Ceramic: Mesa Verde Black-on-white, kiva jar, AZRU1-899

Summary

Mesa Verde Black-on-white, kiva jar, Accession AZRU-00001 Catalog #899. Morris FS 5111. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2011. Temper not examined; not visible on surface. Vessel is 100% complete with about 40% reconstruction with unknown plaster material. Measurements: 11 cm orifice diameter, 23 cm height. Image AZRU1-899 A: side view showing design. Image AZRU1-899 B: view showing orifice and side. Image AZRU1-899 C: view showing painted design on exterior body. Image AZRU1-899 D: oblique view of lower body showing fire cloud and painted design. Image AZRU1-899 E: view showing orifice. Image AZRU1-899 F: view showing orifice. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Room 183, upper floor, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 183 at the time of excavation is as follows. “Conditions as observed in this room reveal the following sequence of events: The fill between the lower and middle floor contained wares made and used by the builders of the ruin. After the earlier use the chamber was remodeled, apparently making of it a rectangular kiva. At least they gave it three of the most essential features of this sort of chamber; a central fireplace, a deflector, and a ventilator at the south side. While the room thus equipped was in use, burials were made in the corners. After a second abandonment during which 2½ feet of debris accumulated in it, it was again re-floored and re-occupied, seemingly for a brief period. Judging from the number and nature of the objects scattered upon the ultimate floor, the final abandonment came at the close of inhabitation of the ruin as a whole” (Morris 1928:403). 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): Anne Grulich; Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM

Principal Investigator(s): Lori Reed

Repository(s): Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM; American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY

Notes

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.

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.

Source Collections

Original Items: American Museum of Natural History, New York, and NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

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

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