Introduction / Dean Arnold, Yumi Park Huntington, Johanna Minich -- Revealing natural and supernatural concepts through formal analysis -- Ceramic wares and water spirits: identifying religious sodalities in the lower Mississippi Valley / David H. Dye -- Naturalism and "contrapposto" in the ceramics of ancient Ecuador: ideology and the humanistic trend in ancient American art / James Farmer -- Investigating identity and social narrative through iconographic analysis and intertextuality -- Exploring the technology and meaning behind early ceramic figurines from the Casma Valley, Peru / Shelia Pozorski & Thomas Pozorski -- Emblems of cultural identity in early Andean art: engraved head motifs on Cupisnique ceramics / Yumi Park Huntington -- Bodies in both worlds: a preliminary comparison of human and supernatural dress in Moche art / Sarahh E.H. Scher -- Intertextuality in classic Maya ceramic art and writing: the interplay of myth and history on the Regal Rabbit Vase / Michael D. Carrasco & Robert F. Wald -- Symmetry patterns and their social dimensions -- Symmetry analysis of step fret patterns on ceramics and other media from Mesoamerica and the American Southwest: continuities and changes in a shared pattern system / Dorothy K. Washburn -- The importance of symmetry in defining Caddo relationships: a synthesis of perspective / Johanna Minich and Jeff Price -- Charting innovation through diachronic studies -- "Ceramic sets" in Maya and Toltec ceramics: the search for innovation and competition in ancient Mesoamerican pottery system / George J. Bey III -- A diachronic perspective on the Prehispanic ceramic tradition of the Valley of Oaxaca / Gary M. Feinman -- Product continuity and change in persistent household ceramic production: the Tarascan case / Amy J. Hirshman.
Summary:
This edited volume analyzes ceramics specifically from ancient America to add new layers to our understanding by emphasizing new perspectives and a multidisciplinary approach from the fields of archaeology, art history, and anthropology. This volume will help students and scholars alike better understand and appreciate ceramics as one of the vital forms of communication within small social units, and across cultural and political boundaries.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.