Pots were made by people working for Inka empire's noble family

What is it about?

Elites in the Inka empire used a specific type of pottery to signal their high status and membership as an Inka. Scholars previously thought the empire's elites must have closely managed those making these pots. However, excavations at a rural town where non-Inkas resided show that this was not the case. This paper examines the excavation of a small workshop for making Inka pottery.

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Why is it important?

This is the first securely identified Inka pottery workshop in or near the Inka capital. It tells us about the techniques for making Inka pottery in the imperial center and also indicates that production was not as centralized as previously thought.