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Artifacts
by Scott G. Ortman
1
This report synthesizes information
on portable artifacts collected during excavations at Woods Canyon Pueblo.
It also compares artifacts from Woods Canyon Pueblo with those from other
Mesa Verde-tradition sites dating from the Pueblo III period in southwestern
Colorado. The tables and charts in this report were produced using the
artifact databases as they existed in August 2000. I am not aware of any
provenience changes that have been made since that time, but slight discrepancies
between the data discussed in this report and those contained in the database
may develop over time if errors in the database are found and corrected.
However, it is likely that any such changes will be minor and will not
affect any of the conclusions presented in this report.
Processing of Artifacts in the Laboratory
2
All objects collected during the excavations at Woods Canyon Pueblo
were processed according to Crow Canyon's standard laboratory procedures,
which are described in Crow Canyon's on-line laboratory
manual.
Definitions of Analytic Categories
3
All objects were classified into various stone, bone, pottery,
vegetal, and other categories, as defined in the Crow Canyon laboratory
manual.
Disposition of Materials
Curation
4
With the exception of wood samples submitted for tree-ring dating,
all artifacts, ecofacts, and other samples from Woods Canyon Pueblo, as
well as original field and laboratory documentation, are curated at the
Anasazi
Heritage Center, 27501 Hwy. 184, Dolores, Colorado, USA. The collections
are indexed to artifact databases, which are curated at both Crow Canyon
and the Heritage Center and are accessible on-line in The
Woods Canyon Pueblo Database and the research
database; materials are available for future study through the Heritage
Center. Dated tree-ring samples and additional samples that might be datable
in the future are stored at the Laboratory
of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Several large roof timbers were found on the modern ground surface when
Woods Canyon Pueblo was mapped (see Lipe
1995*2). A portion of each timber was submitted to the tree-ring lab,
and the remaining portions are currently stored at Crow Canyon.
Repatriation
5
As of this writing, isolated, fragmentary human skeletal remains
inadvertently collected during field screening of sediments at Woods Canyon
Pueblo are in the process of being repatriated in accordance with protocol
set forth in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA). The Anasazi Heritage
Center is curating these remains during the repatriation process.
Objects falling under the jurisdiction of NAGPRA are not currently available
for study, and their future disposition has not yet been decided. All
human bone and associated funerary objects recognized in the course of
excavation were treated in accordance with the Crow Canyon Archaeological
Center's policy on human remains in the on-line field
manual. Bradley describes and interprets these materials in "Human
Skeletal Remains."
Destructive Analysis
6
A number of artifacts were subjected to destructive analysis. Small
portions of numerous rim sherds from white ware bowls and corrugated gray
jars were removed to facilitate temper identification. In addition, the
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research discarded tree-ring samples that possessed
little dating potential.
Additional Studies of Woods Canyon Pueblo Artifacts
7
In addition to the analyses reported here, several other studies
of artifacts from Woods Canyon Pueblo have been conducted or are in progress.
Ortman (2000*1) studied painted
designs on white ware pottery from Woods Canyon Pueblo and numerous other
Pueblo II and III sites in the Mesa Verde region. Basic pottery and floor-assemblage
data are presented in a study of the occupational history of the pueblo
by Ortman et al. (2000*1). White
ware temper data generated for Woods Canyon and several other sites in
southwestern Colorado are provided in the Castle Rock Pueblo artifacts
report (Ortman 2000*2). Kelley
(1996*1) presents pottery type and attribute data from a 1993 in-field
analysis of sherds found on the modern ground surface of the site, and
Wilshusen et al. (1997*1) present
basic pottery data for the ancient reservoir (Site 5MT12086) located adjacent
to Woods Canyon Pueblo.
Organization and Use of This Report
8
This report is organized into sections and subsections, a list
of which can be accessed by selecting the expanded table
of contents. Selecting a heading in the table of contents will allow
you to go directly to the section of interest without having to scroll
through the entire chapter. When you link to a table, figure, or reference
in the text, a new browser window will open to display the selected information.
You can move back and forth between the chapter text and the data window
by keeping both windows open, overlapping them (that is, not viewing them
full screen) and selecting one or the other window. The data window will
be updated each time a link for a table, figure, or reference is selected
in the narrative text window; the text window will maintain your place
in the longer document. Choosing a database map gives you access to the
Woods Canyon Pueblo map database. In many subsections, information about
archaeological context is taken from field observations recorded in The
Woods Canyon Pueblo Database, along with analysis information
for selected artifacts. Explanations of field context information can
be found in the on-line field
manual.
9
In "Chronology"
(this report), Churchill and Ortman group the units excavated at Woods
Canyon Pueblo into seven areas (Areas 1–7) within four sections of
the village (upper west side, canyon bottom, east talus slope, and canyon
rim) (see "Architecture
and Site Layout" and Database
Maps 329 and Database
Map 334). These same groupings and labels are used in this report,
along with two temporal components defined to aid examination of change
through time in artifact assemblages. The assignment of study units to
site areas, site sections, and temporal components is given in Table
1.
10
The assignment of site areas to temporal components is based primarily
on tree-ring data, the architectural style and abandonment mode of kivas,
and pottery data. Table 2
summarizes these data for the seven tested areas at Woods Canyon Pueblo.
These data are discussed in greater detail by Churchill and Ortman in
"Chronology" (this
report). The most-recent tree-ring date from each area provides a maximum
possible age for the structure from which the dated timber was recovered,
with the exception of the date for Area 1, which was yielded by a piece
of charcoal found in a midden deposit. These dates indicate that buildings
were constructed in Areas 5 and 7 during the late Pueblo III period (A.D.
1225–1280) and that there was activity in Areas 1 and 4 throughout
the entire period (A.D. 1140–1280).
11
Details of kiva architectural styles, roof treatment at abandonment,
and floor assemblages suggest that the canyon bottom was built, occupied,
and abandoned earlier than other sections of the site. Several chronological
trends are apparent in these data. First, the partly earthen walled and
partly masonry lined kivas in Area 1 likely date from before A.D. 1200,
whereas the kivas completely lined with stone masonry in Areas 3, 5, 6,
and 7 were probably constructed after A.D. 1200. Second, the tested kivas
with unburned, salvaged roofs in Areas 1 and 2 were likely built before
A.D. 1250, whereas the kivas with burned and salvaged roofs in Areas 3,
4, 5, and 6 were likely built after A.D. 1250. Third, the sparse artifact
assemblages on the floors of tested kivas in Areas 1 and 2 suggest that
inhabitants of these structures moved to new homes nearby, whereas the
large floor assemblages left on the floors of kivas in Areas 3, 4, 5,
and 7 suggest that people abandoned these structures during the final
regional emigrations of the late A.D. 1200s. Churchill and Ortman (in
"Chronology") discuss
these various lines of evidence in more detail and develop middle-range
arguments that link architectural styles and abandonment modes to specific
time periods.
12
The pottery assemblage from Woods Canyon Pueblo suggests that the
site was occupied throughout the Pueblo III period and that the focus
of the settlement changed over time. We can examine the pottery chronology
of Woods Canyon Pueblo by comparing the proportions, by weight, of white
ware sherds assigned to various formal types (as opposed to informal or
grouped types, after Wilson and
Blinman [1995*1:35]) from each tested area of the pueblo with the
expected pottery-assemblage profiles for sites that date to specific time
periods. These idealized pottery-assemblage profiles have been developed
by Wilson and Blinman (1999*1)
using tree-ring-dated assemblages from small sites with short occupation
spans. In their model, early Pueblo III assemblages (A.D. 1140–1180)
are dominated by McElmo Black-on-white to the near exclusion of Mancos
Black-on-white; middle Pueblo III assemblages (A.D. 1180–1225) contain
equal amounts of McElmo and Mesa Verde black-on-white; and late Pueblo
III assemblages (A.D. 1225–1280) contain more Mesa Verde Black-on-white
than McElmo Black-on-white.
13
Given these idealized assemblage profiles, the data in Table
2 indicate that there is more Mancos Black-on-white in all areas
of Woods Canyon Pueblo than would be expected for a Pueblo III–period
occupation. Nevertheless, I believe that the proportion of white ware
sherds classified as Mancos Black-on-white in the Woods Canyon Pueblo
assemblage is not sufficient to indicate occupation during the Pueblo
II period. This conclusion is supported by two lines of evidence.
14
First, I suspect that analysts were biased toward assigning sherds
with mineral-paint designs to Pueblo II pottery types. Mineral paint is
so rare in pottery assemblages from Pueblo III sites in the Sand Canyon
locality that analysts during the Sand Canyon Archaeological Project tended
to take the mere presence of mineral paint as evidence that a sherd dated
to the Pueblo II period. Application of this same principle to the Woods
Canyon Pueblo assemblage, where mineral paint is much more common, would
have resulted in an inflated percentage of Pueblo II types. Reanalysis
of a sample of white ware bowl rims from Woods Canyon (see paragraphs
41–43) suggests that approximately half the sherds classified
as Mancos Black-on-white in the database would probably be reclassified
as Pueblo III types if they were analyzed today, with the benefit of experience.
It is also important that the frequency of mineral-painted sherds varies
randomly among the seven tested areas of the pueblo and does not correlate
with other lines of evidence used to assess the occupational histories
of these areas. All of this suggests that mineral paint is not an effective
chronological indicator in the Woods Canyon area, and that our original
pottery analysis may have slightly overestimated the proportion of Mancos
Black-on-white by mistakenly considering mineral paint as a chronologically
sensitive attribute.
15
Second, recent research using tree-ring-dated pottery collections
indicates that Mancos Black-on-white sherds are more common in early Pueblo
III (A.D. 1140–1180) assemblages than has previously been believed.
Tree-ring-dated pottery assemblages from Indian Camp Ranch (Morris
et al. 1993*1) and the Sand Canyon Project Site Testing Program (Varien
1999*2) were not available when Wilson
and Blinman (1999*1) formulated idealized pottery-assemblage profiles
for sites dating to specific time periods (see "Chronology").
Over the past few years, bowl rim sherds from these and numerous other
tree-ring-dated sites, including Woods Canyon Pueblo, have been reanalyzed
as part of a regional pottery design study (Ortman
2000*1). Some results of this work are presented in Table
3, which gives percentages of white ware pottery types by weight,
the total weight of pottery classified, and the latest tree-ring date
for each analyzed component, along with the date range to which each was
assigned. The same group of analysts classified the pottery from every
site in this calibration dataset. In Table
3, the grouped type "Pueblo II White Painted" was used for sherds
that were either Cortez or Mancos black-on-white; "Late White Painted"
was used primarily for sherds that were either Mancos or McElmo black-on-white;
and "Pueblo III White Painted" was used for sherds that were either McElmo
or Mesa Verde black-on-white.
16
The two early Pueblo III (A.D. 1140–1180) components in Table
3 are from Kenzie Dawn Hamlet (Varien
1999*2) and the Seed Jar site (Jerry Fetterman, personal communication
1999), both of which are associated with noncutting dates in the A.D.
1140s. Thus, the typological profile for A.D. 1140–1180 in this calibration
dataset probably characterizes the early years of this interval. It is
also important to note that only one site in this dataset, Knobby Knee
Stockade (Wilson 1991*1), dates
between A.D. 1180 and 1210, and sample sizes are relatively small for
all three sites dating between A.D. 1140 and 1210. Nevertheless, it is
apparent in Table 3 that numerous Mancos Black-on-white sherds were deposited
at sites occupied during the mid–A.D. 1100s. It is also apparent
that the frequency of Mancos Black-on-white dropped rapidly during the
late A.D. 1100s but continued to occur in low frequencies throughout the
A.D. 1200s. These results indicate that Wilson
and Blinman's (1999*1) idealized assemblage profiles should be adjusted
to reflect the continued abundance of Mancos Black-on-white in early Pueblo
III assemblages.
17
Table 4 condenses
the calibration dataset in Table 3 by time period and compares the result
with the reanalyzed sample of white ware bowl rims from the early and
late Pueblo III components at Woods Canyon Pueblo. In this context, the
small percentage of Mancos Black-on-white pottery in these components
seems typical and does not support the existence of a late Pueblo II occupation
at the site. The proportions of other types in the Woods Canyon Pueblo
assemblages suggest that occupation of the site was of a longer duration
than that of most sites in the calibration dataset, leading to assemblage
profiles that blend the characteristics of several phases. The profile
for the early Pueblo III component appears to blend characteristics of
the A.D. 1180–1210 and A.D. 1210–1230 periods, consistent with
an occupation dating from the late A.D. 1100s and early A.D. 1200s; and
the profile for the late Pueblo III component appears to blend characteristics
of the A.D. 1210–1230 and A.D. 1230–1260 periods, consistent
with a mid–A.D. 1200s occupation.
18
Why does Mesa Verde Black-on-white not dominate the reanalyzed
sample from the late Pueblo III component, despite evidence of late A.D.
1200s occupation in the form of tree-ring-dated structures, burned and
salvaged roofs, and large floor assemblages? It may be the result of sampling
error, a dwindling site population during the final years of occupation,
or an intensive occupation throughout the A.D. 1200s, with the tree-ring-dated
structures having been built relatively late in the history of the site.
The small pottery assemblage from the canyon rim (Area 7 in Table
2), the area from which most of the late tree-ring dates were obtained,
is indeed dominated by Mesa Verde Black-on-white, similar to the assemblages
associated with the A.D. 1260–1280 occupation spans in the calibration
dataset (Table 3). This suggests
a relatively short, late use of the rim complex. Additional excavations
and accumulations research (see Varien
1999*1) may be necessary to determine the occupation spans of Areas
3–6 in the A.D. 1200s. Nevertheless, the presence of more McElmo
Black-on-white in these areas suggests that they were occupied earlier
and longer than the canyon rim.
19
If we return now to the pottery data in Table
2, keeping the earlier discussion regarding Mancos Black-on-white
in mind, the predominance of McElmo Black-on-white in Areas 1–3 suggests
that these areas date from sometime during the early and middle Pueblo
III periods (A.D. 1140–1225). Areas 4, 5, and 7 appear to date from
the late Pueblo III period (A.D. 1225–1280), on the basis of the
predominance of Mesa Verde Black-on-white. Although Area 6 does contain
a high proportion of Mancos Black-on-white pottery, most of the total
weight of this type in this area is from a single carbon-painted jar sherd
weighing 94.7 grams. It is therefore likely that occupation of this area
also dates from A.D. 1225 to 1280.
20
Finally, pottery-attribute data suggest that Areas 1 and 2 in the
canyon bottom fell out of use during the final decades of occupation,
but that tested areas in other sections of the site continued to be occupied
into the late 1200s. In the Sand Canyon locality, exterior band designs
were painted on 15 percent of bowls dating from the late A.D. 1200s, but
were rarely painted on bowls dating from the early A.D. 1200s. The proportion
of bowls from Areas 3 through 7 that exhibit this attribute suggests that
these sections of the site were occupied during the late 1200s. In contrast,
the proportion of bowls from Areas 1 and 2 exhibiting this attribute is
far too low to suggest that it was occupied during this same period (see
Table 23, this report, and
Ortman et al. 2000*1:Table 2).
These data thus suggest that the canyon bottom fell out of use during
the mid-1200s, whereas other sections of the village continued to be occupied
up until the time of the final Puebloan migrations from the Mesa Verde
region.
21
To summarize, then, all lines of evidence from Areas 1 and 2 point
to an early and middle Pueblo III occupation that probably dates from
the mid-1100s to the early 1200s, and the evidence from Areas 4, 5, and
7 suggests a late Pueblo III occupation for these areas that probably
dates from the mid- and late 1200s. The evidence from Areas 3 and 6 is
mixed. The location of Area 3 (on the talus slope), as well as the roof-treatment
and floor-assemblage data for this part of the site, supports the assignment
of a late Pueblo III date, whereas the pottery data support a somewhat
earlier date. In Area 6, location (at the base of the cliff), kiva architecture,
roof treatment, and the small pottery sample generally support a late
Pueblo III date, but the floor-assemblage data suggest an earlier date
of abandonment. Although the preponderance of evidence supports assignment
of Areas 3 and 6 to the late Pueblo III component, the evidence is less
conclusive for these areas than it is for other parts of the village.
Throughout this report, artifacts from the early and middle Pueblo III
occupation will be referred to as the "early" Pueblo III component, and
artifacts from the late Pueblo III occupation will be referred to as the
"late" Pueblo III component. In the remainder of this report it will be
assumed that the occupations of all areas assigned to each component were
at least partly contemporaneous.
22
Identification of early and late Pueblo III components at Woods
Canyon Pueblo is significant for two reasons. First, the ability to compare
early and late Pueblo III assemblages from the same location enables the
analyst to hold the physical environment constant—especially the
raw materials used in pottery and stone-tool production—when attempting
to identify changes in artifact production, use, and discard during the
final century of Pueblo occupation in the northern San Juan region. In
this way, "push" factors (after Lipe
1995*1) related to the regional emigrations might be brought into
sharper focus.
23
Second, it appears that the role of Woods Canyon Pueblo in the
local settlement system changed between the early and late occupations.
During the early Pueblo III occupation, the center of the Woods Canyon
community was probably at the Bass Site Complex (Site 5MT136), Site 5MT4700,
or the Albert Porter Preserve (Site 5MT123), all three of which are located
on the uplands within a 2-km radius of Woods Canyon Pueblo (Database
Map 337) (Lipe and Ortman
2000*1). During the late Pueblo III occupation, however, Woods Canyon
Pueblo became the largest settlement in the Woods Canyon area, and an
enclosed plaza and D-shaped building were constructed in the rim complex
(in Area 7). This suggests that the site developed into the center of
the local community during the final decades of Puebloan occupation in
the Mesa Verde region (see Lipe
et al. 1999*1; Lipe and Ortman
2000*1; Varien 1999*1; Varien
et al. 1996*1). Thus, comparison of the early and late Pueblo III
components may clarify how activities in the community center differed
from those that occurred in other settlements. These topics will be addressed
throughout this report by comparing the two components defined in Table
2.
Components from Other Sites Used for Comparative Purposes
24
In addition to the early and late Pueblo III components at Woods
Canyon Pueblo, two additional late Pueblo III components are used in this
report for comparative purposes. The first is Castle Rock Pueblo (Site
5MT1825), a medium-size village located in lower Sand Canyon adjacent
to McElmo Creek, approximately 15 km south-southeast of Woods Canyon Pueblo.
Results of excavations at this site are reported by Kuckelman
(2000*1) and indicate that the village was constructed and occupied
during the A.D. 1250–1280 period.
25
The second component is the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket
Pueblo (Site 5MT5), a portion of a very large village located at the head
of Yellow Jacket Canyon and Tatum Draw, approximately 15 km east-northeast
of Woods Canyon Pueblo. The final report on test excavations at Yellow
Jacket Pueblo has not yet been completed, but enough is known to conclude
that the great tower complex was also occupied during the late Pueblo
III period (Ortman et al. 2000*1).
The great tower complex is associated with a noncutting tree-ring date
of A.D. 1254 and has a lower proportion of McElmo Black-on-white sherds
in its pottery assemblage than does the late Pueblo III component at Woods
Canyon Pueblo. Thus, even though the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket
is partly contemporaneous with the late Pueblo III component at Woods
Canyon, it probably reflects a very late and short-lived occupation. In
contrast, the late Pueblo III component at Woods Canyon Pueblo appears
to represent an occupation of longer duration, probably from A.D. 1225
to 1280.
Unmodified Sherds
26
More than 22,000 pottery sherds, weighing a total of more than
140 kg, were collected during excavations at Woods Canyon Pueblo. All
were analyzed according to Crow Canyon's standard analysis procedures,
which are described in the on-line laboratory
manual. All but a handful of the recovered sherds were identified
as locally made, Mesa Verde–tradition white and gray wares. The following
paragraphs present several summaries of the basic sherd data.
Total Inventory by Ware and Type
27
The sherds collected from Woods Canyon Pueblo are tabulated in
Table 5 according to pottery
type (for type definitions, see the laboratory
manual). The list of pottery types is arranged according to general
ware categories. Unknown white and gray ware sherds are listed separately
because such sherds may or may not represent local wares. Results are
given by count and the percentage by count of each pottery type for the
early and late Pueblo III components; percentages are not given for sherds
that were not assigned to temporal component. Table
6 presents these same data using weight as the measure of abundance.
28
Pierce and Varien (1999*1)
discuss the relative merits of counts vs. weights as measures of abundance.
Comparison of Table 5 and
Table 6 shows that percentages
of various pottery types can vary depending on whether counts or weights
are used. This effect is especially clear for the specific formal white
ware types—that is, Mesa Verde, McElmo, and Mancos black-on-white—which
are much more abundant by weight than by count. In contrast, the relative
abundance of Pueblo III White Painted, which is a more general type used
for sherds that do not exhibit diagnostic attributes of either McElmo
or Mesa Verde black-on-white, is approximately equal by count and weight.
Consistency in the relative frequency of a type for both count and weight
probably indicates that sherds assigned to that type tend to be of average
size for the collection overall. Greater relative frequency by count indicates
that sherds assigned to that type are smaller than average, whereas greater
frequency by weight indicates that sherds assigned to that type are larger
than average. It is expected that sherds assigned to formal types will
be larger than average because the classification of local white ware
sherds to formal type relies heavily on the identification of specific
painted designs, which are often difficult to recognize on small sherds.
29
The relative frequency of formal white ware types in the early
and late components at Woods Canyon Pueblo generally supports the dating
arguments presented in the definition of site components (paragraphs
9–23); however, the chronological pattern is more apparent by
weight than by count. In the early Pueblo III component, McElmo Black-on-white
is the most common white ware type, but there is also a significant percentage
of Mesa Verde Black-on-white. This assemblage profile is consistent with
an occupation dating between A.D. 1140 and 1225. In the late Pueblo III
component, Mesa Verde Black-on-white is most common, followed by McElmo
Black-on-white. This assemblage profile is consistent with an occupation
dating between A.D. 1225 and 1280. Possible explanations for the Mancos
Black-on-white sherds identified in the Woods Canyon Pueblo assemblages
are presented in the discussion of site components (paragraphs
9–23). To these arguments I would add that less than 2 percent
of the sherds found at Woods Canyon Pueblo were identified as definite
Pueblo II types. In contrast, more than 15 percent of all sherds were
identified as definite Pueblo III types.
30
The distribution of corrugated gray ware types in the early and
late components is more problematic. The frequency of Mesa Verde Corrugated
does increase over time, but so does the frequency of Mancos Corrugated.
Because rim sherds are required for identification of both types, I discuss
this pattern further in the analysis of corrugated jar rims, below (paragraphs
53–62).
31
The presence of a few sherds assigned to early (Basketmaker III
and Pueblo I) types—including Chapin Gray, Chapin Black-on-white,
Moccasin Gray, Mancos Gray, Indeterminate Neckbanded Gray, Early White
Painted, and Early White Unpainted—suggests some form of human activity
in the site area between A.D. 600 and 900. Such sherds are so rare, however,
that they are unlikely to reflect occupation during this period.
White Ware Sherds by Type and Finish1
32
Two kinds of paint are identifiable on decorated Mesa Verde White
Ware pottery. Mineral paint derives from ground iron, manganese, or copper-rich
rock that is held in liquid suspension. Carbon paint is believed to derive
from the condensed extract of certain plants, such as Rocky Mountain beeweed
(Cleome serrulata) and tansymustard (Descurainia richardsonii).
33
Table 7 presents
counts and Table 8 shows
weights in grams of painted white ware sherds assigned to various type
and finish categories for the early and late Pueblo III components at
Woods Canyon Pueblo. Both tables also display the percentage of sherds
assigned to each type that have mineral paint and the percentage of each
type among all white wares, regardless of paint type. Both Tables 7 and
8 show that approximately one in five white ware sherds in the Woods Canyon
assemblage was decorated with mineral paint and that there was little
change in the frequency of mineral paint over time.
34
This pattern contrasts greatly with data from the Sand Canyon locality,
where mineral paint is rare in assemblages dating after A.D. 1150 (Varien
et al. 1992*1:Table 5.3). To illustrate, less than 1 percent of white
ware sherds had mineral-painted designs at Castle Rock Pueblo (Site 5MT1825),
a late Pueblo III (A.D. 1225–1280) village located approximately
15 km south-southeast of Woods Canyon (Ortman
2000*2:Table 3). However, approximately 65 percent of white ware sherds
had mineral-painted designs at Knobby Knee Stockade (Site 5MT2525) and
Roundtree Pueblo (Site 5MT2544), two middle Pueblo III (A.D. 1180–1225)
unit pueblos located approximately 10 km northwest of Woods Canyon (Wilson
1988*2:Table A.19). These data suggest a spatial trend in the use
of mineral paint during the Pueblo III period, with carbon paint dominating
in sites southeast of Woods Canyon, toward Ute Mountain and Mesa Verde
proper, and the use of mineral paint continuing in sites to the northwest,
toward the Abajo Mountains in southeast Utah, well into the A.D. 1200s.
Whether mineral-painted white ware vessels were made by the inhabitants
of Woods Canyon Pueblo or were obtained through exchange is unknown. The
only possible direct evidence of mineral paint use at Woods Canyon was
a red "pigment" stone (PD 472, FS 10) recovered from early Pueblo III
deposits in Structure 1-S (Table
44). The possibility that this stone could have been used to make
mineral paint is untested.
Total Inventory by Ware and Form
35
All sherds collected from Woods Canyon Pueblo were assigned to
one of five basic ware categories: plain gray ware, corrugated gray ware,
white ware, nonlocal wares, and unknown wares (no local red ware sherds
were identified). Sherds were also assigned to one of four basic form
categories: bowl, jar; other, and unknown. Total counts and percentages
by count for these various ware-form combinations are presented in Table
9 for each temporal component; Table
10 presents these same data using weights as the measure of abundance.
The percentages of various ware-form combinations are fairly consistent
for both counts and weights, but differences are apparent. Corrugated
jars and unknown white ware forms are slightly more abundant by count,
whereas white ware bowls and jars, and other white ware forms, are slightly
more abundant by weight. These data suggest that corrugated jar sherds
and white ware sherds of unknown form tend to be smaller than average,
whereas white ware bowl, jar, and other form sherds tend to be larger
than average. I discuss this pattern further in the analysis of rim sherds,
below (paragraphs 38–40).
36
These ware-form combinations are found in roughly the same proportions
in other Pueblo III sites in southwestern Colorado that have been interpreted
as permanent, year-round habitations (Pierce
and Varien 1999*1). For example, at both Castle Rock (Ortman
2000*2:Table 2) and Woods Canyon pueblos, corrugated jar sherds are
most common, followed by white ware bowl sherds, then white ware jar sherds.
This suggests that the ware-form characteristics of the Woods Canyon sherd
assemblage resulted from a set of domestic activities that produced sherds
of various wares and forms at a relatively consistent rate across sites.
This inference is supported by the fact that nonhabitation sites possess
strikingly different proportions of these ware-form categories in their
sherd assemblages. For example, the pottery assemblage from Woods Canyon
Reservoir (Site 5MT12086) is dominated by sherds from white ware jars
and contains few sherds from corrugated jars or white ware bowls (Wilshusen
et al. 1997*1:Table 1). Obviously, the activities that occurred at
the reservoir led to different patterns of sherd deposition than are typical
of habitation sites, including Woods Canyon Pueblo.
37
Despite the general, qualitative similarity in ware-form characteristics
of sherd assemblages from habitation sites, there are quantitative differences
in these characteristics across sites (Pierce
and Varien 1999*1), including the early and late Pueblo III components
at Woods Canyon. The most notable difference appears to be an increase
in the deposition of corrugated jar sherds during the late Pueblo III
period, at the expense of white ware bowl sherds. Analysis of corrugated
jar rims (paragraphs 53–62) suggests that
corrugated jars tended to be larger during the late Pueblo III occupation;
to the extent that larger vessels tend to produce more sherds, the adoption
of larger corrugated jars with little or no concomitant change in use
life may be responsible for increased deposition of corrugated jar sherds
during the late Pueblo III period. Pottery and faunal assemblages from
the Sand Canyon locality support the notion that communal meals were prepared
and eaten in large villages more often than in contemporaneous smaller
villages and hamlets (Driver 1996*1;
Ortman 2000*2:par. 41–66). If
so, it could be that increased corrugated jar sherd deposition in the
late component at Woods Canyon is evidence of increased communal feasting
associated with the development of the site as a community center.
Rim Sherds by Ware and Type
38
Rim sherds may provide a better indication of type frequencies
among the vessels used during an occupation, because rim sherds usually
preserve more diagnostic attributes of pottery types than do body sherds
and therefore tend to be classified more precisely. Table
11 presents counts of rim sherds in the Woods Canyon Pueblo components
by ware and type. The relative frequency of rim sherds assigned to each
type is also shown as a percentage of all rim sherds by count. Table
12 presents these same data using weight as the measure of abundance.
In these tables, the relative frequencies of specific, named types clearly
are much higher among the rim sherds alone than in the sherd assemblage
as a whole.
39
As was the case in the overall sherd assemblage, significant differences
in the relative frequencies of different types by count and weight probably
relate to the average sizes of the rim sherds assigned to each type. As
an example, Mesa Verde Black-on-white is much more common by weight than
by count, whereas Pueblo III White Painted and Indeterminate Local Corrugated
Gray are more common by count than by weight. These patterns indicate
that rim sherds assigned to specific traditional types tend to be larger
than average, whereas rim sherds assigned to generic types tend to be
smaller than average. The higher frequencies of specific types among the
rim sherds indicate that rims were assigned to these specific types more
often than body sherds were.
40
The distribution of formal types among rim sherds generally supports
and amplifies the conclusions reached on the basis of all sherds. In both
cases, differences between components in the representation of formal
white ware types are more apparent by weight than by count. McElmo Black-on-white
is most common in the early Pueblo III component, and Mesa Verde Black-on-white
is most common in the late Pueblo III component. Also Mancos-Black-on-white
is relatively less common among rim sherds than it is among all sherds.
By weight, McElmo and Mesa Verde black-on-white are two to three times
more prevalent than Mancos Black-on-white among all sherds (Table
6), but are four to five times more abundant among rim sherds only
(Table 12). As was noted
above for all sherds, both Mancos and Mesa Verde corrugated increase in
frequency over time. Corrugated rim sherds are discussed more fully in
the analysis of corrugated jar rims, below (paragraphs
53–62).
White Ware Rims by Type and Finish
41
Table 13 presents
counts, and Table 14 shows
weights in grams, of painted white ware rim sherds assigned to various
type and finish categories for the early and late Pueblo III components.
Both tables also present the percentage of sherds assigned to each type
that are mineral painted, and the percentage of each type among all white
wares, regardless of paint type.
42
The data in Table 14,
especially, illustrate the role that mineral paint played in assigning
white ware sherds to type. Mineral paint occurs on approximately 20 percent
of the painted white ware sherds assigned to each component at Woods Canyon
Pueblo. About 20 percent of the sherds classified as Pueblo III White
Painted are also mineral painted, but mineral paint is over-represented
among sherds assigned to the definite or possible Pueblo II types of Mancos
Black-on-white, Pueblo II White Painted, and Late White Painted. In contrast,
mineral paint is underrepresented among sherds assigned to the formal
Pueblo III types of McElmo and Mesa Verde black-on-white. These data suggest
that analysts tended to assign mineral-painted white ware rim sherds to
earlier types, even though mineral-painted sherds overall occur in roughly
the same frequencies in both components.
43
Further illustration of this analytical bias can be seen in Table
15, which cross-tabulates the results of a 1998 reanalysis of white
ware bowl rim sherds from Woods Canyon Pueblo with the results of the
original analysis of paint and pottery type. The data in this table show
that only one-third of mineral-painted sherds originally classified as
Mancos Black-on-white were reclassified as such in the reanalysis. The
overall percentage of Mancos Black-on-white sherds was also reduced by
one-half in the reanalysis results. These data suggest that the occurrence
of Mancos Black-on-white sherds in the Woods Canyon Pueblo assemblage
is partly due to analytical bias (also see the definition of site components,
paragraphs 9–23).
Rim Sherds by Ware and Form
44
Rim sherds often can be assigned to more specific form classes
than can body sherds, and when it was apparent during analysis that a
rim sherd came from a ladle, canteen, mug, or kiva/seed jar, this was
recorded in a "comments" field. Ladle rims curve more tightly than bowl
rims and possess either distinctive use wear on the outside edge of the
rim or evidence of a handle attachment. Canteen rims are small jar rims
with very tight curvature. Mug rims are square in cross section, are seldom
everted, usually possess intricate painted decorations on their exteriors,
and sometimes preserve evidence of a handle attachment near the rim. Finally,
kiva jars and seed jars are slightly larger than canteens, do not have
necks, and, in the case of kiva jars, have a distinctive lip that is designed
to hold a lid in place.
45
Table 16 summarizes
the wares and forms of rim sherds in the Woods Canyon components by count,
and Table 17 presents these
same data using weight as the measure of abundance. The more specific
vessel forms of kiva jar, seed jar, ladle, and mug are tabulated here
on the basis of information recorded in the comments field of the pottery
data file. It was assumed that white ware jar rims for which no additional
comments were recorded are from large storage jars, or ollas. As is the
case in the overall assemblage, rim sherds show relatively little variation
in relative abundance by count and weight when classified in terms of
ware-form combinations. This suggests that sherd size does not significantly
affect an analyst's ability to assign rim sherds to ware and form categories.
Also, as was the case for the entire sherd assemblage, the three most
common ware-form categories among the rim sherds are corrugated jars,
white ware jars, and white ware bowls. The relative frequencies of these
three forms, however, are strikingly different when rim sherds alone are
considered. White ware bowls are by far the most common ware-form combination
among rim sherds only, whereas corrugated jars are by far the most common
among all sherds.
46
These differences relate to the typical circumferences of rims
in the original vessels of these various ware-form combinations and to
differences in the relative numbers of rim and body sherds produced by
vessels of different sizes. White ware bowls are open forms with large
rim circumferences; when they break, they produce numerous rim sherds
and a relatively high ratio of rim to body sherds. Corrugated and white
ware jars are taller, closed forms, usually with smaller rim circumferences,
that produce far fewer rim sherds per vessel than do white ware bowls.
As a result, the best way to estimate the relative number of vessels of
different ware-form classes in a pottery assemblage is to compare the
total degrees of arc subtended by the rim sherds of various ware-form
classes.
47
Such data were considered by Pierce
and Varien (1999*1) in their study of the Sand Canyon locality Site
Testing Program assemblages. They found that raw counts of rim sherds,
though less precise than degree-of-arc measurements, nevertheless gave
a closer approximation of the relative numbers of vessel ware-form classes
than did raw counts of all sherds. Judging from this finding, it appears
that white ware bowls were the most common vessel form used at Woods Canyon,
followed by corrugated jars and then white ware jars and white ware ladles.
Canteens, mugs, and kiva/seed jars were all relatively rare.
48
As we saw in the data for all sherds, the primary difference in
the relative frequency of vessel wares and forms between the early and
late Pueblo III components is a higher percentage of corrugated jars in
the late component and a corresponding decrease in the percentage of white
ware bowls. This pattern is apparent for both counts and weights and suggests
increased deposition of broken and worn-out corrugated jars during the
late Pueblo III occupation. One way this could occur is through increased
use of corrugated jars for cooking, which would have shortened the use
life of the vessels and increased the deposition rate of corrugated jar
sherds. The analysis of corrugated jar rims (paragraphs
53–62) also suggests that more large corrugated jars were used
during the late Pueblo III occupation. Both patterns suggest an intensification
of food preparation as Woods Canyon Pueblo became a community center in
the mid-1200s.
49
Studies of midden composition in Chaco Canyon have revealed that
the trash mounds of great houses—the structures most analogous to
community centers in the central Mesa Verde region—also contain relatively
more corrugated jar sherds and fewer white ware bowl sherds than the middens
of smaller residential sites. Chaco researchers have also interpreted
this pattern as evidence of periodic communal gathering and feasting (Toll
2001*1:72).
Modified and Shaped Sherds
50
A number of sherds that had been modified or shaped after their
parent vessels broke were collected during the Woods Canyon Pueblo excavations.
Table 18 summarizes the pottery
types to which such sherds were assigned in each component by count and
weight and presents relative frequencies of different types by count and
weight for the entire Woods Canyon assemblage. Modified sherds possess
at least one abraded edge. Shaped sherds have edges that were flaked,
ground, or both to make a specific shape. Some larger shaped sherds may
have been used as containers (called "sherd containers" in Crow Canyon's
analysis system) or as pottery-molding trays, also called pukis.
Perforated sherds with shaped edges were classified as sherd pendants
and are discussed in the section on objects of personal adornment, below
(paragraphs 133–134). Sherds with shaped
edges but lacking a perforation, such as disks, triangles, and rectangles,
were classified as shaped sherds and are included here. These shaped sherds
may have been pendant blanks, gaming pieces, or other nonutilitarian items.
51
Table 19 summarizes
modified and shaped sherds by component and the ware-form combination
of the parent vessel of each piece. This table shows that, relative to
the overall sherd assemblage, modified corrugated sherds are underrepresented
but tend to be larger than the other modified or shaped sherds. Corrugated
sherds are not well suited for use as pottery scrapers because they have
uneven surfaces, coarse paste, and large temper inclusions that make it
difficult to create a smooth scraping surface. Several complete examples
of corrugated sherd containers, however, have been found in excavations
at Sand Canyon Pueblo (Site 5MT765). Most modified and shaped sherds are
of white ware and probably represent portions of pottery scrapers, gaming
pieces, or pendant blanks.
Pottery Vessels
52
Six whole, partial, or reconstructible vessels were collected from
various contexts at Woods Canyon Pueblo. Four of these are white ware
bowls, one is a white ware jar, and one is a sherd container made from
a white ware vessel. All were produced locally. The type, form, condition,
and metric data for each collected vessel are listed in Table
20, and the type, form, and context of each vessel are
listed in Table 21. If the
vessel was reconstructed and is not considered to be a funerary object,
you can click on the vessel's photo number in Table 20 to see a photograph
of it.
Analysis of Corrugated Jar Rims
53
Additional data were collected from a sample of corrugated jar
rim sherds in an attempt to address several questions raised by the basic
sherd data. Rim-arc analysis was conducted to determine whether the size
distributions of cooking vessels changed as Woods Canyon Pueblo became
a community center during the late Pueblo III period. In addition, rim
form measurements were collected to refine the typology and chronology
of corrugated jar rims at the site. Results of these analyses are presented
in the following paragraphs.
Rim-Arc Data
54
Figure 1 summarizes
rim-radius estimates drawn from samples of corrugated jar rim sherds found
at Woods Canyon Pueblo and the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket Pueblo.
Measurable sherds were placed on radial graph paper, and the curve that
best approximated the circumference of each rim was recorded in 1-cm intervals.
The degrees of arc encompassed by the rim along this curve was also recorded,
to the nearest 5 degrees. The total degrees of arc assigned to each radius
class was used as the measure of abundance, rather than the count or weight
of sherds assigned to each radius class. This was done to compensate for
the tendency of vessels with smaller rim diameters to break into fewer
rim sherds that encompass more degrees of arc than do vessels with larger
rim diameters (Pierce and Varien
1999*1). Finally, the horizontal distance from the outside edge of
the rim to the inside edge of the orifice was measured with the sherd
held in proper orientation, to estimate the size of the opening on the
parent vessels of these sherds. These data are summarized in Figure
2.
55
Examination of the relationships between rim diameter, orifice
(throat) diameter, and total volume of reconstructed corrugated jars from
Sand Canyon Pueblo suggests that, in general, larger-volume vessels tend
to have larger rim and orifice diameters (Ortman
2000*2:par. 46). On the basis of this finding and the data presented in
Figures 1 and 2, it appears that more large-volume corrugated jars were
used and discarded during the late Pueblo III period at Woods Canyon Pueblo
and the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket Pueblo than during the early
Pueblo III period at Woods Canyon. This pattern is also documented for
the Sand Canyon locality, where rim-arc data suggest that more large-volume
corrugated jars were used and discarded at Sand Canyon Pueblo, a large
late Pueblo III village and community center, than at smaller villages
and earlier hamlets in the locality (Ortman
2000*2:par. 57). Because household sizes do not appear to have increased
over the course of the Pueblo III period, these data strengthen the argument
that preparation and consumption of communal meals occurred in late Pueblo
III community centers in the central Mesa Verde region (Driver
1996*1; Ortman 2000*2; Potter
2000*1).
Rim Form Measurement Data
56
Wilson and Blinman's (1999*1)
assemblage-based ceramic chronology is based on three corrugated gray
ware types: Mancos Corrugated, which was most common during the period
A.D. 1025–1100; Dolores Corrugated, which was most common during
the period A.D. 1100–1180; and Mesa Verde Corrugated, which was most
common during the period A.D. 1225–1280. These three types are defined
solely on the basis of rim eversion: Mancos Corrugated rims are everted
less than 30 degrees, Dolores Corrugated rims are everted between 30 and
55 degrees, and Mesa Verde Corrugated rims are everted more than 55 degrees.
In contrast, the system used by Crow Canyon analysts recognizes only two
corrugated types: Mancos Corrugated, with rim eversion less than or equal
to 30 degrees, and Mesa Verde Corrugated, with rim eversion greater than
30 degrees. Dolores Corrugated is, in effect, included in Mesa Verde Corrugated.
This simplified system is used to minimize inter-observer variation in
typing, since many different people analyze sherds from Crow Canyon's
excavations. An unfortunate result of this convention, however, is that
most corrugated rim sherds deposited during Pueblo III occupations are
classified as a single type, Mesa Verde Corrugated, and are of little
use in dating arguments.
57
Wilson and Blinman's classification is based on their observation
that the degree of eversion of corrugated gray rims increased gradually
over time. Given this continuous variation, an alternative method for
assessing the chronological value of corrugated rim sherds is to measure
the eversion angle directly. This was attempted on a sample of corrugated
rim sherds from Woods Canyon Pueblo and the great tower complex at Yellow
Jacket Pueblo. The method used is illustrated in Figure
3. With the sherd held in proper orientation, calipers were used to
measure the horizontal distance from the interior inflection point to
the lip of the rim, and the diagonal rim length between these same two
points. These two measurements were used to define a right triangle, from
which an estimate of the angle of eversion could be calculated. Both the
proper orientation of the rim in the parent vessel and the interior inflection
point were identifiable on each measured rim sherd.
58
Table 22 compares
horizontal and diagonal rim measurements, as well as eversion estimates,
for samples of corrugated rim sherds from the early and late Pueblo III
components at Woods Canyon Pueblo and the great tower complex at Yellow
Jacket. The weights of all corrugated rim sherds from these three components
are also provided. The components are listed in chronological order (see
the earlier explanation of how site components were defined [paragraphs
9–23] and the discussion of components from other sites used
in the analyses [paragraphs 24–25]). Contrary
to expectations, there is little variation in the mean eversion-angle
estimates across the three components. However, both the horizontal rim
width and the diagonal rim length measurements do increase over time.
59
Figure 4 illustrates
this pattern using box plots to represent distributions of the "flare"—that
is, horizontal plus diagonal measurements—of sherds from these three
components. In each plot, the shaded box represents the midspread (middle
50 percent) of cases for a component, the horizontal line inside each
box represents the median of cases, the tails illustrate the range of
values up to 1.5 box lengths from the edges of each box, and circles illustrate
outlier values. The fact that median values of both rim measurements increase
without a corresponding change in eversion angles indicates that the measurements
change in proportion, such that their ratio remains constant. This consistent
ratio is illustrated using box plots in Figure
5.
60
The pattern of increasing horizontal and diagonal rim measurements
across the three components may be due partly to the fact that the later
assemblages tend to have larger sherds (see Table
22). Because more-highly-flared rims need to be fairly large to be
measurable, fewer of the highly flared rims would be measurable in assemblages
with smaller sherds, resulting in a bias against highly flared rims in
the earlier assemblages. A scatterplot illustrating the relationship between
the "flare" and the weight of the measured rim sherds (Figure
6) illustrates the moderate positive relationship between these variables.
However, the relatively low r2 value for these data indicates
that there is still much variation that is not accounted for by sherd
size.
61
Another factor that might be contributing to the pattern in these
data is that larger vessels tend to have larger rims that might produce
larger measurements somewhat independent of the degree of eversion of
the rim. Since the rim-arc data suggest that the late Pueblo III assemblages
contain more large corrugated vessels than does the early Pueblo III assemblage,
one might expect sherds from these late assemblages to possess larger
rim measurements overall. Figure
7 illustrates that there is indeed a slight positive relationship
between vessel size, as estimated by rim-arc data, and the "flare" of
corrugated vessels. Figure 8,
however, shows that the pattern of increasing "flare" through time appears
to hold even when vessel size is taken into account. This figure presents
the same data as in Figure 4;
however, in this case, rim sherds with rim-radius estimates of 9 cm or
less are classified as being from "small" corrugated vessels, and rim
sherds with rim-radius estimates greater than 9 cm are classified as being
from "large" corrugated vessels. The figure shows that the "flare" of
corrugated jar rims increases through time for both small and large corrugated
vessels.
62
In summary, the data suggest that the rims of corrugated jars became
increasingly flared over the course of the Pueblo III period, but it appears
that the eversion angle estimates do not capture this change as well as
the measurements themselves. The most likely reason that the eversion
angle estimates do not capture the pattern noted by other researchers
is that a right triangle based on the measurement points illustrated in
Figure 3 does not adequately
represent the shape of the rim as perceived by analysts who estimate rim
eversion visually. Most highly everted corrugated jar rims are actually
out-curved rather than bent at a sharp angle. I suspect that most analysts
assess rim eversion using the angle of the rim at its tip, and that on
most curved rims the angle of eversion at the tip is much greater than
the angle between the tip and the interior inflection point estimated
for this pilot study. Nevertheless, the rim measurements taken do show
a chronological trend in the sampled components and suggest that a more
objective method for classifying corrugated jars rims could be developed
through further research.
Analysis of White Ware Bowl Rims
63
Additional data were collected from a sample of rim sherds from
white ware bowls from the early and late Pueblo III components at Woods
Canyon Pueblo and from the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket. These
data were used to examine whether different kinds of meals came to be
served to different social groups as Woods Canyon Pueblo became a community
center during the late Pueblo III period. For background and arguments
related to functional analysis of vessels from Pueblo III sites in the
Mesa Verde region, see Ortman (2000*2:par. 41–66).
Rim-arc data were collected to assess whether the size distributions of
serving vessels changed as Woods Canyon Pueblo became a community center.
In addition, the relationship between exterior painted decoration and
vessel size was examined to determine whether serving bowls of different
sizes were used for different purposes. The results of these analyses
are presented in the following paragraphs.
Rim-Arc Data
64
Figure 9 presents
the rim-arc analysis results. For this analysis, rim sherds were assigned
to 3-cm radius intervals using simplified radial graph paper, such that
Radius Interval 9 encompasses radii that were 6 to 9 cm, Interval 12 encompasses
radii that were 9 to 12 cm, and so on. The degrees of arc encompassed
by the sherd was also estimated to the nearest five degrees, using the
upper boundary of the interval as a guide. The total degrees of arc assigned
to each radius interval is used as the measure of abundance, rather than
the count or weight of sherds assigned to each radius interval. This approach
compensates for the tendency of smaller-diameter vessels to break into
fewer rim sherds that encompass more degrees of arc than do larger-diameter
vessels (Pierce and Varien 1999*1).
65
Analyses of rim-arc data from the Sand Canyon locality suggest
that more large bowls, and bowls of two distinct sizes, were used and
discarded in late Pueblo III community centers, compared with earlier
and contemporaneous small sites (Ortman
2000*2:par. 53–54). These changes in the distributions of bowl sizes
probably reflect differences in the kinds of meals served in late Pueblo
III community centers, compared with other sites. The rim-arc data from
Woods Canyon and Yellow Jacket pueblos (Figure
9) duplicate the Sand Canyon locality results. Within Woods Canyon
Pueblo, the early Pueblo III distribution has a single mode, whereas the
late Pueblo III distribution possesses two modes at the 9- and 15-cm intervals.
The assemblage from the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket also appears
to possess a less well defined bimodal distribution, and both late Pueblo
III assemblages contain more large vessels than does the early Pueblo
III assemblage. These results suggest that the same food presentation
and consumption patterns occurred in at least four community centers (Castle
Rock, Sand Canyon, Woods Canyon, and Yellow Jacket pueblos) spread across
the central Mesa Verde region.
Vessel Size vs. Exterior Decoration
66
Ortman (2000*2:par. 59–61)
argued that the sizes of white ware bowls in Sand Canyon locality sites
reflected food-presentation and consumption practices associated with
the formation of Pueblo III villages. These practices were argued to have
affected the characteristic ways that serving vessels were viewed, leading
to changes in the way they were decorated. Data on the size and decoration
of rim sherds from white ware bowls at Woods Canyon Pueblo support and
amplify these conclusions and suggest that the social changes inferred
for the Sand Canyon locality also occurred in the Woods Canyon community.
67
During the early Pueblo III period, Woods Canyon Pueblo was a settlement
of several households, and the center of the Woods Canyon community was
probably at the Bass Site Complex (Site 5MT136), Site 5MT4700, or the
Albert Porter Preserve (Site 5MT123), all three of which are located on
the mesa top within a 2-km radius of Woods Canyon Pueblo (Database
Map 337) (Lipe and Ortman
2000*1). As Woods Canyon grew into a community center during the thirteenth
century, it is probable that an increasing number of meals were consumed
in contexts that exposed bowl exteriors to view by more-distant social
relations. In historic and modern Pueblo villages, plazas are settings
for community events including dances, ceremonies, feasts, and the redistribution
of food. An informal plaza probably was created inside the enclosing walls
of the rim complex at Woods Canyon, which suggests that analogous events
might have taken place in this village as well. If so, prepared food would
have been carried into the plaza by participants in the event, giving
spectators an opportunity to view vessels from the side. Thus, bowl exteriors
likely were viewed much more often during the late Pueblo III occupation
of Woods Canyon than during the early Pueblo III occupation.
68
Ancient Pueblo pottery vessels tended to be decorated most intensively
on areas that had relatively high contextual visibility (see Carr
1995*1:185–215; Ortman
2000*2:par. 60). Given this correlation between contextual visibility and
intensity of decoration, we might expect the exterior surfaces of white
ware bowls to have been decorated more intensively during the late Pueblo
III occupation of Woods Canyon Pueblo, when the site was a large village
and community center. This pattern has been documented for late Pueblo
III community centers in the Sand Canyon locality (Ortman
2000*2:par. 60–61), and data presented in Table
23 (see also Ortman et al. 2000*1:Table
2) show that it occurred at Woods Canyon Pueblo as well.
69
On the basis of the relative volumes of large and small serving
bowls from Sand Canyon Pueblo, Ortman
(2000*2:par. 47–48) argued that small bowls were most likely used
for individual servings, and large bowls for serving food to a household
or larger group. If this were the case, and if increased decoration of
bowl exteriors was due to increased public food presentation at communal
feasts, we could expect larger bowls to have been used more often for
such presentations. If so, large serving bowls would have been viewed
from the side more often than small bowls, and thus we might expect large
bowls to have been decorated more intensively on their exteriors. Figure
10 demonstrates that larger serving bowls were indeed decorated on
their exteriors more often than smaller bowls at Woods Canyon Pueblo.
These data support a model of increasing presentation of food in public
spaces—presumably for consumption in communal feasts—in late
Pueblo III community centers in the central Mesa Verde region.
Pottery Production and Exchange
70
This section summarizes direct and indirect evidence of pottery
production at Woods Canyon Pueblo and examines the nature of the local
pottery exchange networks in which the residents of Woods Canyon Pueblo
participated. Evidence of long-distance pottery exchange is presented
in the discussion of objects of nonlocal materials (paragraphs
129–132).
Direct Evidence of Pottery Making
71
Direct evidence of pottery production in the Woods Canyon Pueblo
assemblage includes manufacturing tools (polishing stones), raw materials
(potting clay and temper), sherds from unfired vessels, and miscellaneous
fired clay objects. Another potential form of direct evidence of pottery
manufacture is pottery scrapers made from sherds. Although pottery scrapers
have been collected from other sites in southwestern Colorado (e.g., Wilson
1988*2:Table A.6), none were identified specifically in the Woods
Canyon modified sherd assemblage. The direct evidence of pottery production
from Woods Canyon Pueblo is listed in Table
24.
72
Polishing stones are small, very smooth, and very hard stones or
pebbles that exhibit evidence of abrasive wear. The polishing stones from
Woods Canyon were made of high-quality, fine-grained stone, including
cherts, quartzites, slate/shale, and agate/chalcedony. Even if some of
these stones were found locally, many were rare and required some effort
to procure. Traces of clay were found adhering to the surfaces of one
such stone (PD 386, FS 9), indicating that at least one of these stones
was used for polishing the surfaces of white ware vessels. It is unknown
whether polishing stones had additional uses.
73
The strongest direct evidence of pottery making consists of sherds
from vessels that had not yet been fired when the site was abandoned.
Unfired sherds were found only in Nonstructure 2.1-N at Woods Canyon Pueblo.
All of these sherds contain sherd temper and therefore are probably from
white ware vessels (see the discussion of white ware temper, paragraphs
82–83). No unfired sherds from corrugated gray ware vessels were
identified. Clays suitable for use in pottery making were also found in
several locations at Woods Canyon Pueblo. One of these samples is of raw,
untempered clay, but other samples consist of prepared pastes with sherd,
sand, and crushed sandstone tempers typically found in white ware sherds
at the site. Moistening the samples also revealed that one sample (PD
334, FS 11) appears to be slip clay, probably from the local Morrison
Formation. No samples of potting clay were recognized as containing the
coarse temper characteristic of corrugated gray ware pastes.
74
A sample of igneous rock (PD 469, FS 5) may offer a third line
of evidence for pottery manufacture at Woods Canyon Pueblo. Since the
closest major source of this material is Sleeping Ute Mountain, approximately
15 km to the south, this rock must have been carried to the site. No chipped-,
ground-, or pecked-stone tools in the Woods Canyon collection were made
of igneous rock, but this material was identified as temper in white and
corrugated gray ware sherds found at the site. It is therefore reasonable
to consider this igneous rock sample as unground pottery temper. Since
igneous rock is a much more common tempering agent in corrugated gray
wares than in white wares at Woods Canyon, this sample may be the only
direct evidence of corrugated gray ware manufacture recovered from the
excavations.
75
In addition to polishing stones, unfired sherds, potting clays,
and temper samples, a small number of unusual fired clay objects that
might or might not have been parts of pottery vessels were found in a
variety of contexts at Woods Canyon. Because these objects are fired,
have no obvious function, and were unlikely to have been traded, they
are presumed to be by-products of pottery manufacture.
76
The amount and distribution of these various forms of direct evidence
of pottery making can be used to assess the nature of pottery production
at Woods Canyon. If pottery making was an unspecialized, household-level
industry, then raw materials and tools associated with it should occur
occasionally throughout the site. On the other hand, if pottery production
was specialized, such that relatively few people made most of the pottery
used in the village, then direct evidence should be relatively abundant
in a few locations and absent in most others.
77
The evidence from Woods Canyon is tabulated by study unit in Table
25 and suggests that production of white ware pottery was unspecialized.
Direct evidence of white ware manufacture is not especially abundant in
any single location, but is widely distributed at the site, despite the
fact that most structures and features were subjected to only limited
testing. Because the excavations were limited, it is possible that concentrations
of direct evidence remain to be found in areas that were not excavated.
Nevertheless, the fact that direct evidence was found in so many of the
tested structures suggests that white ware production was a household-based,
part-time activity. This pattern has been noted at numerous other sites
in southwestern Colorado (Errickson
1993*1; Ortman 2000*2:par. 69;
Wilson 1988*2, 1991*1).
78
In contrast, little direct evidence of corrugated gray ware production
was found. This may be attributed at least in part to the fact that polishing
stones are not used in gray ware manufacture. Nevertheless, no unfired
corrugated sherds or coarse-tempered raw clay samples were identified
in the Woods Canyon Pueblo collection, leaving open the possibility that
corrugated gray ware production was organized quite differently from white
ware production.
Indirect Evidence of Pottery Making
79
Available indirect evidence of pottery production and exchange
consists of temper data from white and gray ware sherds. In this section,
temper data from Woods Canyon Pueblo and the great tower complex at Yellow
Jacket Pueblo are used to examine the nature of local pottery exchange.
This analysis builds on previous studies of local pottery exchange in
the Sand Canyon locality (Glowacki
1995*1; Glowacki et al. 1995*1,
1998*1; Thurs
et al. 1996*1) and other areas in southwestern Colorado using instrumental
neutron activation analysis (INAA) data (Glowacki
et al. 1997*1) as well as temper data (Blinman
1986*2; Blinman and Wilson 1988*3,
1992*1, 1993*1;
Ortman 2000*2:par. 78–83). The
studies have identified distinct white ware manufacturing tracts and have
documented modest levels of vessel movement between sites. Evidence for
long-distance, interregional pottery exchange is presented in the discussion
of objects made of nonlocal materials (paragraphs
129–132).
80
Most of the tempers identified in the examined sherds were readily
available to potters at both sites. However, it is likely that igneous
rock was not locally available at Woods Canyon and Yellow Jacket pueblos.
Igneous rock originates in the intrusive volcanic mountains of the Four
Corners area, including Sleeping Ute Mountain and the San Juan Mountains
in Colorado, the Abajo Mountains in Utah, and the Carrizo and Chuska mountains
in Arizona and New Mexico. Weathered igneous cobbles suitable for use
as pottery temper can be found on terraces along the watercourses that
drain these mountains. The closest known source of igneous rock to Woods
Canyon Pueblo is Ute Mountain, located approximately 15 km south of the
site, and the closest known source to Yellow Jacket Pueblo is the Dolores
River valley, approximately 10 km northeast of the site.
81
Cross-cultural data compiled by Arnold
(1985*1:51–56) suggest that potters in small-scale societies
tend to travel no more than 6 to 9 km to obtain temper for pottery making.
Both Woods Canyon and Yellow Jacket pueblos are more than 9 km from the
closest major source of igneous rock for each site. This suggests that
at least some of the igneous-tempered sherds from these two sites are
from vessels that were made at sites closer to igneous rock sources. However,
the fact that a sample of igneous rock was recovered from Woods Canyon
Pueblo leaves open the possibility that this material was acquired for
use as pottery temper through exchange or special collection trips to
the sources.
White Ware Temper Data
82
Table 26 presents
temper data for a sample of white ware bowl rims from the early and late
Pueblo III components at Woods Canyon Pueblo and from the great tower
complex at Yellow Jacket. These sherds were examined using a binocular
microscope, and each was classified on the basis of the most abundant
type of nonplastic inclusion mixed with the clay during paste preparation.
The four temper categories identified were crushed sandstone, quartz sand,
crushed igneous rock, and crushed sherd. The results of analysis are tabulated
by count and by the proportion of each category within the sample from
each component.
83
These data indicate that most white ware vessels from these sites
were tempered with crushed potsherds or crushed sandstone. Very few were
tempered with sand or igneous rock. The rarity of igneous-tempered white
wares is consistent with the location of these sites far from igneous
rock sources. Igneous temper is much more common in white ware vessels
deposited at sites located close to sources of this material. For example,
approximately 30 percent of the white ware vessels at Castle Rock Pueblo,
which is located adjacent to Ute Mountain, had igneous rock temper (Ortman
2000*2:Table 21).
Corrugated Gray Ware Temper Data
84
Table 27 presents
temper data for a sample of corrugated gray ware rims from the early and
late Pueblo III components at Woods Canyon Pueblo and the great tower
complex at Yellow Jacket. These sherds were examined using a binocular
microscope, and each was classified on the basis of the most abundant
type of nonplastic inclusion mixed with the clay during paste preparation.
The results are tabulated by count and by the proportion of each category
within the sample from each component.
85
A number of distinct tempers—crushed sandstone, quartz sand,
and igneous rock—were identified in the corrugated sherds. These
same tempers are also present in white ware sherds, although in finer
particle sizes. Additional tempers observed in the corrugated sherds were
derived from some form of weathered or decomposed sedimentary or metamorphic
rock. Multilithic sands are usually coarse, weathered, subangular grains
of various colors and rock types. They may derive from weathered conglomerate
sandstone. Weathered metamorphic temper appears to be crushed or cracked
chunks of rock described as having granular morphology, uniform texture,
and fluid colors. They probably derived from weathered chunks of metamorphosed
or silicified sandstone. This poorly understood material appears to have
been the primary tempering agent used by the inhabitants of Woods Canyon
Pueblo in making corrugated gray ware pottery.
Comparison of White Ware and Corrugated Gray Ware Tempers
86
There are many differences in the tempers used in white ware and
corrugated gray ware vessels. Sherd, the most common temper in white ware
vessels, is completely absent in the corrugated gray ware samples. There
is also a wider variety of sedimentary tempers used in corrugated vessels
than in white ware vessels. Finally, igneous temper is much more common
in corrugated gray ware vessels than in white ware vessels in each component.
These differences in temper use between corrugated gray and white ware
vessels are probably related to differences in the ways these vessels
were used. Corrugated gray ware vessels were cooking pots that were routinely
subjected to thermal stress by being placed over open fires, which created
marked temperature variation along the vessel walls and between the interior
and exterior surfaces (Pierce 1998*1).
Tempering agents that resisted thermal expansion counteracted the tendency
of fired clay to expand when heated and helped corrugated vessels withstand
thermal stress without cracking or breaking (West
1992*1). In addition, the larger temper particles in cooking pots
help diffuse microfractures that develop during use, thus increasing the
use life of the vessel (Varien 1999*1:Chp.
4).
87
White ware vessels, in contrast, were used for serving and storage
and were not exposed to significant thermal stress after firing. As a
result, temper in white ware pastes functioned primarily to keep unfired
vessels from cracking as they dried. Presumably, sherd temper could be
used in white ware vessels, even though this would result in an effectively
"untempered" finished fabric, because temper was not necessary for the
typical uses of finished white ware vessels.
88
In a recent study, Hensler
(1999*1:676–682) compared the thermal-stress resistance of corrugated
gray ware sherds tempered with sand and trachyte—the latter a type
of igneous rock found in the Chuska Mountains of New Mexico and Arizona.
She found that trachyte-tempered sherds appeared to possess greater thermal-stress
resistance than did sand-tempered sherds, and she attributed this difference
to the performance characteristics of trachyte temper. These characteristics
may also apply to the local igneous tempers used in the central Mesa Verde
region. If so, it is likely that cooking pots tempered with igneous rock
functioned better than cooking pots tempered with sedimentary rock.
89
Ortman (2000*2:par. 77–83)
examined the distribution of igneous-tempered white ware vessels at late
Pueblo III sites across southwestern Colorado, including Woods Canyon
Pueblo and the great tower complex at Yellow Jacket, and found that this
distribution supported a model of unstructured, down-the-line exchange,
probably taking the form of gift exchange between friends and relatives
living in nearby settlements. This interpretation was based partly on
the assumption that there would be no functional advantage to using igneous
temper in white ware vessels. There are insufficient data to determine
whether corrugated vessels diffused over the social landscape in the same
way. However, the higher frequency of igneous-tempered corrugated sherds
than white ware sherds across the sampled components suggests that igneous-tempered
corrugated vessels were used more widely than igneous-tempered white ware
vessels. Whether such vessels were exchanged more widely over the social
landscape or were manufactured more widely cannot be determined from the
available data.
90
Regardless of the cause, it is likely that the more widespread
distribution of igneous-tempered corrugated sherds at a given distance
from igneous rock sources is due to the fact that igneous-tempered cooking
pots worked better than cooking pots tempered with other materials, including
the sedimentary and metamorphic tempers found in most of the corrugated
sherds examined from Woods Canyon and Yellow Jacket. If the value of igneous-tempered
cooking pots was recognized, residents probably would have tried either
to make such vessels using imported igneous temper or to obtain finished
vessels through trade. This model also raises the possibility that corrugated
gray ware vessels were produced specifically for exchange in communities
located close to igneous rock sources.
1The "finish" field in the Crow Canyon pottery database is used to record paint type on white ware sherds and the presence or absence of slip on red ware sherds. Thus, when discussing white ware sherds, "finish" refers to paint type.
Next (paragraphs 91–160).
Copyright © 2002 by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. All rights reserved.