Mimbres Pottery. Production and Distribution

Mimbres-Mogollon people inhabited areas of southwestern New Mexico from approximately A.D. 200–1150, with settlements located primarily in the Gila, Mimbres, and Rio Grande Valleys and immediate adjacent areas. Among the most recognizable of Mimbres cultural traïts is the production of a white-slipped brown-paste ceramic decorated with bold, black, geometric designs. By about A.D. 1000, Mimbres pottery came to be more elaborately decorated with finely executed geomètric designs; in some cases, vessels were decorated with naturalistic motifs of animals, humans, plants, and anthropomorphized figures. This research project examines the production and distribution of Mimbres-Mogollon pottery using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA, NAA) to identify pottery production sites and the movement of pottery throughout the Mimbres and adjacent regions of the American Southwest. Since publication of Gilman et al.’s (1994) seminal study of Mimbres pottery from the American Southwest using NAA, dozens of research projects involving the analyses of Mimbres-Mogollon and Jornada-Mogollon pottery have occurred. Projects have ranged in scale from small (<30) to large (e.g., 100–200 samples). These combined efforts have resulted to date in the analyses of thousands of Mimbres-Mogollon and Jornada-Mogollon ceramics and clays. Very little of this research has been formally published, and until now there has been no comprehensive analysis and interpretation that includes most/all extant NAA data. In addition to hundreds of recent NAA analyses conducted for this project, most extant data generated for earlier Mimbres NAA projects are incorporated into this study. In total, the dataset includes more the 3,600 NAA analyses of pottery and clays obtained from several hundred archaeological sites in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico. Research discussed herein provides—from a chemical perspective—the most accurate and comprehensive interpretation of Mimbres pottery production and distribution to date. Statistical analysis of the NAA dataset resulted in the identification of 35 distinct pottery groups. This finding is in contrast to most previous studies that only identified on average four to six compositional groups. Knowledge of the true group structure allows for a more accurate reconstruction of Mimbres pottery production and distribution and allows for examinations of temporal changes. Ultimately, this research will serve as a basis for archaeologists seeking to examine a broad range of topics related to Mimbres social organization and interaction, gender, and ideology.Els integrants de la cultura Mimbres-Mogollón habitaven zones del sud-oest de Nou Mèxic des d'aproximadament el 200-1150 dC, en assentaments ubicats principalment a les valls de Gila, Mimbres i de Río Grande i les zones adjacents immediates. Entre el trets culturals més característics de la societat Mimbres hi ha la producció d'una ceràmica de pasta marró i d’engalba blanca decorada amb audaços dissenys negres i figures geomètriques. Cap a l'any 1000 dC, la ceràmica Mimbres va arribar a ser més elaborada, decorada amb dissenys geomètrics finament executats. En alguns casos, les peces estaven decorades amb motius naturalistes d'animals, éssers humans, plantes i figures antropomorfiques. Aquest projecte d'investigació analitza la producció i distribució de la ceràmica Mimbres-Mogollon utilitzant l’anàlisi per activació neutrònica instrumental (INAA, NAA), tècnica d’anàlisi química emprada per identificar els llocs de producció de ceràmica i el moviment de la ceràmica a través de les regions de Mimbres i les regions adjacents del sud-oest dels Estats Units. Des de la publicació de Gilman et al. (1994) i el seu estudi acadèmic de la ceràmica Mimbres del sud-oest americà a partir de NAA, s'han produït desenes de projectes de recerca que impliquen l'anàlisi de ceràmiques i argiles de Mimbres-Mogollón i Jornada-Mogollon. Els projectes han oscil•lat en escala des de petits projectes (