Production

Ceramics are the key basis for distinguishing the Tepejilote Late Classic from the Bayal Terminal Classic phases, dated by monument associations and ceramic cross-dating (Sabloff 1973, 1975). The contrast of Tepejilote polychromes and flanged censers with Bayal fine paste pots and spike censers is well known (Sabloff 1973, 1975; Willey 1990), but in the Transitional phase all of these seem absent. Bayal complex ceramics of Seibal form two groups, the fine paste wares of presumed “foreign” origin and Late Classic “local” monochrome, striated, and unslipped types continuing and developing from the Tepejilote ceramic complex (Sabloff 1975: 153-222; Willey 1990: 250). The diagnostic Bayal types tend to be concentrated in the core area of Seibal, appearing in new construction almost exclusively there, and few of them are seen farther out (Tourtellot 1988b: 401406).

Recent analytical sourcing of fine paste clays have found sources both more widely scattered and closer to Seibal than originally thought (Foias and Bishop 1997; Sabloff 1982). Fine Gray vessels appear in Late Classic Petexbatun after A. D. 750 (Foias 1992: 272-276), but not at Seibal. The key point is that production of fine paste wares already had worked its way into the lower Pasion River, and perhaps Seibal, by Bayal times (Foias and Bishop 1997; Willey 1990: 257258). Although local to the region, it did not displace local domestic tempered wares.

The procurement of Bayal highly decorated pottery is not systemically different from Tepejilote’s pattern, for each complex “obtained most of its [fine] serving pottery from outside its sustaining area” (Sabloff 1973: 116). Like Bayal, Tepejilote is not exclusively Peten-centric but already had some westward affiliations to the lower Usumacinta, via Altar de Sacrificios (flanged censers and much domestic ware [Sabloff 1975: 236]).

Pabellon Molded-Carved is the critical fine paste type because it shows the same types of people and regalia as appear on Bayal monuments at Seibal, particularly those of Facies B (“long-hair”) type (Sabloff 1970, 1973). However,

Adams showed that twice as many of the style traits in common between Pabellon vessels and Seibal sculpture have Classic antecedents as those that do not, marking a very substantial “Classic” component in the allegedly non-Classic style, the remainder of which Adams concludes is also distinct from “Mexican” styles (Adams 1973b: 146, 153-155, Appendix B).

Among other classes of artifacts, molded pottery figurines continue through with no detectable changes, significantly including the warrior type (Willey 1978: 12-35, 1990: 258). No particular significance can be assigned to new tool forms like exotic thin-flat metates and laurel-leaf projectile points/knives (Willey 1990) because they occur in Late Classic Petexbatun as well (Brady 1994: 613, 617621; Holtman 1991; Stiver 1992). The one arrow point is likely to be part of a tiny Postclassic occupation (Willey 1990: 260).