Loss of Color: Pigments in the Trincheras Tradition

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Coloring the World: People and Colors in Southwestern Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeologists have largely defined the Trincheras Tradition by pottery, in particular the distribution of purple painted ceramics. The purple pigment, found in both specular and non-specular forms, was part of a bichrome and polychrome regional tradition that flourished across the Sonoran Desert between 700-1200 AD. Many abrupt changes occurred around 1200 AD, including mass migration and the founding of Cerro de Trincheras. One such change was the de-coloring of Sonoran ceramic traditions. After 1200 AD, Trinchereños (Trincheras Tradition peoples) stopped producing locally decorated pottery. This change does not mean Trinchereños lived in a colorless world. Rather than participate in the proliferation of Salado polychrome ceramics, Trinchereños imported vibrant vessels from Paquimé/Casas Grandes. Colors and symbolism from preceding periods continued to signal important social information, including in the vessels used for secondary cremation burials. The ways in which Trinchereños modified their use of pigments over time shows changing relationships within their natural and cultural worlds.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Coloring the World: People and Colors in Southwestern Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25879