Pottery type
Mesa Verde Black-on-White Pottery
Mesa Verde Black-on-White1180 - 1300 A.D.Ancestral Puebloan PotteryKey facts
- Age
- 1180 - 1300 A.D.
- Cultural period
- Ancestral Puebloan Pottery
- Material
- Fine clay with quartz sand temper, slipped to a light gray or white surface. Paint is primarily carbon-based, giving a deep black when well fired; some examples include mineral paint.
Description
Highly refined white ware with a light gray to white slipped surface and dense black organic-paint designs. Decoration features complex geometric layouts, banding, fine hachure, and “coffee-mug” style vessels, bowls, and jars typical of Pueblo III occupation in the Mesa Verde and Northern San Juan region. Many archaeologists consider it one of the most elaborate Ancestral Puebloan ceramic traditions.
Size
Bowls usually 18–30 cm in diameter; mugs often 8–15 cm tall; jars typically 25–40 cm tall. Wall thickness is relatively thin for the size, reflecting careful control in coiling and finishing.
Distribution
Most common in the Northern San Juan and Mesa Verde region of southwestern Colorado and adjacent Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona; also present as trade ware in Chaco Canyon and northern Cibola areas.
Mainly found in
Additional information
Mesa Verde Black-on-White is diagnostic of late Pueblo III sites and is widely used for fine-grained ceramic dating in the Four Corners. It often appears in ritual contexts such as kivas and burials, suggesting both domestic and ceremonial roles.