Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T09:12:21.264Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prehistoric Southwestern Ceramic Manufacture: The Limitations of Current Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Alan P. Sullivan III
Alan P. Sullivan III*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Traditional Technology, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identification of the artifacts and features used in ceramic manufacture has become a crucial aspect of Southwestern archaeology as the organization of pottery production has assumed a pivotal role in current models of Southwestern prehistory. Regrettably, pottery-making and pottery-firing areas seldom are reported, and reliable criteria for inferring their presence at archaeological sites have not been developed. A review of pertinent ethnoarchaeological and experimental literature provides some correlates for identifying artifacts and features that may have been involved in ceramic production. Presently, it appears that only two Southwestern sites, Snaketown on the Gila River and AZ I:1:17(ASM) south of Grand Canyon National Park, have disclosed convincing evidence of on-site pottery-making and pottery-firing areas. Some recommendations are developed for increasing the likelihood of recovering strong evidence of ceramic production at Southwestern sites.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , January 1988 , pp. 23 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Abbott, D. A. 1985 Unbiased Estimates of Feature Frequencies with Computer Simulation. American Archaeology 5 : 4–11.Google Scholar
Ambler, J. R. 1987 AZ D-ll-9, A Locus for Pueblo II Grimy Activities on Central Black Mesa, Northeastern Arizona. Archaeological Series No. 2. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Ambler, J. R., and Olson, A. P. 1977 Salvage Archaeology in the Cow Springs Area. Technical Series No. 15. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Anderson, K. M. 1969 Ethnographic Analogy and Archaeological Interpretation. Science 163 : 133–139.Google Scholar
Anderson, K. M. 1971 Excavations at Betatakin and Keet Seel. The Kiva 37 : 1–29.Google Scholar
Bannister, B., Gell, E. A. M., and Hannah, J. W. 1966 Tree-Ring Dates from Arizona N-Q. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson.Google Scholar
Beals, R. L., Brainerd, G. W., and Smith, W. 1945 Archaeological Studies in Northeast Arizona. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology No. 44. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Cattanach, G. S. Jr. 1980 Long House, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. Publications in Archeology 7H. National Park Service, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Ciolek-Torrello, R. S. 1985 A Typology of Room Function at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona. Journal of Field Archaeology 12 : 41–63.Google Scholar
Colton, H. S. 1939 Primitive Pottery Firing Methods. Museum Notes 11 : 63–66.Google Scholar
Cordell, L. S., and Plog, F. 1979 Escaping the Confines of Normative Thought : A Reevaluation of Puebloan Prehistory. American Antiquity 44 : 405–429.Google Scholar
Crown, P. L. 1981 Variability in Ceramic Manufacture at the Chodistaas Site, East-Central Arizona. Ph. D. dissertation. University of Arizona. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Downum, C. E., and Dart, A. 1986 Archaeological Studies at AZ BB : 13 : 223(ASM) and Nearby Sites in the Santa Cruz Industrial Park, Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. 86-3. Institute for American Research, Tucson, Arizona.Google Scholar
Doyel, D. E. 1980 Habitation Sites. In Prehistory in Dead Valley, East-Central Arizona : The TG&E Springerville Report, edited by Doyel, D. E. and Debowski, S. S., pp. 109–137. Arizona State Museum Archaeological Series No. 144. Tucson.Google Scholar
Euler, R. C, and Dobyns, H. F. 1983 The Ethnoarchaeology of Pai Milling Stones. In Collected Papers in Honor of Charlie R. Steen, Jr., edited by Fox, N. L., pp. 253–267. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico No. 8. Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Fish, S. K., Fish, P. R., Miksicek, C., and Madsen, J. 1985 Prehistoric Agave Cultivation in Southern Arizona. Desert Plants 7 : 107–112.Google Scholar
Fontana, B. L., Robinson, W. J., Cormack, C. W., and Leavitt, E. E. Jr. 1962 Papago Indian Pottery. University of Washington Press, Seattle.Google Scholar
Fuller, S. L. 1984 Late Anasazi Pottery Kilns in the Yellowjacket District, Southwestern Colorado. CASA Papers No. 4. Complete Archaeological Service Associates, Cortez, Colorado.Google Scholar
Goddard, P. E. 1945 Pottery of the Southwestern Indians. Science Guide No. 73. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Guthe, C. E. 1925 Pueblo Pottery Making. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Hack, J. T. 1942 Prehistoric Coal Mining in the Jeddito Valley, Arizona. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology No. 35(2). Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Haury, E. W. 1931 Showlow and Pinedale Ruins. In Recently Dated Pueblo Ruins in Arizona, by Haury, E. W. and Hargrave, L. L., pp. 4–79. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections vol. 82(11). Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Haury, E. W. 1976 The Hohokam : Desert Farmers and Craftsmen. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. C. 1964 The Archaeological Survey of Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. Publications in Archeology 7A. National Park Service, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Hill, D. V. 1985 Pottery Making at the Ewing Site (5MT927). Southwestern Lore 51 : 19–31.Google Scholar
Jones, A. T. 1986 A Cross-Section of Grand Canyon Archaeology : Excavations at Five Sites along the Colorado River. Publications in Anthropology No. 28. Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson, Arizona.Google Scholar
Judd, N. M. 1954 The Material Culture of Pueblo Bonito. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections vol. 124. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Kramer, C. 1985 Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology. In Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 14, edited by Siegel, B. J., pp. 77–102. Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, California.Google Scholar
Lambert, M. F. 1966 Pueblo Indian Pottery : Materials, Tools, and Techniques. Popular Series Pamphlet No. 5. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Lightfoot, K. G., and Jewett, R. 1984 Late Prehistoric Ceramic Distributions in East-Central Arizona : An Examination of Cibola, White Mountain, and Salado Wares. In Regional Analysis of Prehistoric Ceramic Variation : Contemporary Studies of the Cibola Whitewares, edited by Sullivan, A. P. and Hantman, J. L., pp. 36–73. Anthropological Research Paper No. 31. Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Lindsay, A. J. Jr. 1969 The Tsegi Phase of the Kayenla Anasazi Cultural Tradition in Northeastern Arizona. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Arizona. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Neily, R. B. 1982 Basketmaker Subsistence and Settlement along the San Juan River, Utah. Ms. on file, Antiquities Section, Utah Division of State History, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Plog, F. 1981 Cultural Resources Overview : Little Colorado Area, Arizona. USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Phoenix, Arizona.Google Scholar
Plog, S. 1980 Stylistic Variation in Prehistoric Ceramics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
Rye, O. S. 1981 Pottery Technology : Principles and Reconstruction. Taraxacum, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Seymour, D. J., and Schiffer, M. B. 1987 A Preliminary Analysis of Pithouse Assemblages from Snaketown, Arizona. In Method and Theory for Activity Area Research : An Ethnoarchaeological Approach, edited by Kent, S., pp. 549–603. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Shepard, A. O. 1939 Technology of La Plata Pottery. In Archaeological Studies in the La Plata District, Southwestern Colorado and Northwestern New Mexico by Morris, E. H., pp. 245–287. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 519. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Shepard, A. O. 1965 Ceramics for the Archaeologist. 5th ed. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 609. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Smith, W. 1952 Excavations in Big Hawk Valley, Wupatki National Monument, Arizona. Bulletin No. 24. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Smith, W. 1971 Painted Ceramics of the Western Mound at Awatovi. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology No. 38. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Stark, B. L. 1985 Archaeological Identification of Pottery Production Locations : Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Data in Mesoamerica. In Decoding Prehistoric Ceramics, edited by Nelson, B. A., pp. 158–194. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Sullivan, A. P. III 1983 Storage, Nonedible Resource Processing, and the Interpretation of Sherd and Lithic Scatters in the Sonoran Desert Lowlands. Journal of Field Archaeology 10 : 309–323.Google Scholar
Sullivan, A. P. III 1986 Occupational Dynamics of a Small Kayenta Anasazi Settlement. In Prehistory of the Upper Basin, Coconino County, Arizona by Sullivan, A. P. III, pp. 47–190. Arizona State Museum Archaeological Series No. 167. Tucson.Google Scholar
Upham, S., and Plog, F. 1986 The Interpretation of Prehistoric Political Complexity in the Central and Northern Southwest : Toward a Mending of Models. Journal of Field Archaeology 13 : 223–238.Google Scholar
Wylie, H. G. 1975 Pot Scrapers and Drills from Southern Utah. The Kiva 40 : 121–130.Google Scholar