Changes in the Style, Production and Distribution of Pottery in Santa María Atzompa, Oaxaca, Mexico during the 1990s

The potters of Santa María Atzompa, a town located in the Valley of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico, have been making pottery for at least 500 years. The town has been widely known for its production of green glazed cookware and ornamental pottery, which is sold throughout the State of Oaxaca and beyond. Beginning in the mid‐1990s, to a large extent as a result of public concern, publicity, and legislation about the lead glaze, which they have been using since the Colonial Period, the potters changed the style, distribution and social context of their ceramics production. This paper examines the town's pottery industry through time, focusing on the household as a key social unit.