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Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome

Cuaxiloa Matte occurs in serving wares, and is characterized by black and orange painted decoration over a matte white to light gray slip.

 

Paste and Firing Effects

The paste is light brown to light reddish-brown in color, often with an orangish tone similar to Cocoyotla Black on Natural. The paste is compact, and fired to a medium hardness. Firing cores and clouds are rare. Fire clouds occur most often on superhemispherical bowls, possibly a result of cooking rather than firing techniques.

 

Surface Treatment

The surface is wiped to medium burnished, depending on vessel form. The interior surface of superhemispherical bowls tends to be the roughest, with frequent streaks and irregularities. Decorated surfaces are generally burnished. A dull whitish slip is applied on either (or both) the interior or exterior surface, giving the ceramic a powdery, matte texture; the subtypes Polished Cream and Fugitive Paint (discussed below) represent qualitative differences in surface treatment.

 

Decoration

Decoration is in the form of painted motifs, usually panels of geometric designs, especially xicalcoliuhquis. The most common colors used are black and orange, but tan and red also occur. One characteristic motif is a series of vertical black lines in a panel over the white slip, interspersed with a cluster of vertical lines filled with orange paint (Figs. 1-3). Another typical motif is a hatched geometric figure, often a triangle, filled with orange. More elaborate design motifs, including codex-style figures, appear on the interior bases of vessels.

Figure 1: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome bowls with vertical hatching at rim

Figure 2: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome superhemispherical bowl with hatching at rim

 

Figure 3: Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome octopus on interior base

 

Three subtypes have been tentatively identified in addition to the basic type: Polished Cream, Fugitive Paint, and Xicotenco Black and Red on Orange. Only subtype Polished Cream has appeared in quantity, and it is possible that these subtypes represent regional variation or production anomalies.

The Polished Cream subtype differs from the basic type in having a well-burnished surface finished to a luster similar to polícroma laca. Design motifs and vessel forms are identical to the basic type, although the quality of workmanship is superior (Figs. 4-5).

 

Figure 4: Cuaxiloa Matte Polished Cream subtype

 

Figure 5: Cuaxiloa Matte Polished Cream subtype flared wall dish

 

The Fugitive Paint subtype varies from the basic type in that the painted decoration is poorly bonded to the vessel surface, so that only traces remain. This may represent an unfinished stage in the production process, or could simply be a regional variation.

Xicotenco Black and Red on Orange subtype is similar to the basic type in decorative motifs and vessel forms, but is distinctive in its orange slip in place of the characteristic matte white (Fig. 44e). This may be a developmental innovation with chronological significance, but was too rare in the UA-1 excavated contexts for conclusive interpretation.

 

Vessel Forms

This type generally occurs in serving ware vessels, although the frequent presence of fire clouds on the exterior of superhemispherical bowls indicates that at least this vessel form may have been used for food preparation. Superhemispherical bowls are the most common vessel form, representing over half of the examples. Other significant vessel forms include outleaned wall dishes and conical bowls. Superhemispherical bowls measure 8 to 21 cm in diameter, with vessel height at about 7 to 9 cm. This form occurs in very high frequency in the basic type, but is less common in the Polished Cream subtype. Outleaned wall dishes have a horizontally flared rim and vessel height of 2 to 3 cm. They appear in moderate frequency in the basic type and low frequency in the Polished Cream subtype. Conical bowls range in diameter from about 18 to 23 cm, and measure about 5 to 6 cm in vessel height. They appear in moderate frequency in the basic subtype and low frequency in the Polished Cream subtype.

 

Discussion

Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome is an enigmatic type in the Cholula ceramic complex. Noguera (1954:136-138) identified polícroma mate as a separate type, and tentatively suggested that it was diagnostic of the intermediary Cholulteca II phase in the Postclassic sequence. Very little of it was recovered, however, and Noguera was hesitant to base interpretations on this poorly defined type (1954:271).

Peterson recovered a trace (1.5%, n=43) of mate polychrome at the Faculty Housing excavation (1972; Mountjoy and Peterson 1973:33). It was not recovered from the UA-79 excavations.

Similar ceramics are illustrated as diagnostic of Isla de Sacrificios II-III from the Gulf Coast (García Payón 1971:535-537), where they are related to the "Historic Period" associated with the Toltec and Chichimec "invasions." Unfortunately, type frequencies are not recorded for the Gulf Coast contexts so it is impossible to deduce the extent to which it was a significant component of the ceramic complex. The major difference between Cuaxiloa Matte and Gulf Coast varieties is in the distinctive Cholula paste composition, in contrast to the exceptionally fine paste typical of Gulf Coast pottery. Stylistic similarities also exist with Vallejo Polychrome from Central America, particularly in the use of the motif of vertical lines (often filled with orange) in a panel over the white slip (Stone 1982; Hoopes and McCafferty 1989).

Similar pottery is also illustrated from the southern Valley of Mexico by Sejourné (1983: figs. 171-174), where it is identified as "cerámica Chalco," dating to the Aztec I period and related to the arrival of Toltecs in the area (Sejourné 1983:264). Illustrations of this general type, however, include a wide range of polychrome styles that can be related to other Cholula types--Apolo Black and Red on Orange, Aquiahuac Burnt Orange, San Pedro Polished Red, and Torre Red and Orange on White Polychrome--and thus the temporal affiliation is questionable.

At UA-1, Cuaxiloa Matte was found as only a trace in Wells 1 and 2, but made up 8% of the Trash Midden and 25% of Well 3 (Table 13). The high proportion of polícroma mate in Well 3 was noted by Wolfman (1968:8), who therefore interpreted the feature as pre-dating the Postclassic structures. A relatively high amount of Cuaxiloa Matte was also found in a midden deposit from the Transito site (R-106) in San Pedro Cholula (McCafferty, Suárez C., and Edelstein n.d.).

In summary, Cuaxiloa Matte Polychrome is a potentially important pottery type as a temporal diagnostic, and as a means of interpreting regional interaction. Unfortunately, it is still rare in excavated contexts from Cholula, perhaps because it had a relatively short period of use, or because of restricted social functions relating to ethnic factors, perhaps as an indicator of Gulf Coast affiliation.


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