Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

The Final Years 239most often with great houses, it never exceeds 1percent of the ceramic assemblages (H. Toll andMcKenna 1997:334). The quality of its craftsmanshipand its striking appearance may often lead to enhancedsignificance; for example, Neitzel and Bishop (1990:69) suggested that it may represent an elite possession.Chaco McElmo Black-an-white marks not onlythe shift to carbon paint, but also a change in designsand their execution. This introduction of carbonpaintedpottery was considered by some investigatorsto be an indication of influences entering Chaco fromthe north (e.g., Gordon Vivian and Mathews [1965],Who included sherds of this type in their McElmoBlack-on-white category). It is considered similar tothe McElmo Black-an-white of the Mesa Verde series,with which it can easily be confused. Dates of usespan the period from A.D. 1100 to 1150.McElmo Black-on-white sherds from the ChacoProject were often classified under the Pueblo II­Pueblo III (PH-PIlI) carbon-an-white category (H.Toll and McKenna 1997:377), which dates to approximatelyA.D. 1075 through 1300. Tighter datesfor McElmo Black-on-white are A.D. 1125 to 1225(H. Toll et al. 1980:Figure 2).Mesa Verde Black-an-white is a distinct type inChaco Canyon that dates from A.D. 1200 through1300. It is not an import from Mesa Verde, however.Temper studies suggest that some vessels (26 percent)were made locally; some (7 percent) in the ChuskaMountains; and some (SO percent) along the San JuanRiver (H. Toll and McKenna 1997:392).The detailed ceramic analysis from 29SJ633 ledMcKenna and Toll (1991) to reaffirm their placementof29SJ633 in a continuum within the regionally basedceramic attributes, even though there are some fundamentaldifferences between the Mesa Verde Black-onwhiteand the Pueblo II-III carbon-an-white ceramicsfrom the earlier period. During the later period, decoratingsystems changed; motifs decreased in number;and placement of bands around the rims as parallelframers became prevalent. Temper analysis revealedthat ceramics from 29SJ633 were similar to types atother sites in the canyon with regard to the primarypresence of sandstone or quartz sand. Trachyte temperfrom the Chuska Mountains was also present, butin a smaller proportion of the sherds than the igneoustempers from the San Juan area, which was thepredominant nonlocal temper material found in thecarbon-painted ceramics. Through time there was amarked change in rim form from tapered to flat tobeveled. By the late A.D. 1100s and early A.D.1200s, the presence of Socorro Black-on-white bowls,pitchers, andjars suggested that specific sets offormswere being obtained from the south. McKenna andToll (1991) indicate that none of the ceramicassemblages were exclusively used or deposited assets; a variety of vessel forms were imported fromdifferent areas. Although there was a continuum inthe diversity of pottery types, sources 7 and forms,there was a decline in the variety of forms throughtime, which possibly indicates increased seasonal useof the site during the Mesa Verde phase. Bowls andpersonal-service items such as ladles, mugs, andcooking jars were the only forms found among thedecorated sherds.This analysis suggested a shift in the center of aregional system from Chaco Canyon to the San Juanarea instead of a distinct migration of northern peopleinto Chaco Canyon after an abandonment.... we have shown that considerableamounts of pottery were still being movedinto Chaco Canyon although it is not clearif this was the result of the nature of ChacoCanyon or the nature of pottery as a commodityper se.... The complementary natureof decorated and utility wares in theseries that makes up the late assemblagesuggests that ceramics were not acquired asrandom additions but were selected forspecified functions. The level of imports,the continuity in sources with past assemblages,and the technological compensationsundertaken with the decline inChuskan grayware all suggest a regionalsystem adjusting to changing conditionsbut enduring. Our view regarding somefusion of Chacoan and San Juan traditionsfor this assemblage still holds. The assemblageis sufficiently similar to earlier andcontemporary complexes to suggest thathuman occupation encompassed a varietyof ceramically related activities thatcontinued for an indeterminate time.(McKenna and Toll 1991:205)