleros del Inka: hacia una historia y arque-
ologia del Qollasuyu. In Historia, problema y promesa,
homenaje a Jorge Basadre, Vol. 1, edited by F. Miro
Quesada, F. Pease, and D. Sobrevilla, pp. 415423.
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima.
Rowe, J. H.
1944 An Introduction to the Archaeology of Cuzoo:
Expeditions to Southern Peru. Peabody Museum Report
No. 2. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Russell, G. S., B. L. Leonard, and J. Briceno Rosario
1994a Cerro Mayal: nuevos datos sobre la produccion de
ceramica Moche en el Valle de Chicama. In Moche,
propuestas y perspectivas, edited by S. Uceda Castillo
and E. Mujica Barreda, pp. 181-206. Actas del
Coloquio Sobre la Cultura Moche. Universidad
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el Valle de Chicama, Peru: el taller de Cerro Mayal. In
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ceramica prehispanica en los Andes. Pontificia
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1994b La Produccion de ceramica en Morrope, Peru:
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de ceramica prehispanica en los Andes, edited by I.
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Shimada, I., C. G. Elera, V. Chang, H. Neff, M. Glascock, U.
Wagner, and R. Gebhard
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1992 The Organization of Craft Production in the Inka
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Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
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C. Wester LaTorre
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Notes
1. The site may have been one that was noted previously by
Ubbelohde-Doering (1960: 175-176) and that Hecker and
Hecker (1990:31) refer to as Sitio 67 in their inventory of
sites in the province of Pacasmayo.
2. The collection is now in a storage facility operated under
the auspices of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura at Huaca
Arco Iris, near Trujillo, Peru.
3. It is possible that the site also was occupied somewhat ear-
lier than the Inka conquest of the north coast, although no
evidence exists to either support or refute this possibility.
4. It is likely that many of the bowls were produced in single
piece molds, although this would not have been possible for
some whose constricted sides would have prevented removal
from the mold (e.g., Figure 7a).
5. Similar molds were found in the Lambayeque area near
Batan Grande in 1968 (Grossman 1969-1970).
6. Inka plates often have a bird head projecting from one side
of the rim and two half circles of clay projecting from the
opposite rim. Sometimes the bird head is replaced by a han-
dle. Alternatively, the plate may have two half circles of clay
on each side of the rim (Rowe 1944:Figure 8q).
7. The provenance of these bowls is not known, but they are
almost certainly from the valleys between Lambayeque and
Jequetepeque. Both vessels are reduction fired blackware.
The larger (no catalog number) is 8.2 cm high and has a rim
diameter of 20.1 cm. It has a pouring lip on the interior of
one side of the rim. Its exterior surface has a press molded
design of birds and nets. The smaller bowl (Catalog number
M-B/8260) is 5 cm high and has a rim diameter of 15.5 cm.
It is plain on both its interior and exterior surface.
Received July 13, 1994; accepted March 29, 1996.