Escavada Black-on-white was named and described by Hawley (1934; 1936). The classification of later Pueblo II forms produced in the Cibola region presents a typological dilemma that has not yet been fully resolved. This problem partly stems from the assignment of a wide range of styles indicative of production during the late Pueblo II period (from about A.D. 1000 to 1150) into different types based on variations in design characteristic of types produced during this span (Windes and McKenna 1989). This strategy differs for types defined for contemporary white ware forms produced in many of the other Northern Anasazi regions. For contemporary forms for these other traditions, types such as Mancos Black-on-white defined for the Northern San Juan region and Kwahe’e defined for the Northern Rio Grande region encompass the range of styles used to defined the different Cibola types known to have been produced during the latter part of the Pueblo II period. A recommendation of the 1958 Cibola White Ware conference was that all white ware forms exhibiting late Pueblo II solid decorations in mineral paint should be assigned to Puerco Black-on-white which would then be further sub-divided into Puerco, Escavada Black-on-white varieties based on stylistic differences (Hays-Gilpin and Van Hartesveldt 1998). Windes and McKenna (1989) characterize Escavada Black-on-white as a poorly slipped form of Puerco Black-on-white. Examples assigned to the Puerco Valley variety of this type exhibit porous gray, dark gray or gray-brown pastes indicative of the use of high iron clays and abundant sherd temper (Wilson, Southwest Ceramic Typology Project, 2014).

As described here, Escavada Black-on-white refers to late Pueblo II white wares with designs that are broadly comparable to styles commonly defined for Sosi Black-on-white of the Tusayan tradition. This style is characterized by the use of broad lines, large solid elements, and the absence of line elaborations with combinations of lines and solid elements (Goetze and Mills 1993; Reed 1998). As is the case for Sosi Black-on-white, wide lines are often organized unto a series of rectilinear patterns (Wilson, Southwest Ceramic Typology Project, 2014).