The features of the Сalchaqui ceramic vessels: technology of producing and ornamentation

The problem of the interplay between manufacturing technology, vessel construction elements and surface treatment often attracts the attention of archaeologists studying ancient ceramics. The MAE RAS collection includes a number of ceramics vessels obtained during excavations of the La Paya site (province of Salta, northwest Argentina). The settlement was founded by the Diaguita-Calchaqui Indians at the end of the first millennium and existed in 9–16 centuries AD. An important part of this archaeological complex was excavated at the beginning of the 20th century by the Argentine archaeologist, founder and first director of the Ethnographic Museum in Buenos Aires, J. B. Ambrosetti. The most part of the La Paya complex was presented by hand-molded ceramic vessels, which were a characteristic part of Calchaqui’s funeral rituals. Burials in cists were found within the stone wall surrounding the site, as well as in the territory of the necropolis adjoining it from the west. The ceramic complex of La Paya consists of a significant number of bowls, characterized by a high level of morphological diversity. Bowls of different shapes were made either as independent vessels or as components of complex forms. At the same time, the funerary urns and the bowls associated with them have a stable pattern of ornamentation. In the article the data on technology of manufacturing and ornamentation of the La Paya vessels is presented and some historiographical and mythological subjects, which can be useful for understanding new features of construction and ornamentation of the Calchaqui ceramic bowls and burial urns, are analyzed.