“Sourcing Clays and Finding Potters” Lecture by WNMU Museum Director

Artifacts from the WNMU Museum collections

© Western New Mexico University

Loading Map....

Date/Time
Date(s) - 07/14/2022
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Add event to your calendar

Location
Light Hall Auditorium
1000 W. College Avenue - Silver City, NM


As part of the Silver City CLAY Festival, there will be two Lectures on the Mimbres Culture on July 14, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Where: Light Hall Auditorium Register in advance to attend virtually HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Sourcing Clays and Finding Potters, Danni Romero, WNMU Museum Director

Neutron Activation Analysis is a clay sourcing technique that has allowed archaeologists to pinpoint various prehistoric ceramic production centers in the Mimbres Valley. As vessels are being grouped by their production locale, certain design patterns and similarities are becoming more apparent pointing to individual potters or potting families that share design attributes. This talk will focus on the ceramics from the Elk Ridge site, a large Classic period pueblo, to discuss the movement of vessels to and from the site as well as a distinct style seen on bowls produced at the site.

Feather Imagery in Mimbres Pottery. Christopher D. Adams, East Zone Archaeologist, Black Range & Wilderness Ranger Districts; Gila National Forest, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

The importance of birds during the Mimbres Classic period is unique and this could be a ritual value, when observing the bird imagery on Mimbres pottery. Painted bird feather designs along with whole bird imagery have been observed on Classic Mimbres pottery but this imagery is very selective and not as common in the Mimbres pottery world. Examples of turkeys, raptors, macaws, other birds, along with possible prayer bundles, and personal adornment will be the examined during this presentation. This talk will feature Mimbres pottery examples from the NAN Ranch collection, select Mimbres sites from the Gila National Forest and a few examples from private collections.

Christopher Adams has been with the U.S. Forest Service for 26 years as a professional archaeologist and has been working in southwestern archaeology for well over 35+ years. Mr. Adams has been working in the Mimbres area for well over 15 years on numerous projects. His specialty is the Spanish Colonial Period and the Apache Indian War Period in the Southwestern U.S.A.

Submit Feedback