Pottery type
Gila Polychrome Pottery
Gila Polychrome1300 - 1450 A.D.Salado / Roosevelt Red WareKey facts
- Age
- 1300 - 1450 A.D.
- Cultural period
- Salado / Roosevelt Red Ware
- Material
- Brown to reddish-brown paste with sand temper. Surfaces typically include red slip on one or both surfaces, with broad panels of white or cream slip used as design fields. Painted decoration is primarily black organic paint, sometimes with red slip used both as background and design element.
Description
The most widespread Roosevelt Red Ware type. Vessels combine red, white/cream, and black in bold, visually complex designs. Bowl interiors typically have a distinctive banding line (“lifeline”) just below the rim, with panels of scrolls, keys, hatched triangles, and maze-like motifs below. Jars exhibit broad vertical or diagonal bands of white slip with black designs, separated by red-slipped areas. Both bowls and jars are common, and effigy forms also occur.
Size
Bowls generally 18–32 cm in rim diameter and 10–18 cm deep, sometimes larger. Jars and ollas usually 24–40 cm tall with rim diameters of 14–26 cm. Effigy vessels range widely, often 10–25 cm in height.
Distribution
Found almost everywhere south of the Mogollon Rim, with concentrations in the Roosevelt Basin, Tonto Basin, Gila Basin, Verde Valley, San Pedro Valley, and areas around Globe and Safford. Also reported near Winslow, Ajo, Gila Bend, Nogales, El Paso, and Casas Grandes.
Mainly found in
Additional information
Gila Polychrome developed out of Pinto Polychrome and became the dominant Salado type across much of the southern Southwest. It occurs in pueblos, cliff dwellings, and open villages, and is critical for dating Classic-period Salado sites, especially in the Tonto Basin and Upper Gila region.