THE EPICLASSIC MIDDLE MALPASO VALLEY CERAMICS (La Quemada, Zacatecas): A Visual Guide Toward A Standardized Taxonomy

Success in the creation of any ceramic meta-typology hinges on the inclusiveness of its constituent geographical parts and the degree to which the ceramics of those regions are described. In this instance we are using the meta-typology concept as a tool to more fully explain questions that have vexed archaeologists of northern Mesoamerica for years. Some of these problems include understanding the underlying processes of northward expansion of complex societies, the degree to which some regions interacted with others, the degree of cultural affinity of one region to another, and chronological control of the local and pan-regional ceramic assemblages.