For a discussion of the initial description and refinement of the Cortez type by Leland Abel in 1955, based on pottery from the Chapin Mesa survey by Al Lancaster 1950-1954, see Hayes and Lancaster (114). A close reanalysis by Art
Rohn, reported in 1959, amplified the description and confirmed the type. It was further defined at Badger House, which had a huge, stratified Cortez deposit of 15 whole vessels and over 7000 sherds
(Hayes and
Lancaster:114).
At the Badger House type-site, Cortez was separated from Mancos “almost entirely by design alone. . .
No consistent differences in shape, temper, surface finish, or paint could be demonstrated within the type or between Cortez. . .and Mancos Black-on-white”
(Hayes and
Lancaster:114). This type-site observation suggests that caution is called for in distinguishing P II pottery. A type which is identified from a few sites in a rather limited area can be expected to have different properties and perhaps different time implications elsewhere.
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