SOME SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY TYPES SERIES V MEDALLION PAPERS NO. XXI BY E. B. SAYLES PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR THE MEDALLION GILA PUEBLO - GLOBE, ARIZONA May, 1936 COPYRIGHT 1936 11V Grr.A PUEBLO LANCASTER PRESS, INC., LANCASTER, PA. FOREWORD The proof of this Medallion has been submitted to Dr. Donald D. Brand, University of New 1\'Iexico; he has approved the use of specific type names em- ployed herein and the use as synonyms of the general terms employed by him in "The Distribution of Pot- tery Types in Northwest Mexico," American An- thropologist, n. s., Volume 37, No. 2 (Part 1), April- June, 1935.All the pottery types described in this Medallion, both in sherds and in whole pieces, and their respective associations, have been examined by Dr. Brand and he has found no conflict between the specific terms used in this report and the more gen- eral terms used by him in -his report referred to. 111 and other investigations conducted by SURVEYSGua Pueblo during the past five years in the Southwest have resulted in the definition of various cultures and phases, descriptions of which have al- ready been published in The Medallions or are now in preparation.Of these cultural groups, two branches of the Playas Stem of the Caddoan Root have been recognized; one in Chihuahua and another to the north of this region.1 It is the purpose of this report to describe the pot- tery types which developed in the Chihuahua Branch; their relations have been demonstrated by archae- ological associations and are traceable through the sequences of decoration, design, treatment, and form. According to the practice which has been estab- lished in describing Pueblo pottery the following se- ries is suggested.3 The relations between the archaeology of Chihuahua and of the southwestern United States are summarized in Medallion Papers, No. XV, W. & H. S. Gladwin, 1934. 2Sayles, 1936. The Chihuahua pottery at Gua Pueblo has been used for the deter- mination of this series in connection with sherds collected in a survey of that region.The association of the pottery types described and their inter-relations were determined from the analyses of these sherds col- lected on the surface and in stratification from approximately two hun- dred sites in Chihuahua. The methods used are those employed by Gila Pueblo and are de- scribed in Medallion Papers, No. VII, A Method for the Designation of Southwestern Pottery Types, W. & H. S. Gladwin, 1930. iv CONTENTS PAGE Medanos Red-on-brown i Dublan Polychrome 7 Villa Ahumada Polychrome 13 Babicora Polychrome 19 Madera Black-on-red 23 Carretas Polychrome 27 Playas Red 31 Playas Red Incised 33 Corralitos Polychrome Incised 39 Ramos Black 43 Ramos Polychrome 45 Conchos Red-on-brown 55 Map of Type Sites 62 Bibliography 65 V PLATES PACING PAGE I Medanos Red-on-brown 1 II Dublan Polychrome 7 III Villa Ahumada Polychrome 13 IV Babricora Polychrome 19 V Madera Black-on-red 23 VI Carretas Polychrome 27 VII Playas Red 31 VIIIRed Ware 35 IX Corralitos Polychrome Incised 39 X Ramos Black 43 XI, XII Ramos Polychrome followMg page45 FIGURES PACE iA, Zigzag Lines; B, Pendant Triangles; C, Hatch- ing; D, Opposed Keys; E, Concentric Circles 3 2 Framing and Banding Lines 8 3A, Pennants; B, Tapering Triangles; C, Terraces; D, Opposed Pennants 9 4A, Keys; B, Maze; C, Checkerboard 15 5 Bowl Decorations in Bands 16 6 Human Figure in Negative 17 7 Interlocking Scrolls 28 8Frets 40 9Panel; Jar Decoration 50 10Opposed Keys 50 liDevelopment of "Club" Element 51 12 Triangle with Extended Side 51 13 Bird Figure in Negative 52 14Band of Repeated Elements; Bowl Decoration 52 15Jar (and Eccentric) Shapes 56 16Effigy Shapes 58 17 Design 60 vi PLATE I MEDANOS RED-ON-BROWN. MEDANOS REDONBROWN1 Color:- Surfacecreamtolighttan (12 B 5; 6A9).2The zone of decoration covers a thin, chalky-grey surface (10 B 1) on which the design is painted in dull shades of red, orange, tan or maroon (7 H 12; 6 A 10). Vessel Shapes:- Jars only. Jars: Small, full-bodied, with rounded shoulder and bottom; the neck sloping gently to a slightly re- curved rim.Occasionally the rim is direct.(Two flat-bottomed specimens in the collection.)Height four and one-half to six inches. 1 The names of the pottery types used in this report are those pub- lished in A Method for Designation of Cultures and their Variations, by W. and H. S. Gladwin, Medallion Papers, No. XV, Gua Pueblo, Globe, Arizona, 1934. These names, first published in the above named Medallion, were taken from this report (Medallion No. XXI) and from An Archaeo- logical Survey of Chihuahua, Mexico, by E. B. Sayles, Medallion Papers, No. XXII, Gila Pueblo, Globe, Arizona, 1936, then in preparation. Since this report went into press, Brand, 1935, has given general names to several wares in Chihuahua and specific names to several types. His general terms are used as synonyms in this report and his specific names have been used to replace thoseoriginally adopted for this report and first used by Gladwin, 1934.See page iii. 2 The terms used in describing the colors of the various pottery types are those in general use.They were determined by matching, under skylight and during a bright sun, the colors on a series of vessels of each ware with the Color Plates shown in A Dictionary of Color, Maerz and Paul, 1930.References to specific colors matched in A Dictionary of Color are given in parentheses following the general terms used. i 2 SOME SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY TYPES Treatment:- The rim is made of a flat band, sometimes with very shallow, broad indentations.The neck is either scored with lines encircling the vessel or left rough, the balance of the surface of the vessel being smoothed.One specimen has a grooved neck. Hardness:- 3.5 to 4.5.' Design:- The zone of decoration is a broad strip covering the shoulder, sometimes reaching to the rim, and commonly bordered by banding lines to which the elements are attached (see Fig. 2).On this deco- rated portion, the surface is a thin, greyish color, which appears to be the result of the treatment rather than the application of a slip.The surface decorated is usually dull but sometimes shows a polish (Plate i). The design is usually linear, consisting of zigzags, pendant triangles sometimes in solid color, hatching, opposed keys, panels of pendant concentric triangles with a common base, frets, and opposed tn-pointed flags.The rim is occasionally painted red or maroon in a series of dots or lines extending into the vessel. Type site:- Chihuahua C:15:2. i The hardness of the pottery wares of this Series has been deter- mined by the scale described inStandards of Pottery Description," by Benjamin March, University of Michigan Press, February 10, 1934. All the wares of this Series are approximately similar in hardness the red and black wares being slightly harder than a range of 3.5 to 4.5. SOME SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY TYPES 3 A. ZIGZAG LINES. by PENDANT TRIANGLES: a, Outlined; b,c, solid colors. a , b c HATCNING: a, Perpendicular; b, oblique; c, horizontal. (7'"OPPOSED KEYS. CONCENTRIC TRIANGLES: 0, With common base. FIG. 1. 4 SOME SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY TYPES Range:- Sparsely throughout northern Chihuahua, extend- ing east of the Rio Grande.It is the predominant ware in certain sites in the sand dunes of northeastern Chihuahua. Remarks:- Designs are varied.On a few specimens, the de- sign has been painted directly on a smoothed, light- colored surface and the boftom of the vessel is covered with a brown pigment.This gives the same effect as the characteristic form of decoration. Other examples have incised lines upon the neck, the incisions being filled with red paint.These in- cised decorations consist of zigzag lines, concentric triangles and other linear elements, encircling the vessel. PLATEII DUBLAN POLYCHROME. DUBLAN POLYCHROME Synonym:-- Casas Grandes Polychrome (Brand). Color.- Cream or light tan (12 D 4) surface; black and red, or greyish-brown (8 E 6; 8 J 6; 8 II 9), deco- ration. Shapes:- Jars; effigies (?). Jars: low, full-bodied, with rounded shoulder and bottom; curving neck, or gently sloping to a recurved rim.Height four and one-half to nine inches, the majority being less than six inches. Effigies: Animal effigy with a hood, made by the extension of half of the rim of a standard jar above and partly over the orifice.The head is modelled by appliqué work and is painted into a lifelike head por- trait.Height six inches. Treatment:- The rim of the jar is a flat band of clay which is decorated with shallow indentations.The neck is scored, grooved, or banded in narrow flattened coils which are sometimes indented. The body of the vessel is polished over the deco- ration.In one specimen in which the neck has been smoothed the surface of this portion of the vessel is not polished. 7 8 SOME SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY TYPES Design:- Occasionally, paint-filled incisionsencircle the vessel below the rim.Black and red paints are ap- plied in a balanced pattern. The rim is infrequently painted red, the color ex- tending into the vessel. The principal zone of decoration is a wide strip encircling the shoulder.This area is bordered with unevenly drawn banding lines to which the elements are usually attached, and is enclosed by an upper and lower framing line. a b b a FIG. 2.a, Framing lines,b, Banding lines to which the elements of design are attached. The elements of the design consist of pennants, tn-pointed flags, tapering triangles with interlocking scrolls and bent lines added, and terraces.These are in solid colors, which are balanced and opposed.