On a Supposed Mesoamerican “Thin Orange” Vessel from Ecuador

Abstract

Interest has recently increased in problems of pre- Conquest contact between the two foci of high culture in the New World, Mesoamerica and the Andean Area. In approaching this question, three major categories of culture diffusion should be recognized at the outset, since each requires a different methodological approach on its own level. The first category would include such basic foundation elements as the cultivation of maize and other closely associated plant staples, pottery, metallurgy, weaving, architecture, etc.; the second, such considerably more specific traits as highly specialized technological processes in various crafts, distinctive art styles, unique design motifs, etc.; and the third, actual trade objects manufactured in one region and imported into the other. There has been more agreement concerning the actuality of diffusion of at least some first category traits than of those in the second, where the claims when critically examined often turn out. to be founded on highly subjective criteria. As for the third category, the striking thing here is the marked paucity of claims of finds of this type.