Neutron activation analysis (NAA) of Coarse Orange jars demonstrates economic exchange among the Classic period political capitals of Totocapan, Matacapan, and Teotepec in the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico.  Matacapan, in particular, displays evidence of intensive pottery production at large workshops at the southern margin of the site.  Comoapan (Area 411) and Area 199 present configurations that suggest production for exchange beyond the site’s boundaries. Both of these production facilities specialized in the production of Coarse Orange jars: a utilitarian but finely-made ceramic ware.  While these products were traded to sites in the Tepango Valley, different paste recipes of the Coarse Orange type were also produced locally.  

The economic relationship between Matacapan and Totocapan, in particular, is interesting because the sites display different settlement histories and possibly ethnicities. Totocapan was deeply rooted in the region as one of the oldest centers. Matacapan was newly founded by a group bearing central Mexican symbols affiliated with Teotihuacan during the Early Classic (CE 300-450) after a volcanic eruption cause abandonment in the immediate area.  Economic exchange between the two centers shows that their contrasting social identities and possibly ethnicities did not prohibit cooperative interactions.