: Pottery of the ancient Pueblos. (1886 N 04 / 1882-1883 (pages 257-360)) by Holmes William Henry - Indian pottery North America; Pueblo Indians Antiquities

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by that learned gentleman, Mr. A. F. Bandelier. It is his opinion that the remains show at least two distinct periods of occupation, the first being marked chiefly by a stratum of ashes, pottery, etc., of great horizontal extent. This underlies more recent deposits which belong to the people found in possession, and whose arts are nearly identical with those of the existing Pueblos.

The underlying stratum is characterized by great quantities of fragmentary coiled ware uniform with that of more western localities. At the same time there is almost a total absence of painted pottery.

The conclusion reached by Mr. Bandelier is that probably the coiled pottery wherever found marks the occupancy of a people antecedent to those who made painted ware. It is my impression, as already stated, that the coiled form may be the most archaic of the ancient Pueblo pottery, yet I think it best to notice two things in regard to the conditions at Pecos.

In the first place, it should be remembered that the painted pottery found by Mr. Bandelier is said to resemble that of Nambe of to-day, nothing being said of the painted ware characteristic of the ancient ruins of the west, and which is always found associated with the coiled fragments, as at Saint George, in the same graves and even in the same vessel, Fig. 244. We would not expect in Pecos, or in any other place, to find modern Pueblo ware like the more recent pottery from Pecos intimately associated with the ancient ware either painted or corrugated. The only strange feature at Pecos is that the coiled fragments are not associated with ancient painted ware as in other places.

Mr. Bandelier advances the idea that this deposit of corrugated ware may represent the site of an ancient pottery, where the vessels were laid out in heaps surrounded by fuel and burned as by the modern Pueblo potters, the broken pieces being left on the ground, forming finally a considerable stratum. If this is correct, then the true explanation probably is that on this spot only the one variety of pottery was made, the painted pottery of the same locality, if such was in use, being made by potters in other parts of the village. Unless there is an actual superposition of the ancient painted ware upon deposits of the coiled variety, we learn nothing of chronological importance.

The valley of the Rio Grande has furnished but few specimens of the coiled ware, although it is known to occur along nearly its entire course through New Mexico.

DISTRICT OF THE RIO GILA.

The broad area drained by the Gila River and its tributaries abounds in ruins and relics, but its exploration is yet very incomplete. Coiled pottery identical, in nearly every respect, with that of the more northern valleys is abundant, but it is sometimes associated with painted wares very different in style from those of the cliff-house districts. It will probably be found that the ceramic products of the Rio Gila and the Rio Grande are much less homogeneous than those of the Colorado Chiquito, the San Juan, and the Rio Virgen.

IMITATION COIL-WARE.

I have already mentioned the occurrence in the Pueblo towns of modern coiled pottery, and also that there are seen, occasionally, vessels in which the coiled effect is rudely imitated by means of scarifying and indenting the plastic surface. Specimens of the latter class are generally small rude bottles with wide recurved lips and slightly conical bases. They are very rudely made and clumsy and are but slightly baked, and on account of the omission of proper tempering material are extremely brittle. They are new looking, and in no case show indications of use, and I have seen no example worthy of a place upon our museum shelves save as illustrating the trickery of the makers. It is possible that they are made by the Mokis, but if so by very unskilled persons who have neither understood the methods nor employed the same materials as the professional potters. I consider it highly probable that some clever Navajo has thought, by imitating archaic types of ware, to outwit collectors and turn an honest penny.

PLAIN WARE.

All the groups of pottery furnish examples of plain vessels. These are generally rudely finished and heavy, as if intended for the more ordinary domestic uses, such as the cooking of food and the storing of provisions and water. The material is coarser than in the nicely finished pieces and the surface is without the usual slip and without polish or applied color.

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