Pottery provides clues to pre-Hispanic society in Guanacaste
By Frederick W. Lange

In the 1920s, the archaeology and art history of Central America were still in their infancy. The brightly colored polychromes from Guanacaste became established as one of the regional icons, thanks in great part to Samuel K. Lothrop’s “Pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua,” published in 1926 and featuring almost completely whole vessels from private collections. It was assumed that brightly painted pots were related to the elite of the pre-Hispanic society because almost all excavations had been conducted in cemeteries.

Only in a more recent era (more or less the 1960s), explorations began in the humble settlements away from the urban centers of Maya and Mexican ceremonial and administrative sites such as Tikal and Teotihuacan. In Guanacaste, it was not until the same period that archaeologists began to excavate shell middens and other rural house remains. Claude Baudez from France, Mike Coe from Yale, and this writer – then a graduate student – were among the first to conduct such excavations in Guanacaste. Baudez and Coe were involved in a geographically broad-based project to study the early cultures throughout the Pacific coast of the Americas, while I had been impressed by my readings about the excavations in the extensive shell mounds along the coast of California.

Baudez’s doctoral dissertation (in French) detailing his excavations in the Tempisque Valley was published in 1967, and although it illustrated some whole pots from a cemetery, most of his drawing and illustrations were of broken fragments of clay, or the archaeologist’s beloved “sherds.” Lothrop’s two volumes were still the only other major references for pottery from the province.

I cannot speak for the other two researchers, but as I began to analyze the results of my excavations I was astounded to find that almost 100 percent of the types from tomb context and that had been so richly illustrated by Lothrop were also coming out of the shell middens as sherds or fragments. All of a sudden, the elites’ exclusive access to polychrome ceramics no longer seemed a safe assumption. The middens were telling, as famed radio commentator Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story.”

Why were the kinds or “types” of pottery in fragments found in the trash middens the same as the whole pots discovered in the tombs in the cemeteries? Were the sherds from the middens just fragments from whole pots? No, very infrequently did two sherds from the midden fit together, and this was usual after an archaeologist or archaeology student had chopped a larger potsherd into two or more pieces with a trowel or shovel.

The most straight forward response is that all members of the community had access to the same kinds of pottery, some perhaps manufactured locally and other types imported from other, nearby centers of ceramic production. Whole pots were placed in the tombs as offerings to the departed, perhaps filled with food and drink. In the household context, other pots broke from time to time, much as they do in our own contemporary kitchens. They perhaps continued to be used even though damaged (there are relatively few examples of actual repairs on broken ceramic vessels) and eventually were discarded where the fragments became dispersed in the middens. If we had enough time, we probably could find more pieces that go together than are obvious with a quick look.

And yet, there are some exceptions! Just as a strong spotlight helps to define the dark area around it, our comparative lists of ceramics found both in the middens and in the cemeteries helps to identify more clearly those few ceramics that apparently do occur only in cemeteries. In general, it is the bowls and jars that occur in both settings. It is the special shape vessels, such as effigy heads and standing female figures, that are found almost exclusively in cemetery contexts. Also apparently destined only for mortuary use were the famous tripod jaguar vessels, made in Pacific Nicaragua and traded into Guanacaste. And while fragments of other variations of the Pataky Polychrome type (which is what archaeologists have officially designated the jaguar jars) have been found in household middens, the jaguar has been strikingly absent.

What does the even distribution of most polychrome ceramics throughout the archaeological site (domestic and cemetery settings) tell us about the social organization of pre-Hispanic Guanacaste? It tells us that the society was largely equal with no real differences in rank. The few pots that are almost exclusively used in burials may have signified shaman or other residents who performed special rituals or activities, but who were not politically dominant. The level nature of the society is also seen in the equal access to obtaining those ceramics that were made elsewhere and obtained by trade.

Fred Lange earned a doctoral degree in anthropology from University of Wisconsin-Madison (1971). He lived in Costa Rica and worked for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Field Program and the National Museum of Costa Rica from 1975-1979. He has taught at universities in North America and Latin America and in 2005 held a U.S. Senior Academic Specialist appointment from the U.S. Fulbright commission to promote public education to preserve the cultural heritage in Guanacaste Province. His articles in The Guanacaste Journal are intended to inform English-speaking visitors about the prehistory of Guanacaste Province and to support regional cultural heritage initiatives. He authored the recently published book (2006) “Before Guanacaste,” a popular account of the first 10,000 years of this wonderful place. “Before Guanacaste” is available through the Libreria Internacional bookstores throughout Costa Rica and in the Jaime Peligro bookstore in Tamarindo. Fred Lange can be reached at [email protected]