The production of pre-Colonial ceramics in northwestern Hispaniola: A technological study of Meillacoid and Chicoid ceramics from La Luperona and El Flaco, Dominican Republic

Abstract This paper investigates the production of indigenous ceramics in northwestern Hispaniola before the encounters with Europeans in the late 15 th century. Rather than using the conventional method which focuses on pottery style, a technological approach was employed to study a selection of indigenous ceramics, namely ceramics of the Meillacoid and Chicoid styles, from the sites of La Luperona and El Flaco, Dominican Republic. The application of thin-section petrography on 32 ceramic samples has permitted the reconstruction of production, in particular raw materials procurement and paste preparation method, of indigenous ceramics; and more importantly, provided an insight into the socio-cultural dynamics involved in the organisation of producing these ceramics during the pre-Colonial times. Our findings show that the production of Meillacoid and Chicoid ceramics was marked by the following characteristics: (1) A wide variety of raw materials was used as reflected in the identification of three broad petrofabric groups, each comprising several subgroups owing to mineralogical and textural variation; and in some cases, the raw materials were likely extracted from sources local to the site of recovery. (2) Low level of standardisation can be observed in certain aspects of technical practices, especially paste preparation method and firing condition. (3) No petrofabric group is linked to a specific ceramic style, or recovered from a specific site; highlighting the presence of exchange mechanism with regards the raw materials and/or end products. We suggest that such exchange was crucial to shaping the pre-Colonial socio-cultural landscape in the Greater Antilles.