Ceramic: Mesa Verde Black-on-white, olla, AZRU1-902

Mesa Verde Black-on-white, olla, Accession AZRU-00001 Catalog #902. Morris FS 5427. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2011. Sherd temper suggests vessel was produced in the Central Mesa Verde region. Vessel is 100% complete with about 40% reconstruction with unknown plaster material. Measurements: 7 cm orifice diameter, 29 cm height. Image AZRU1-902 A: closeup view showing painted design. Image AZRU1-902 B: closeup view of painted design. Image AZRU1-902 C: side view showing shape of olla. Image AZRU1-902 D: view showing location of handle. Image AZRU1-902 E: top view showing orifice, shape of olla, and handles. Image AZRU1-902 F: top view showing orifice, shape of olla, and handles. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Room 185, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 185 at the time of excavation is as follows. “…. two feet of a very hard and compact light colored earth on a floor level that showed practically no signs of use. A refuse layer was above this and the first storey roof remains above that. The only doorway was a T-shaped door in the east wall.” (Morris 1928:409) Reference: Earl Morris, 1928, Notes on Excavations in the Aztec Ruin, Volume XXVI, Part V, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.