ADVANCES IN AUTOMATED PETROGRAPHY: EARLY CERAMICS OF GUATACONDO, NORTH OF CHILE (900 BC-200 AD)

Abstract

The petrographic study by QEMSCAN of ceramic fragments of the Tarapacá Region, belonging to the Early Formative period (900 BC-200 AD), evidence different mineralogical origin of the ceramic material, either by local production, circulation or pottery exchange in the north of Chile. In Guatacondo, the morphology, surface characteristics and the macroscopic analysis of ceramics pastes allowed to advance in the knowledge about the early ceramic types LCA and LMS of the Chilean north. In this opportunity, the results of QEMSCAN confirm the existence of petrographic groups concordant with both stylistic types and the descriptive studies mentioned. From the Guatacondo samples, we can recognize the convergence of different traditions in the selection of raw materials and production of the initial ceramics for this region. The petrographic evidence is indicative of the production, circulation, exchange of vessels and/or knowledge at local or long-distance scales. Therefore, the detailed knowledge offered by this technique, together with the previous typological analyzes, allow us to specify the variability of these ceramic technologies, as well as to visualize the possible areas of supply of raw materials in an initial period of the pottery development in the South-Central Andes.