Mesa Verde Corrugated

The following are some representative examples of Mesa Verde Corrugated sherds:

       

(Click on image to enlarge.)
Type Sherd Provenience Info

Type site:

Mesa Verde N.P.: Site 625, Cliff Palace; Site 640, Spruce Tree House; Site1229, Mug House. La Plata district: Sites 39 and 41 (Breternitz et al: 22)

Dating:

Pueblo III. AD 1100-1300.
In association with McElmo and Mesa Verde Black-on-white.

Temper:

Crushed igneous rock, rarely with sand or sherd (Breternitz et al:21). 
At Mug House, fine clay paste tempered with ‘relatively coarse’ crushed 
     igneous, quartz, and sandstone (Rohn:131).

Shape:

Wide-mouthed jars with no neck area. Height close to diameter. Walls taper 
     inward from a low widest-diameter point, often at one-third of the vessel 
     height. Mouth diameter much less than body diameter. Bottom: rounded. 

Rim: 

At least two fillets, usually more, built up to create broad rim (Rohn:133)
Sharp outward flare from narrowest part of neck, usually where corrugation 
     and fillet join, but often above or below (Rohn:133). Rim surface often 
     entirely upward-facing.

Paint:

Occasional carbon paint on rim interior (Breternitz et al:23).

Decoration:

Unaligned or vertically-aligned indentations most common.
Some examples of diagonal ridging (ordinarily characteristic of PII) but diagonal 
     marks over corrugations rare (Rohn:133).
Diagonal alignment ‘common’ but not created by incising or impressing 
     (Cattenach:220).
Corrugation running all the way to rim are characteristic of P III (Rohn:133).
Numerous variations include bands of unindented coils, change in direction of 
     diagonal patterning; pairs of coiled appliqués are common (Rohn:135).

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