Capacha is one of the two earliest ceramic complexes known for western Mexico. It dates to a period when sociopolitical complexity was starting to develop in Mesoamerica. An understanding of Capacha pottery technology and production are therefore valuable windows into a critical moment of Mesoamerican cultural development. In this paper we analyze the composition of Capacha pottery samples from two sites in the Colima Valley (Colima, Mexico) by means of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (n = 100) and thin-section petrography by optical microscopy (n = 42), along with 15 geological clay samples. We look for Capacha pottery compositional diversity, availability and compositional variability in clay deposits in and outside the Colima Valley, and compositional matches between archaeological ceramics and clay deposits. The results indicate that the large majority of pottery analyzed is compositionally homogeneous, in contrast with the wide variation found in macroscopic traits. The results further indicate that Capacha pottery was manufactured in the Colima Valley with largely unprocessed clay(s) obtained locally, with the clay sources closest to the sites sampled providing the best compositional matches. A wide variation in pottery macroscopic characteristics, together with a strong compositional homogeneity of clay deposits over large parts of the Colima Valley, strongly warns against explaining the compositional homogeneity found in the pottery as purely the result of cultural conditioning and standardized cultural practices, with environmental constraints perhaps playing the biggest role in this outcome. This study presents the largest archaeometry-based study of Capacha pottery and the raw materials used in its production.

卡帕查（Capacha）是西墨西哥已知的两个最早的陶瓷建筑群之一。它可以追溯到中美洲社会政治复杂性开始发展的时期。因此，了解Capacha陶器技术和生产是进入中美洲文化发展关键时刻的宝贵窗口。在本文中，我们通过能量色散X射线荧光（n = 100）和薄壁岩石学（通过光学显微镜）（n = 42）分析了科利马河谷（墨西哥科利马）两个地点的Capacha陶器样品的成分。 ，以及15个地质粘土样品。我们寻找在科利马河谷内外的粘土沉积物中的Capacha陶器成分多样性，可用性和成分变异性，以及考古陶瓷和粘土沉积物之间的成分匹配。结果表明，与宏观性状中发现的广泛差异相比，所分析的绝大多数陶器在成分上均一。结果还表明，Capacha陶器是在科利马河谷制造的，大部分未经加工的粘土是从当地获得的，最靠近采样点的粘土来源提供了最佳的成分匹配。陶器宏观特性的巨大差异，以及科利马河谷大部分地区粘土沉积物的强烈组成均匀性，强烈警告不要将陶器中发现的组成均匀性解释为纯粹是由于文化条件和标准化的文化习俗以及环境的影响。约束可能在此结果中发挥最大作用。