Pottery type
Numic Ware
Numic Ware500 – 1800 A.D.Great Basin PotteryKey facts
- Age
- 500 – 1800 A.D.
- Cultural period
- Great Basin Pottery
- Material
- Coarse sandy clay tempered with grit or crushed rock. Surfaces are usually only lightly smoothed, and vessels are low-fired, producing brown to dark gray colors.
Description
Numic Ware refers to the late prehistoric and early historic pottery traditions of Numic-speaking peoples (Ute, Paiute, Shoshone) across the Great Basin and surrounding regions. Vessels are generally small, globular cooking pots with rounded bases, plain surfaces, and simple, slightly thickened rims. Decoration is rare; at most, vessels may have light smoothing or faint paddle impressions.
Size
Typical vessels measure 12–24 cm tall, with rim diameters around 12–20 cm. Walls are fairly thick, averaging 7–12 mm.
Distribution
Occurs broadly across the Great Basin and surrounding areas including central Nevada, western Utah, southern Idaho, and eastern California.
Mainly found in
Additional information
Numic ceramics were utilitarian and often casually made, reflecting mobile lifeways. Pottery was gradually replaced by basketry and metal cookware after European contact.