Inca ceramics are divided into seven types,
based on their shapes: (1) aríbalos (tall-
necked jars); (2) other narrow-necked jars;
(3) wide-mouthed jars; (4) wide-mouthed pots
(ollas); (5) vessels with or without feet; (6)
plates; and (7) cups. Bray, Tamara. Latin
American Antiquity 14, no. 1: 12 (fig. 1),
2003, adapted from Meyers 1975.The history of Inca pottery studies begins with Hiram Bingham’s detailed
analysis of the ceramic materials recovered from the site of Machu Picchu in
the early 1900s. His 1915 publication offered the first comprehensive
classification scheme for the imperial assemblage, identifying 17 different types
of Inca vessels. Several decades later, John H. Rowe, working with Inca
collections from Cuzco and its vicinity, developed another classificatory scheme
for Inca pottery using the type-variety system that accorded primacy to surface
treatment and decorative style. A generation later, Albert Meyers devised a new
typology for the imperial Inca ceramic assemblage based on morphology, or