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Sourcing little Colorado white ware: A regional approach to the compositional analysis of prehistoric ceramics
Author(s) -
Douglass Amy A.,
Schaller David M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.3340080302
Subject(s) - hopi , butte , prehistory , archaeology , petrography , white (mutation) , geology , ethnoarchaeology , provenance , geography , archaeological science , mineralogy , geochemistry , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
Little Colorado White Ware (LCWW) is a decorated black‐on‐white ceramic constructed by the Anasazi in the southwestern United States from approximately A. D. 1050 to 1250. LCWW potsherds are found in archaeological sites located throughout the Little Colorado River valley of northern Arizona. Two major volcanic fields which are located on opposite sides of the Little Colorado River, the San Francisco Peaks in the west and the Hopi Buttes in the east, have been proposed as source areas for LCWW production. Petrographic, X‐ray diffraction, and electron microprobe analyses of this ware's raw material constituents and geologic samples indicate that LCWW could only have been produced in the Hopi Buttes area. This study is presented as an example of a research design whose sample size, geographic scale, and methodologies can be effective in determining the source of prehistoric ceramics from the southwestern United States and elsewhere. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.