Historic Pueblo Canteens: How were they made and how were they used?

Author(s): Kristina Whitney

Year: 2015

Summary

Historic Pueblo potters formed ceramic canteens that have one flat and one bulbous side. This form posed unique issues for construction. The form is symmetrical along only one axis, and while other Pueblo ceramic forms exhibit this feature, such as duck effigies, these flat-sided canteens are unique in that they were made to carry water. The shape suggests it was designed to be transported against a flat object. 19th century ethnographic research suggests transportation against a human back, with a tumpline attached to the handles. This research investigated the construction and use of flat-sided canteens in museum collections. The relationship of this form to canteen forms in other parts of the world is explored.

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Cite this Record

Historic Pueblo Canteens: How were they made and how were they used?. Kristina Whitney. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 397559)

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Keywords

General
Ceramics Southwest

Geographic Keywords
North America - Southwest

Spatial Coverage

min long: -115.532; min lat: 30.676 ; max long: -102.349; max lat: 42.033 ;