Why a kiln? Firing technology in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz (Mexico)

The benefits of one ceramic firing technology over another are not absolute , but depend upon the interaction of multiple environmental, economic and s ocial factors, as well as the specific design of firing facilities. The coe xistence of updraft kilns and open firing methods in the Sierra de los Tuxt las, Veracruz, Mexico, for over 1700 years provides a case-in-point. Evalua tion of the performance characteristics of ancient and modern firing techno logies in relation to their natural and behavioural contexts offers a more secure basis for understanding this specific historical instance of long-te rm polymorphism than explanations based in the generalized technological ad vantages of kilns or their cross-cultural association with intensive modes of production.