Ceramic: McElmo Black-on-white, bowl, AMNH 29.0/6983

Summary

McElmo Black-on-white, bowl, Accession 29.0, Catalog #6983. Morris FS 597. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2004. Temper is diorite porphyry/sand/sherd indicating production in central Mesa Verde region. Simple banded motif, solidly painted rim, and thin round rim form suggest early style McElmo B/w. Bowl is restored with unknown adhesive and missing 25%. Measurements: 20.8 cm orifice diameter (estimate); 9.7 cm height. Image AMNH 29.0/6983 A: view showing interior bowl design. Image AMNH 29.0/6983 B: closeup of exterior surface and painted rim. Image AMNH 29.0/6983 C: closeup of interior design. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Room 47, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 47 at the time of excavation is as follows. “A Chaco refuse deposit 5½ to 8 feet deep covered the floor of Room 47. Evidently the waste had been poured in through a hatchway in the center of the ceiling since the accumulation was thickest at that point and sloped thence downward in all directions....[long list of artifacts]…Upon the drift sand immediately overlying the refuse were the rotten ceiling timbers showing no trace of fire…The door in the center of the east wall is 2 feet 3 inches wide, 3 feet 4 inches high, with sill 2 feet 2 inches from the floor. This door is of the recessed type, a shoulder of masonry on either side reducing it to a width of 1 foot 10 inches where it opens into Room 46. The blocked door in the south wall has been described under Room 45. The sill is a thin slab of stone which protrudes 2 inches beyond the masonry. In the northeast corner is a recessed diagonal second story doorway leading into Room 48. On the side of Room 47 it is 3 feet wide, dropping to 1 foot 10 inches at the opposite end. The sill is 2 feet 1 inch above the level of the second floor and 14 feet above the first” (Morris1928: 304).

Reference: Earl Morris, 1928, Notes on Excavations in the Aztec Ruin, Volume XXVI, Part V, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1110 to 1140 (Late Chacoan)

Calendar Date: 1140 to 1280 (Post-Chacoan)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Gary Brown

Contributor(s): Lori Reed; Anne Grulich; Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM; Aztec Ruins National Monument

Principal Investigator(s): Laurie Webster

Repository(s): American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY

Notes

Rights & Attribution: Artifact was collected from Aztec West Ruin excavations by Earl Morris between 1916 and 1922. Morris' excavations were sponsored and funded by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Rights & Attribution: High resolution images of the item are archived and available to researchers through the National Park Service, Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Rights & Attribution: Publication or use of the image is restricted; permission may be obtained through consultation with American Museum of Natural History and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Source Collections

Original Item: American Museum of Natural History, New York

Image: NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Related Comparative Collections

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Hibben Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at American Museum of Natural History, New York

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

File Information