Pottery of the ancient Pueblos Part 3

Following the customs of most primitive peoples, the belongings of the deceased were buried with them. Earthen vessels were found in profusion.

With a single body, there were sometimes as many as eight vases, the children having been in this respect more highly favored than the adults. There seems to have been no system in the arrangement either of the bodies or of the accompanying relics.

The majority of the vases were either plain or decorated in color, but many of the larger specimens were of the coiled variety. About sixty vessels were recovered. Those of the former cla.s.ses will be described under their proper headings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 241.--Vessel from the tumulus, at Saint George.--1/3.]

The shapes of the corrugated vases are of the simplest kind. The prevailing form corresponds very closely with the Cliff House specimen ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 239. One unusually large example was brought back in fragments, but has since been successfully restored. It stands nearly seventeen inches high and is sixteen inches in diameter. The plain part of the rim is one and one-half inches wide, and the lip is well rounded and strongly recurved. The lines are quite graceful, the neck expanding below into a globular body which is just a little pointed at the base.

The color is dark, from use over the fire. The fillets of clay were narrow and very neatly crimped. Roughly estimated, there were at least three hundred feet of the coil used. The vessel has a capacity of about ten gallons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 242.--Vase from the tumulus at Saint George.--1/2.]

Vases of this particular outline may be found, varying in size from these grand proportions to small cups an inch or two in height. Of a somewhat different type is the vessel shown in Fig. 241. The outline is symmetrical. The neck is comparatively high and wide and swells out gently to the widest part of the body, the base being almost hemispherical. A band about the neck is coiled and roughly indented, while the body is quite smooth. The plain band about the mouth is broad and sharply recurved. The coils are wide and deeply indented. They have been smoothed down somewhat while the clay was still soft. The vase shown in Fig. 242 is characterized by its upright rim, elongated neck, round body, and plain broad coils. The fillets are set one upon another, apparently without the usual imbrication. This latter feature occurs in a number of cases in the vessels of this locality.

The bottle given in Fig. 243 is quite comely in shape. The neck expands gracefully from the rim to its junction with the body, which swells out abruptly to its greatest fullness. The coil is not neatly laid. The indentation began with the coil, but was almost obliterated on the lower part of the vessel while the clay was yet soft. The fillets are not so well smoothed down on the interior surface as usual, a ridged appearance being the result. This comes from the difficulty of operating within a much restricted aperture. The color is gray, with a few effective clouds of black, the result of firing. Another, of similar form, was taken from the collection by unknown persons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 243.--Vase from the tumulus at Saint George.--1/2.]

The only example of coiled ware from this locality having a handle is a small mug. Its body is shaped much like the larger vessels, but it is less regular in outline. The single vertically placed handle, now partially broken away, was attached to the side of the body near the top, and consisted of a rough cord of clay less than half an inch in diameter. The Saint George tumulus furnished a number of vessels with smooth, unpainted surfaces, very similar in form and size to the coiled vessels. They are generally blackened by use over fire, and, like the large coiled pots, were evidently used for culinary purposes. A few smaller vessels of the same style of finish exhibit forms characteristic of the painted ware, as will be seen by reference to the ill.u.s.trations of these two groups.

From the same source we have two bowls of especial interest, as they have coiled exteriors and polished and painted interiors. One of these is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 244. They form an important link between the two varieties of ware, demonstrating the fact that both styles belong to the same age and to the same people. A similar bowl, found in possession of the Zuni Indians, is ill.u.s.trated in another part of this paper, Fig.

254. Another was obtained at Moki. Fragments of identical vessels are found occasionally throughout the whole Pueblo district. One piece from the San Juan Valley has figures painted upon the coiled exterior surface, the interior being polished and unpainted. Specimens from the vicinity of Springerville, Arizona, have designs in white painted over the coiled surface. A large number of well-made, hemispherical bowls from this locality have a coiled band about the exterior margin, but are otherwise plain and well polished. Some are brownish or reddish in color. Many of them have been used over the fire.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 244.--Bowl with coiled exterior and painted interior: Saint George.--1/2.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 245.--Vase from Parowan, Utah.--1/2.]

The ceramic remains of Utah present some puzzling features. As we go north from the Rio Virgen there is an apparent gradation from the typical Pueblo ware to a distinct group characteristic of Salt Lake Valley. The interesting problems suggested by this condition of things cannot be discussed in this place, and I will stop only to present a specimen of the coiled ware from Parowan, which is in some respects the finest example known. The form, so far as it is preserved, seems unusually graceful, and the laying and indenting of the coil is surprisingly perfect. This vase is in the Salt Lake Museum, and the cut, Fig. 245, is made from a photograph furnished by Prof. Marcus E. Jones.

Vessels with similar finish have recently been obtained from graves at Fillmore, Utah, by Dr. H. C. Yarrow, and, singularly enough, identical work is seen in some very fine pieces obtained by Mr. Nelson from ruined pueblos in middle eastern Arizona.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 246.--Cup from central Utah.--1/3.]

An interesting little cup, said to have been found in central Utah, ill.u.s.trates some of the peculiar characters of the more northern examples of this ware. The vessel has apparently been built with coils, as usual, but the surface is worked over in such a way as to obscure the spiral ridges. The rim is upright and plain. The high, wide neck has a series of narrow, vertical flutings, made with a round-pointed implement, or possibly with the finger tip. A band of four channels encircles the middle of the body, the lower part of which is covered with oblique markings.

The handle is large and round, and is attached above to the top of the rim, and below to the middle of the body. This cup is now in the museum at Salt Lake. The photograph from which the engraving is made was obtained through Professor Jones.

DISTRICT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO.

The region now inhabited by the Pueblo tribes seems to have been a favorite residence of the ancient peoples. Ruins and remains of ceramic art may be found at every turn, and it is a common thing to find ancient vessels in possession of the Pueblo Indians. This is especially true of the Zunis and Mokis, from whom considerable collections have been obtained. These vessels have apparently been culled from the sites of ancient ruins, from cave and cliff-houses, and possibly in some cases from burial places. Recently, since they have become valuable in trade, the country about Moki has been ransacked by both Indians and whites, and many valuable specimens have been acquired.

Within recent years a number of expeditions have been sent into this region. To these the canons and cliffs have yielded many specimens. Both Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Victor Mindeleff have brought in excellent examples, a few of which have already been ill.u.s.trated in the publications of the Bureau of Ethnology. I must not fail to mention the very extensive collection of Mr. T. V. Keam and his a.s.sociate, Mr. John Stephen, examples from which I am permitted to ill.u.s.trate in this paper.

Most of the pieces described by Mr. Stevenson are small and not at all pleasing in appearance. They comprise ollas and handled mugs of an elongated scrotoid or sack shape, the widest part of the body being, as a rule, near the base, while the upper part is elongated into a heavy neck, to which a recurved rim has been added.

A number of examples, ill.u.s.trated in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, were obtained from the Zuni Indians, and are thought by Mr. Stevenson to have come from the Canon de Ch.e.l.ly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 247.--Vessel from Zuni.--1/4.]

A large, very badly constructed specimen is given in Fig. 247. The rim is roughly finished, the body unsymmetrical, and the bottom slightly flattened. The coils differ greatly in width, and are carelessly joined and unevenly indented. The rudeness of workmanship noticed in this case is characteristic of many of the specimens from Zuni.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 248.--Vessel from Zuni.--1/2.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 249.--Handled mug from Tusayan.--1/2.]

A rudely constructed cylindrical cup, of the wide-mouthed, narrow-bodied variety, is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 248. The bottom was flattened by contact with some hard, scarred surface before the clay hardened. Two round, tapering, serpent-like fillets of clay have been fixed in a vertical position upon opposite sides of the vessel.

There are a number of handled vessels of this cla.s.s. They are mostly rather rudely made and unsymmetrical. They are small in size and were probably devoted to ordinary domestic uses. A good specimen from the Keam collection is shown in Fig. 249. The handle in this case is a large loop made of three ropes of clay placed side by side. In one case there are three strands set side by side, and joined near the ends. In another case the strands have been twisted, giving a rope-like effect. These forms closely resemble wicker handles in appearance and manner of attachment, and are probably to some extent derived from them, although there is no reason why the ropes of clay, in constant use by potters, should not be joined in pairs, or even twisted, if greater strength or variety were desired.

Vessels from the province of Tusayan may often be identified by their color, which, like that of the transition and modern wares of the same region, is often a rich yellow, sometimes approaching an orange. This color is probably a result of changes in the natural const.i.tuents of the clay employed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 250.--Yellow vase from Tusayan.--1/3.]

An excellent example of the yellow coiled vases is ill.u.s.trated in Fig.

250. It has a new look, and probably belongs to a later period than the light gray ware of the district. It is symmetrical, and the coil is neatly laid and indented. Portions of the sides and base were blackened in firing.

There are a number of fine specimens of this cla.s.s in the Keam collection, all obtained from the ancient province of Tusayan. A small, wide-necked pot is shown in Fig. 251. The surface is smooth, with the exception of a narrow band or collar about the neck, formed of a few indented coils. Other vessels closely resembling this in style are much larger and heavier.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 251.--Yellow vase from Tusayan.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 252.--Vessel from Tusayan.--1/3.]

A vessel of very archaic appearance is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 252. In form, color, and finish it differs from the preceding example. The mouth is almost as wide as the body at its greatest circ.u.mference, the color is gray, and the coils are narrow and regularly indented. A minute coiled fillet is attached to the rim for ornament.

The vessel ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 253 is one of the most noteworthy of its cla.s.s. In form and construction it does not differ essentially from specimens already described, but the decoration is superior. The coils are indented in such a way as to produce a pattern of triangular figures, which is carried over the entire surface of the vessel. It belongs to the Keam collection, and comes from the province of Tusayan.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 253.--Large vase from Tusayan.--1/4.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 254.--Bowl from Cibola.--1/2.]

From Cibola we have a bowl, the exterior of which is coiled and the interior polished and painted. It is undoubtedly of the most archaic variety of ware, and is almost a duplicate of the example from the Saint George tumulus, shown in Fig. 244. The interior is encircled by a series of five triangular volutes in black lines, and the exterior exhibits a very neatly laid and indented coil. Fig. 254.

PECOS AND THE RIO GRANDE.

In New Mexico, upwards of four hundred miles east of Saint George, in the handsome upland valley of the Rio Pecos, we have the most easterly of the ancient Pueblo remains. The site was occupied at the time of the conquest, but is now wholly deserted, a small remnant of the people having gone to dwell with their kindred at Jemez.

The site of this village has been thoroughly examined 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 quant.i.ties 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 a.s.sociated 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 a.s.sociated with the ancient ware either painted or corrugated. The only strange feature at Pecos is that the coiled fragments are not a.s.sociated 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.