Part 1

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION----BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

POTTERY

OF THE

ANCIENT PUEBLOS.

BY

WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introductory 265

Pueblo art 266 Distribution 266 Character 266 Treatment 266

The ceramic art 267 Age 267 Material 267 Tempering 267 Construction 268 Surface finish 268 Firing 268 Glaze 268 Hardness 269 Color 269 Form 269 Origin of forms 269 Handles 271 Ornament 271 Origin of ornament 272 Use 272 Classification 272 Coil-made ware 273 Coiling 273 Coiling of the Pueblos 273 Coiling of other peoples 275 Origin of the coil 277 The coil in ornamentation 278 Other varieties of ornament 282 Material 283 Color, etc. 283 Form 283 Use 283 Illustrations of vessels 284 District of the Rio San Juan 284 District of the Rio Virgen 287 District of the Little Colorado 292 Pecos and the Rio Grande 298 District of the Rio Gila 299 Imitation coiled ware 299 Plain ware 299 Painted ware 302 Preliminary remarks 302 Color of designs 302 Execution 302 Stages of ornament 303 Classification of ware 304 White ware 305 Classification by forms 306 Bowls 306 Ollas 306 Bottles 306 Handled vessels 306 Eccentric and life forms 307 Illustrations 307 District of the Rio Virgen 307 Bowls 308 Ollas 314 Handled vessels 314 District of the Rio San Juan 315 Bowls 316 Handled cups 318 Ollas 318 Handled vases 319 District of the Colorado Chiquito 321 Bowls 322 Ollas 335 Bottles 343 Handled vessels 346 Eccentric and life forms 353 Concluding remarks 358

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Fig. 210.--Origin of forms 270

211.--Origin of forms 270

212.--Origin of forms 270

213.--Origin of forms 270

214.--Origin of forms 270

215.--Origin of handles 271

216.--Origin of handles 271

217.--Beginning of the coil 274

218.--Section of coil-made vessel 274

219.--Ordinary superposition of coils 277

220.--Coiled and plain surface 278

221.--Rib-like coil 279

222.--Rib-like coil 279

223.--Indented pattern 280

224.--Thumb-nail indentation 280

225.--Wave-like indentation 281

226.--Wave-like indentation 281

227.--Impressions of finger tips 281

228.--Implement indentations 281

229.--Nail markings 282

230.--Incised lines 282

231.--Incised pattern 282

232.--Applied fillet 283

233.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

234.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

235.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

236.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

237.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

238.--Examples of relief ornaments 283

239.--Vase from a cliff house, Mancos Cañon 285

240.--Vase from Epsom Creek 287

241.--Vase from tumulus at Saint George 288

242.--Vase from tumulus at Saint George 289

243.--Vase from tumulus at Saint George 290

244.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 291

245.--Vase from Parowan, Utah 291

246.--Cup from central Utah 292

247.--Vase from Zuñi 293

248.--Vase from Zuñi 294

249.--Mug from Tusayan 294

250.--Vase from Tusayan 295

251.--Vase from Tusayan 296

252.--Vessel from Tusayan 296

253.--Vase from Tusayan 297

254.--Bowl from Cibola 297

255.--Bottle from tumulus at Saint George 300

256.--Vase from tumulus at Saint George 301

257.--Vase from tumulus at Saint George 301

258.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 308

259.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 309

260.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 309

261.--Painted design 310

262.--Bowl from Kanab, Utah 310

263.--Painted design 311

264.--Bowl from Kanab, Utah 311

265.--Painted design 311

266.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 312

267.--Painted design 312

268.--Bowl from Tusayan 312

269.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 313

270.--Bowl from tumulus at Saint George 313

271.--Pitcher from tumulus at Saint George 314

272.--Bowl from Montezuma Cañon 316

273.--Bowl from San Juan Valley 316

274.--Bowl from San Juan Valley 317

275.--Bowl from San Juan Valley 317

276.--Painted design 318

277.--Handled cup from Montezuma Cañon 318

278.--Handled cup from Montezuma Cañon 318

279.--Vase from San Juan Valley 318

280.--Vase from San Juan Valley 319

281.--Vase lid from San Juan Valley 319

282.--Vase lid from San Juan Valley 319

283.--Handled bottle from San Juan Valley 319

284.--Handled bottle from San Juan Valley 320

285.--Handled mug from San Juan Valley 320

286.--Handled mug from San Juan Valley 320

287.--Handled mug from San Juan Valley 320

288.--Handled mug from southern Utah 320

289.--Bowl from Tusayan 322

290.--Bowl from Tusayan 323

291.--Painted design 323

292.--Bowl from Tusayan 324

293.--Painted design 325

294.--Handled bowl from Tusayan 325

295.--Painted design 326

296.--Original form of painted design 326

297.--Handled cup from Tusayan 327

298.--Handled cup from Tusayan 327

299.--Dipper from Tusayan 327

300.--Dipper from Tusayan 328

301.--Figure of bird 328

302.--Dipper from Tusayan 328

303.--Painted design 329

304.--Painted design 329

305.--Unit of the design 329

306.--Bowl from Tusayan 330

307.--Bowl from Tusayan 331

308.--Bowl from Tusayan 331

309.--Bowl from Tusayan 332

310.--Bowl from Tusayan 332

311.--Painted design 333

312.--Bowl from Tusayan 333

313.--Bowl from Tusayan 334

314.--Vase from Tusayan 334

315.--Vase from Tusayan 335

316.--Vase from Tusayan 335

317.--Vase from Tusayan 336

318.--Vase from Tusayan 336

319.--Painted design 337

320.--Vase from Tusayan 337

321.--Vase from Tusayan 338

322.--Painted design 338

323.--Unit of the design 339

324.--Vase from Tusayan 339

325.--Painted design 340

326.--Unit of the design 340

327.--Vase from Tusayan 341

328.--Painted design 342

329.--Unit of the design 342

330.--Vase from Tusayan 343

331.--Vase from Cibola 343

332.--Vase from Cibola 344

333.--Painted design 345

334.--Painted design 345

335.--Vase from Tusayan 346

336.--Handled vase from Tusayan 346

337.--Painted design 347

338.--Handled mug from Tusayan 347

339.--Painted design 348

340.--Vase from Tusayan 348

341.--Painted design 348

342.--Handled cup from Cibola 349

343.--Painted ornament 349

344.--Painted ornament 349

345.--Painted ornament 350

346.--Painted ornament 350

347.--Vase from Tusayan 350

348.--Vase from Tusayan 351

349.--Bottle from Tusayan 351

350.--Bottle from Tusayan 352

351.--Bottle from Tusayan 352

352.--Vase from eastern Arizona 353

353.--Vase from eastern Arizona 354

354.--Vase from Tusayan 354

355.--Vase from Tusayan 355

356.--Vase from Tusayan 355

357.--Vase from Tusayan 356

358.--Vase from Cibola 357

359.--Vase from Arizona 358

360.--Bird-shaped cup from Tusayan 358

POTTERY OF THE ANCIENT PUEBLOS.

By WILLIAM H. HOLMES.

INTRODUCTORY.

A study of the pottery of the ancient Pueblo peoples is here commenced in accordance with plans formed years ago by the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology. His aim was to present to the world a monographic work upon the splendid material obtained by the Bureau, including with it the important collections made previously by himself. The preparation of this work has been postponed from time to time with the view of completing the collections, which were being enriched by annual visits to the Pueblo country. Meantime I began the study of the collection for the purpose of securing at the start a satisfactory classification of the material on hand.

The present paper is the first result of that study. I have, however, taken up only the more ancient groups of ware, leaving the rest for subsequent papers. A comparative study is not attempted, for the reason that a detailed examination of all the groups to be considered is absolutely essential to satisfactory results. Conclusions drawn from partial observations lead generally to error.

There were great difficulties in the way of treating satisfactorily the modern varieties of ware, as no one had sufficient familiarity with the language of the Pueblo tribes to discuss the ideographic phases of the ornamentation. Mr. F. H. Cushing's studies bid fair to supply this want, and his recent return from Zuñi has led to the preparation of the valuable paper presented in this volume.

Mr. James Stevenson, who has procured a large portion of the collection of modern pottery, has published catalogues with copious illustrations. Most of the cuts have been prepared under my supervision, and have been selected with the view of securing engravings of a full series of typical examples for a final work.

PUEBLO ART.

DISTRIBUTION.--The ancient Pueblo peoples dwelt in a land of cañons and high plateaus. They had their greatest development in the valley of the Rio Colorado, where they delighted to haunt the shadows of the deepest gorges and build their dwellings along the loftiest cliffs. The limits of their territory are still in a measure undefined. We discover remnants of their arts in the neighboring valleys of Great Salt Lake, the Arkansas, and the Rio Grande, and southward we can trace them beyond the Rio Gila into the table-lands of Chihuahua and Sonora.

Thus outlined, we have an area of more than one hundred thousand square miles, which has at times more or less remote been occupied by tribes of town-building and pottery-making Indians.

CHARACTER.--High and desert-like as this land is, it has borne a noble part in fostering and maturing a culture of its own--a culture born of unusual needs, shaped by exceptional environment, and limited by the capacities of a peculiar people. Cliff houses and cavate dwellings are not new to architecture, and pottery resembling the Pueblo ware in many respects may be found wherever man has developed a corresponding degree of technical skill; yet there is an individuality in these Pueblo remains that separates them distinctly from all others and lends a keen pleasure to their investigation.

TREATMENT.--The study of prehistoric art leads inevitably to inquiries into the origin of races. Solutions of these questions have generally been sought through migrations, and these have been traced in a great measure by analogies in archæologic remains; but in such investigation one important factor has been overlooked, namely, the laws that govern migrations of races do not regulate the distribution of arts. The pathways do not correspond, but very often conflict. The arts migrate in ways of their own. They pass from place to place and from people to people by a process of acculturation, so that peoples of unlike origin practice like arts, while those of like origin are found practicing unlike arts. The threads of the story are thus so entangled that we find it impossible to trace them backward to their beginnings.

For the present, therefore, I do not propose to study the arts of this province with the expectation that they will furnish a key to the origin of the peoples, or to the birthplace of their arts, but I shall treat them with reference rather to their bearing upon the processes by which culture has been achieved and the stages through which it has passed, keeping always in mind that a first requisite in this work is a systematic and detailed study of the material to be employed.

THE CERAMIC ART.

AGE.--The ceramic art of the ancient Pueblos is practically a unit. We find in its remains few indications of distinct periods. There is nothing to carry us back to a remote past. The oldest specimens known are nearly as high in the scale as the latest. In the deposits of caves and burial-grounds we find, so far, nothing more archaic than in the ruins of once populous villages and beneath the fallen walls of hewnstone cliff houses. In methods of manufacture and in styles of ornamentation there is no specific distinction.

Once introduced, there is much in the character of the country to develop this art. The people were sedentary, and thus able to practice the art continuously for a long period; and in a country so arid there was often great need of vessels suitable for the transportation and storage of water.

MATERIAL.--Nature was lavish in her supply of the material needed. Suitable clay could be found in nearly every valley, both in the well-exposed strata and in the sediment of streams. I have noticed that after the passage of a sudden storm over the mesa country, and the rapid disappearance of the transient flood, the pools of the arroyos would retain a sediment of clay two or three inches thick, having a consistency perfectly suited to the hand of the potter. This I have taken without tempering and have made imitations of the handsome vases whose remnants I could pick up on all sides. In drying and burning, these vessels were liable to crack and fall to pieces; but I see no reason why, with the use of proper tempering materials, this natural paste might not be successfully employed. It would not be difficult, however, to find the native clay among the sedimentary formations of this district. Usually the clay has been very fine grained, and when used without coarse tempering the vessels have an extremely even and often a conchoidal fracture.

TEMPERING.--The materials used in tempering do not often come into notice. It appears that, in a majority of cases, fine sand, probably derived from naturally disintegrated rocks, was employed. A large percentage of rather coarse sand is found in the more roughly finished coil-made ware, but vessels intended for smooth finish have little perceptible tempering material.

The speckled appearance of some of the abraded surfaces suggests the use of pulverized potsherds, a practice frequently resorted to by the modern tribes. In some localities, notably in the south, we find a slight admixture of mica, which may have come from the use of pulverized micaceous rock.

CONSTRUCTION.--No one can say just how the materials were manipulated, fashioned into vessels, and baked; yet many facts can be gleaned from a critical examination of the vessels themselves; and an approximate idea of the various processes employed may be formed by a study of the methods of modern potters of the same region or of corresponding grades of culture.

It is evident that the vessels were built and finished by the hands alone; no wheel was used, although supports, such as shallow earthen vessels, baskets, and gourds were certainly employed to a considerable extent. Primitive processes of building have varied considerably. The simplest method perhaps was that of shaping a single mass of clay by pressure with the fingers, either with or without the assistance of a mold or support. The mold would be useful in shaping shallow vessels, such as plates, cups, and bowls. The walls of vessels of eccentric forms or having constricted apertures would be carried upward by the addition of small more or less elongated masses of clay, with no support but the hand or an implement held in the hand. Casting proper, in regularly constructed molds, was practiced only by the more cultured races, such as the Peruvians. A variety of methods may have been employed in the construction of a single piece.

SURFACE FINISH.--A great deal of attention was given to surface finish. In the coiled ware the imbricate edges of the fillets were generally either smoothed down and obliterated entirely, or treated in such a way as to give a variety of pleasing effects of relief decoration. Vessels with smooth surfaces, whether built by coiling, modeling, or molding, very often received a thin coat of fine liquid clay, probably after partial drying and polishing. This took the place of the enamels used by more accomplished potters, and being usually white, it gave a beautiful surface upon which to execute designs in color. Before the color was applied the surface received a considerable degree of polish by rubbing with a suitable implement of stone or other material. Attention was given chiefly to surfaces exposed to view--the interior of bowls and the exterior of narrow-necked vases.

FIRING.--The firing of the ancient ware seems to have been carefully and successfully accomplished. The methods probably did not differ greatly from those practiced by the modern Pueblo tribes. The ware is, as a rule, light in color, but is generally much clouded by the dark spots that result from imperfections in the methods of applying the fire. The heat was rarely great enough to produce anything like vitrifaction of the surface, and the paste is seldom as hard as our stone ware.

GLAZE.--A great deal has been said about the glaze of native American wares, which exists, if at all, through accident. The surface of the white ware of nearly all sections received a high degree of mechanical polish, and the effect of firing was often to heighten this and give at times a slightly translucent effect; a result of the spreading or sinking of the coloring matter of the designs.