Ceramic: McElmo Black-on-white (Early style), bowl, AZRU-00001/1001

Summary

McElmo Black-on-white (Early style), bowl, Accession AZRU-00001, Catalog #1001, Morris FS 3792. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2006. Temper is granular igneous rock/sand/shale suggesting bowl was manufactured at Aztec. Bowl is reconstructed with 80% original fragments and 20% unknown paster material. Measurements: 28 cm maximum orifice diameter (warped), 14 cm height. Image AZRU1-1001 A: oblique view of exterior showing shape of bowl, tapered rim, and isolated design below rim. Image AZRU1-1001 B: view of interior showing painted design. Image AZRU1-1001 C: closeup view of interior base showing isolated element. Note: dark colored surface is plaster material reconstruction. Image AZRU1-1001 D: closeup of interior banded design. Note: thin washy white slip typical of Chacoan pottery, but present on McElmo Black-on-white. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Room 145, Aztec West Ruin. Morris’ description of Room 145 states: “The floor of Room 145 was black from long use. In the center was a fire pit…excavated into clean sand…The lowest stratum of the fill was refuse with artifacts that included a copper bell. The surface of the deposit had been smoothed and an adobe floor laid upon it. In the center thereof was a circular fire pit, slightly smaller than the one directly beneath it, and midway between this one and the northeast corner was another, walled with cobblestones” (Morris 1928:393).

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; Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM; Aztec Ruins National Monument

Principal Investigator(s): Lori Reed

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: Property of American Museum of Natural History, New York.

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

Original Item: Housed at 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

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