Miniature in Everything but Meaning: A Contextual Analysis of Miniature Vessels at Homol’ovi

Summary

Within the archaeological literature there are several studies of miniature vessels that have attempted to explain the presence of these unique artifacts in prehistoric Puebloan society. The two most common hypotheses are that these pots were made by inexperienced potters while learning their craft, or they were produced by expert ceramic artisans and served a ritual function. These analyses have largely depended on assessing the skill with which miniature vessels were produced. The results of these studies have been inconclusive, finding evidence of both skilled and inexpert production of miniature vessels. This research attempts to further our understanding of the role miniature vessels played in Puebloan culture through a synthetic analysis which considers both craft mastery and depositional context. An expert in the art of ceramic manufacture may make a vessel for utilitarian purposes; similarly, a vessel produced by an amateur may be used for ritual. Thus it is crucial to understand the ways in which use and discard also imbued an object with meaning. For this reason, we suggest that considering the context in which a miniature vessel was deposited may provide a more refined understanding of the function(s) these artifacts served in prehistoric Puebloan society.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage