Pottery Research in the Quebrada de La Cueva (Jujuy Province)

An Interdisciplinary and Retrospective Perspective

Abstract

The objective of this article paper is to understand some of the social processes that took place in Quebrada de La Cueva (Jujuy) through the study of ceramics from archaeological sites. To do this, an interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological perspective is used that combines archaeological pottery analyses (macro- and sub-macroscopic, techno-morphological, stylistic, and iconographic) of fragmentary material from excavations and complete or semi-complete vessels from historical collections. We integrate petrography, preventive conservation, the study of documentary sources (inventories and historical publications on this material), and the anthropological–ethnographic record (field notebooks) of the research area. This allows us to identify nonlocal ceramics within the quebrada (some from Jujuy’s puna and others from the middle and lower parts of the Quebrada de Humahuaca), as well as the presence of pottery with nonlocal decorations and morphological designs, possibly manufactured locally, plus a large number of pieces with their own style. Specifically, these results contribute to the study of social processes such as the circulation of objects between distant and nearby areas, local production and consumption, as well as an abundance of styles specific to the Quebrada de La Cueva. These process make this space notably different from other high-altitude quebradas in the northern sector of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.