Bermejo Thick (Early 1 Period)

The main characteristic of this type is a coarse paste with very large temper particles, covered by a thick slip that seems smoothed but not polished. Porras’ description of Papallacta Ordinario resembles this type in many respects, and also has a tendency to predominate in the lower portion of the stratigraphic sequences that he presents (Porras 1975: 117, 145). This type was named after Santa Lucía del Bermejo, the first site that provided the clearest indications of its chronological position in a neat stratigraphic context. While it is possible that this ceramic type is the same that Porras called Papallacta Ordinario, I decided not to use this name without having examined Porras’ materials (which were not available).

Surface: Smoothed but not polished, with a technique that sometimes leaves tracks. It is opaque or has a very slight burnish and occasionally traces of red or purple paint can be seen. Large temper particles occasionally erupt through the surface despite a thick, hard slip that does not separate from the paste with ease. The slip is normally thicker (sometimes 1 mm thick) on the outer surface and well preserved for the most part. It contrasts with a generally dark and coarse paste. The color is uniform, grayish beige, grayish brown, and sometimes slightly orange or cream. The general appearance is of a slightly bumpy but smooth surface, but when this is not preserved it looks porous and irregular and feels rough to the touch.

Paste: Coarse, very porous, and crumbly. It easily disintegrates into large temper particles and chunks of clay producing a low pitch sound when one breaks a sherd. The color is dark brown to black, consistently dark, probably owing to an incomplete oxidation. The few sherds of this type that have thin walls generally have a more compact and uniform paste, with much smaller temper particles. These specimens were initially sorted out as a different type, before recognizing that it was a variation related to thickness and probably to vessel size that is not chronologically meaningful.

Temper: Large particles with sharp angles, black, gray, or white (dark particles are more common). The size varies but the most abundant that can be observed through visual inspection measure between 2 and 5 mm.

Walls: Generally thick, between 4 and 10 mm.

Rims: Everted and simple pot rims (Illustration) are the most common. These are thickened and generally short and sharply angled, producing a contrasting narrow neck. Direct rims of neckless pots and bowls occur less frequently.

Decoration: Shallow incised bands, around 3 mm thick, at a 45 degree angle on the rims or shoulder, but also on body sherds.

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