Olmec Pottery Production and Export in Ancient Mexico Determined Through Elemental Analysis
Top Cited Papers
- 18 February 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 307 (5712) , 1068-1072
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107599
Abstract
The first Mesoamerican civilization, the Gulf Coast Olmec, is associated with hierarchical society, monumental art, and an internally consistent ideology, expressed in a distinct style and salient iconography. Whether the Olmec style arose in just one area or emerged from interactions among scattered contemporaneous societies remains controversial. Using elemental analysis, we determined the regional clay sources of 725 archaeological ceramic samples from across Mesoamerica. Exported Olmec-style ceramics originated from the San Lorenzo region of the Gulf Coast, supporting Olmec priority in the creation and spread of the first unified style and iconographic system in Mesoamerica.Keywords
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