Speaker: Dr. Cathy Costin, California State University, NorthridgeAlthough some have suggested that North Coast ceramics are characterized by a stable technological style over thousands of  years, evidence indicates that several aesthetic and technological styles “coexisted” with one another; they waxed and waned in popularity depending in large measure on the social and political environments in which ceramics were made and used. In this presentation, I consider how choices made in the production of decorated ceramics on the North Coast of Peru influenced and were influenced by the use of these vessels as information technology. Choices about forming, decorating, and firing processes conditioned how pottery looked and felt and affected the efficacy and efficiency of wares used to convey information about individual identity, social group affiliation, and important ideological concepts. I discuss those technological and aesthetic choices that relate specifically to appearance within their broader sociopolitical contexts, focusing on how pottery was used to encode symbolic messages and visually transmit significant messages.