https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06545-0
Regular Article
Doing everything the same to make different things: reconstructing the forming techniques of Capacha bules through X-radiography, 3D scanning imaging, and fracture pattern analysis
1
Departamento de Estudios Mesoamericanos y Mexicanos, Universidad de Guadalajara, Zapopan, Mexico
2
LANCIC, Instituto de Física, UNAM, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
3
Centro INAH Colima, INAH, Colima, Mexico
4
Centro INAH Morelos, INAH, Cuernavaca, Mexico
5
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
a
carlos.salgado@academicos.udg.mx
Received:
1
November
2024
Accepted:
7
June
2025
Published online:
30
June
2025
The Capacha pottery complex (ca. 1200–900 BCE) from western Mexico represents one of the earliest known ceramic traditions in Mesoamerica, providing valuable insight into early social and technological practices related to this craft. The most common ceramic form in this tradition is the bule, double-stacked vessels that exhibit considerable morphological diversity. This study examines Capacha bules macroscopically by imaging techniques including visible imaging, X-radiography, and 3D structured-light scanning, to reconstruct the vessels' forming techniques and assess the variation, or lack thereof, within forming methods. Our analysis of 85 bule fragments from the largest Capacha sites in the Colima Valley, Las Fuentes (51 fragments) and Puertas de Rolón (34 fragments), reveals little differences in ways of doing for the three sections of the vessels, with the body and neck sections clearly displaying a preferential forming technique. More importantly, our findings reveal the extent to which specific technical practices were shared among these communities of potters. This study enhances our understanding of Capacha pottery production and its consumption context and offers broader implications for early Mesoamerican ceramic practices.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06545-0.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
