Diné łe’saa łitsxo bik'ah dash chá’ii dajíi la: Navajo Gobernador Polychrome Pottery

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Nat’aah Nahane’ Bina’ji O’hoo’ah: Diné Archaeologists & Navajo Archaeology in the 21st Century" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Gobernador Polychrome is a Navajo ceramic practice whose development was hastened by participation in the Pueblo Revolt. It represents a visible change in Navajo ceramic technology and a window into their social history. My discussions, in this paper are not aligned with Navajo Archaeology’s theme of "Origins" and the diffusion of styles is not in the context of the "Rapid Acculturation" narrative. My research uses a communities of practice and technological style framework to inform questions about the nature of interactions between Navajo and Pueblo people during the Revolt Era by examining proposed Puebloan influences. My research revealed a range of technological styles such as, form, design structure, surface treatment, and firing regimes, embedded within the production that support both independent and Pueblo technological styles. My research also shows a wider range of pigment types and I have documented evidence of organic paint and white slipped shoulder and neck fields, which contradict the accepted definitions of the type. Design structure and vessel form analysis suggest an Eastern Pueblo influence, especially from the Tewa, while my analysis of firing attributes, indicate an independent development of a novel, yet consistent, firing regime and design motifs that are distinctly Diné.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Nat’aah Nahane’ Bina’ji O’hoo’ah: Diné Archaeologists & Navajo Archaeology in the 21st Century

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26269