Trends in prehistoric grayware of the American Southwest as represented by the Chaco Canyon assemblage from Basketmaker III to Pueblo III

Abstract

The advent of pottery about A.D. 400 among the ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon marked a cultural shift to a more sedentary lifestyle. Chaco Canyon itself flourished from A.D. 1100 until A.D. 1300 when it fell to a sudden and quick desertion. Its location is not reminiscent of sandy beaches or tall, billowing trees but is a region in Northwestern New Mexico engulfed in arid heat and little water when the summer months arrived. The pottery that comes from this area is as enigmatic as its people but its purpose was paramount for a growing cultural center. Grayware isn't as fancy as the eye-catching painted ware but it is more importantly the foundation from which all other ware types would evolve, and it is this particular ware upon which I will devote my attention. Through intensive research I tend to create a paper that allows for the opportunity to follow the progression of this ware as it adjusts and adapts in an effort to appease a growing Chaco Canyon population from Basketmaker III to Pueblo III.