Investigation of South American Marajoara Culture Ceramics

Since of the prehistoric times, ceramic forms have been a part of social, religious and cultural structures in the societies in which they were produced. Societies in different geographies that were independent from each other and did not exchange any information, mostly used similar production techniques and needed to embroider their cultural elements on ceramic forms. This is a result of the combination of ceramic material and human nature. Located in the eastern Amazon region, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the island of Marajo, It was home to an advanced pre-Columbian society that lived between 400 and 1300 DC. This society, which formed the Marajoara culture, produced more sophisticated ceramics compared to the societies that lived before and directly after it. At the same time, this community, which was divided into chiefdoms within itself, carried out ceramic production as a common cultural activity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the formal, decorative and conceptual features of the ceramics of the Marajoara culture and to examine the structure of the Marajoara culture through ceramic forms.