A Compositional Analysis of Plain Ware Pottery from Pueblo la Plata and Richinbar Ruin, Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona

Part of the Legacies on the Landscape project

Author(s): Caitlin Wichlacz

Year: 2008

Summary

Temper analysis of plain ware ceramics from Pueblo La Plata indicates that none of the pottery contains local sand. La Plata is located atop Perry Mesa in central Arizona, where basalt dominates the geology. Petrographic thin-section analysis confirmed the observation that basalt was not present, thereby implying that the tempering materials used to make the pottery were not locally obtained. Unless local potters went far afield to procure their temper, the pueblo residents probably obtained their pots from non-local sources. The petrographic work in conjunction with clay chemistry assays with an electron microprobe suggest that the pottery may derive from at least two sources: one associated with sand containing numerous mafic grains, and another in which mafic grains are few or absent.

Cite this Record

A Compositional Analysis of Plain Ware Pottery from Pueblo la Plata and Richinbar Ruin, Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona. Caitlin Wichlacz. 2008 ( tDAR id: 406972) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8WS8W6G

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Keywords

Culture
Ancestral Puebloan • Hohokam • Mogollon • Perry Mesa Tradition

Site Name
Perry Mesa

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Non-Domestic Structures • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Rock Art • Water-Related

Investigation Types
Architectural Survey • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Systematic Survey

Geographic Keywords
Agua Fria National Monument • Perry Mesa

Temporal Keywords
Perry Mesa Tradition • Pueblo IV

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1200 to 1450

Spatial Coverage

min long: -112.162; min lat: 34.079 ; max long: -111.907; max lat: 34.296 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Landowner(s): Bureau of Land Management

Sponsor(s): Arizona State University, Department of Anthropology

Repository(s): Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology

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