Patterns of style: The ceramic record and community differentiation, a study from Xunantunich, Belize

The goal of this research is to evaluate the usefulness of ceramic material in differentiating ancient Maya communities. Previous research conducted by the Xunantunich Archaeological Project has identified distinctive groupings of ancient Maya living at Xunantunich, San Lorenzo, Chaa Creek, and Chan Noohol as well as at other settlement clusters within the local area. Distinctions among the study communities included position in the site hierarchy, social power as held by community members, and affiliations of the community to other communities as well as political ties outside the area. Within individual communities members shared interests and commonalties including common practices. The repetition of the practices through time created concrete signatures of the community.; The ceramic record offers an almost infinite potential for cultural expression. Ceramic vessels, ubiquitous in both prehistory and the archaeological record, demonstrate far more potential for choice in the plastic medium of clay, and more again in the decoration of a vessel, than in many other artifact classes. This research focuses on the patterns of choice or styles of ceramics between communities to differentiate the social groups. The choice of some vessel attributes over other, allowed community members to express the unique identity of their community. Individual communities responded to the fluctuating social landscape by emphasizing their unique attributes thus establishing and attesting to their place within society.