Ceramic Compositional Analysis to Trace Extensive Cultural Interaction

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

This project conducts research to study pottery production and trade at an Chaco Canyon. Chaco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important anthropological case study in the socioeconomic organization of pre-state societies. Much remains unknown about the configuration of Chaco’s exchange network, which funneled materials from abroad geographical region into the canyon. The major contribution of this research is addressing a critical gap in the current understanding of the role of pottery in maintaining this network. Pottery-making is still an important activity to many relevant descendant communities. By incorporating the expertise and perspectives of traditional Pueblo potters, this project serves as an example of how significant scientific archaeological research can not only be successfully conducted in a minimal-impact manner that is aligned with the values of descendant tribes, but also produce richer and more meaningful results by incorporating aspects of traditional Indigenous knowledge. The beneficial outcomes of the research also include providing important scientific training opportunities for students, thereby helping them to advance along their STEM career paths, as well as providing a framework within which an early career PI can form important contacts and relationships with members of Indigenous communities ancestrally affiliated with her area of research, allowing her to better align her work with their concerns and interests. While some types of pottery were clearly imported into Chaco Canyon, the precise production location of Cibola Wares is unknown; these wares constitute the majority of ceramic artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in Chaco Canyon, representing tens of thousands of vessels, at a minimum. Based on the geographic distribution of Cibola pottery, its possible production area encompasses 30,000 square miles. Given the scarcity of archaeological evidence in the canyon for significant ceramic manufacture, the widespread default assumption among researchers is that most, if not all, of the Cibola pottery was produced outside the canyon. However, this assumption has not been adequately tested, leaving unresolved a question that reflects directly on the economic support of the canyon and the nature of relationships between the canyon and the other communities comprising the Chaco system. The PI resolves this important issue through a program of compositional analysis, involving both Neutron Activation Analysis and Electron Microprobe Analysis, of Cibola ceramics from 36 large Chacoan sites (‘great houses’), both in the canyon itself and those in Chaco’s interaction and exchange sphere. This study represents the first large-scale instrumental compositional study aimed at Cibola ceramics from this period, significantly advances knowledge of the role ceramic circulation played in the organization of Chacoan society, and creates a large compositional reference database that can be used by future researchers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.