White Mound Black-on-White

United States/Southwest/Southern Colorado Plateau

c. 700-900 A.D.

Pueblo I Period

Earlier/Alternative Names

Morphological Attributes

Bowls, jars and effigies.

—

—

—

Technological Attributes

Light gray with a coarse sand temper

From the American Southwest Virtual Museum:

Temper: Coarse quartz sand, possibly crushed sandstone.

Surface Finish: Rough or smoothed but gritty, not polished, not slipped, temper protruding. Exteriors are scraped and have conspicuous grooves and pits.

Surface Color: Buff through yellowish red.

Decoration:

Paint: Black to dark brown mineral paint.
Pigments: Iron-based.
Design: The most frequent motif consists of nested chevrons outlining solid triangles pendent from the rim. Other arrangements of solid triangles, as well as checkerboards and occasional bold cross-ticked lines (railroad tracks, barbed wire) are common. Designs tend to follow the rim rather than run from rim to center. Lines frequently over carry at intersections. Sullivan (1984:79) states: “Designs are executed in narrow width lines (generally 1-2mm) that are not elaborated. The banded design layout always contains solid design elements.” Human figures with solid bodies and small, simple appendages are an infrequent but regularly occurring element. They often hold hands, forming a band around the bowl interior. Sometimes bowl exteriors are decorated. A solid line is always painted directly on the rim.

In a neutral to reducing atmosphere