Estrella Red-on-gray | The Pan-American Ceramics Project

Type: Estrella Red-on-gray

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Name, Origin, Date

Name:

Estrella Red-on-gray

Country/Region:

United States/Southwes...

Date BCE/CE:

500-600 CE

Period:

Pioneer Period (Hohokam)

Earlier/Alternative Names

No information in the cited references.

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General Information

Estrella Red-on-gray was identified as an early painted type of Hohokam Buff Ware (Oppelt 2007:123). It belongs to the Hohokam Buff Ware tradition associated with the Hohokam culture. It dates to approximately 500–600 CE and occurs primarily in the middle Gila River valley and Queen Creek, extending south to the Tucson area (Oppelt 2007:123; American Southwest Virtual Museum).

The temper consists of mica, schist, and quartz, and vessels were constructed by the paddle and anvil method. Vessel forms consist of bowls, which predominate, along with some jars and a few effigies. Surfaces are commonly fire-clouded or sooted and often polished, with mica visible and a generally non-porous finish; Polishing sometimes occurs over...

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Detail Attributes

Morphological Attributes

Shape

Bowls predominate; Som...

Shape Type

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Shape Family

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Functional Category

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Technological Attributes

Fabric Description

Temper: mica, schist, ...

Technological Description

Temper:

Firing
Firing: Neutral to oxi...

Details Attributes

Morphological Attributes
Shape
Bowls predominate; Some Jars; Few Effigies.
Shape Type
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Shape Family
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Functional Category
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Vessel Part Details

Technological Attributes
Fabric Description
Temper: mica, schist, and quartz. Paste color: Typically gray, brown, or gray-brown. Dense.
Technological Description
Temper: Mica, schist and quartz fragments.

Paste Color: Typically gray, brown, or gray-brown; dense.

Construction: Paddle and anvil.

Forms: Bowls predominate; Some Jars; Few Effigies.

Vessel Thickness: No information in cited references.

Surface Finish: Surfaces may be fire-clouded or sooted; many are polished with mica visible on the surface and are non-porous. Some vessels show polishing over the paint, smearing the lines. Red slip is present on some bowls, and incised types are smoothed on the interiors only.

Surface Color: No information in cited references.

Core Color: No information in cited references.

Firing: Neutral to oxidizing atmosphere; Fire clouds common.

Carbon Streak: No information in cited references.

Decoration:
Paint is bright red, dull red, or purplish red, sometimes smeared from polishing and occasionally applied with the finger rather than a brush. Pigments consist of iron oxide mineral paint. Designs are characterized by wide line work and quartered layouts, commonly featuring straight lines, nested chevrons, and hachure. Rare elements include curvilinear scrolls and commas. Bowls are frequently decorated on both interior and exterior, with the primary design field usually on the interior. Trailing lines are absent. Incising is coil-based and regular, occurring primarily on bowls.
Firing
Firing: Neutral to oxidizing atmosphere; Fire clouds common Core Color: No information in cited references. Carbon Streak: No information in cited references.

Form & Finishing Details

Forming Techniques:

Hammering

Primary Finish:

Beating/Paddling

Paddling

Secondary Finish:

Smoothing (wet)

Slip

Smoothing (LH)

Shining/polishing

Decorative Technique (Rice 1987: 144-149):

Painting

Incising

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Related Illustrations 3

Sherds of Estrella Red-on-gray curated by the Center for Archaeology and Society (CAS) at Arizona State University

Sherds of Estrella Red-on-gray curated by the Center for Archaeology and Society (CAS) at Arizona State University

Sherds of Estrella Red-on-gray curated by the Center for Archaeology and Society (CAS) at Arizona State University

Vessels 0

Break Photos 0

Petrographic Samples 0

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Description
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Information provided by the American Southwest Virtual Musuem

Estrella Red-on-gray
Estrella Red-on-gray is the earliest type of Hohokam Buff Ware. This type was produced primarily in the middle Gila River valley and in Queen Creek, but is found as far south as the Tuscon area.

Archaeological Culture: Hohokam<...

Description

Information provided by the American Southwest Virtual Musuem

Estrella Red-on-gray
Estrella Red-on-gray is the earliest type of Hohokam Buff Ware. This type was produced primarily in the middle Gila River valley and in Queen Creek, but is found as far south as the Tuscon area.

Archaeological Culture: Hohokam

Date Range: ca. A.D. 500-600.

Construction: By paddle and anvil.

Firing: In a neutral to oxidizing atmosphere; fire clouds common.

Temper: Mica, schist, and quartz.

Surface Finish: Fire clouded or sooted; many are polished, with mica obvious on the surface; non-porous; incised types smoothed on the interiors only. Red slip is present on some bowls. Polishing is over the paint, smearing the lines, on some vessels

Paste Color: Typically gray, brown, or gray-brown; dense.

Forms: Bowls predominate; some jars; few effigies.

Decoration:

Paint: Bright red, dull red, or purplish red; sometimes smeared from polishing, and some applied with a finger rather than a brush.
Pigments: Iron oxide mineral paint.
Design: Wide line work; quartered layouts with nested straight-line hachure fill and chevrons common; rare small element layouts (curvilinear scrolls and commas). Bowls frequently decorated on both the interior and exterior; primary design field usually the interior. Trailing lines are absent.
Incising: Coil-based; regular and continuous incising (bowls).
Key Traits: Line width greater than 6.0 mm; presence of exterior red slip or wash; polishing over the painted design; coil-based incising; gray or brown paste with fire-clouded surface.

Comparisons: Beyond provenance, Estrella Red-on-grey is essentially indistinguishable from contemporaneous red-on-brown types. Later Sweetwater Red-on-gray has hachure-sectioning and is rarely slipped.

Information provided by Oppelt:2007:123

Estrella Red-on-gray (Ca. AD 500s)
This is the first painted Hohokam Buff Ware type. The designs are done in broad
lines and are usually quartered. Designs are mainly straight lines and nested chevrons.
Some appear to have been applied with the finger. The temper is varying proportions
of mica schist and quartz fragments. Some small bowls have grooved exteriors.
Estrella Red-on-gray was made by the paddle and anvil method and foed in an
oxidizing atmosphere. The forms of this type include bowls and jars and a few
effigies.

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Associated Wares/Ware Families

Ware name:
Hohokam Buff Ware

Date:
AD 500-1375

Period:
Pioneer Period (Hohokam), Colonial Period (Hohokam), Sedentary Period (Hohokam), Classic Period (Hohokam)

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Associated Petrofabrics

—

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Associated Kilns/Workshops

—

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Bibliography
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Museum of Northern Arizona. American Southwest Virtual Museum, 2023. November 1, 2023. https://swvirtualmuseum.nau.edu/wp/

Oppelt, Norman T. Prehistoric Southwest Pottery Types and Wares. Greeley, CO: Oppelt Publications, 2007 , Page 123.

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Discussion/Acknowledgements

The American Southwest Virtual Museum cites from the following sources:

Abbott, David R. (2008) The Process, Location, and History of Hohokam Buff Ware Production: Some Experimental and Analytical Results. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(2):388-397.

Abbott, David R. (2009) Extensive and Long-Term Specialization: Hohokam Ceramic Production in the Phoenix Basin, Arizona.American Antiquity 74(3):531-557.

Deaver, William L. and Cioleck-Torrello, Richard S. (1995) Early Formative Period Chronology for the Tucson Basin. Kiva 60(4):481-529.

Heckman, Robert A., Barbara K. Montgomery, and Stephanie M. Whittlesey. (2000) Prehistoric Painted Pottery of Southeastern Arizona. Technical Series 77. Statistical Research, Inc. Tucson.

Wallace, Henry D. (2004) Update to the Middle Gila Buff Ware Ceramic Sequence. In Hohokam Farming on the Salt River Flood-plain: Refining Models and Analytical Methods, edited by T. Kathleen Henderson, pp. 45-124. Anthropological Papers No. 43. Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson.

This type description was synthesized by Hayden Hollister under the supervision of Andrea Torvinen and Kostalena Michelaki based on the existing literature cited throughout and included in the bibliography on this database record. Andrea and Kostalena should not be the Contributor of this record to the PACP. We are seeking experts who are willing to take on that role and improve this record for future data re-users. If you are interested in participating in the PACP as a Contributor or Regional Editor, then please write to Andrea at atorvine@asu.edu or Kostalena at kmichela@asu.edu.