Pottery type
Great Salt Lake Gray Ware
Great Salt Lake Gray Ware300 - 1300 A.D.Fremont PotteryKey facts
- Age
- 300 - 1300 A.D.
- Cultural period
- Fremont Pottery
- Material
- Clay tempered with sand or crushed rock; surfaces smoothed and fired to gray tones typical of Fremont gray wares.
Description
Great Salt Lake Gray Ware is a Fremont pottery type characterized by gray to gray-brown surfaces and relatively hard, compact paste. Vessel forms include jars and bowls with rounded bases and simple rims; some examples exhibit painted or incised decoration, but many are plain. Surfaces are usually smoothed, sometimes with light polishing, and colors reflect firing in a reducing or variable atmosphere.
Size
Vessels commonly range from about 140 to 280 mm in diameter and 140 to 260 mm in height, with wall thickness around 5 to 9 mm.
Distribution
Centered around the Great Salt Lake and northern Utah valleys, with distribution into adjacent portions of Nevada, Idaho, and western Wyoming where Fremont groups ranged.
Additional information
Great Salt Lake Gray Ware is diagnostic of Fremont occupation in the eastern Great Basin and Wasatch Front region. It often occurs with Fremont pithouse villages, granaries, and rock art, making it a key cultural marker.