Ceramic: Aztec Black, bowl, AMNH29.0/8701

Aztec Black, bowl, Accession 29.0, Catalog #8701. Morris FS 2192. CULTURALLY SENSITIVE: NAGPRA ARTIFACT; ACCESS RESTRICTED. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2004. Temper not analyzed, not visible. Although temper could not be examined, the polish, color, and corrugations are similar to other vessels classified as Aztec Black. Bowl restored with unknown adhesive; 100% complete with 10% reconstruction with unknown plaster material. Measurements: 24.5 cm orifice diameter; 11 cm height. Image AMNH29-8701 A: exterior view showing corrugation pattern at the rim. Image AMNH29-8701 B: interior view showing high polish (dull gray patches are reconstructed areas with unknown material). Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Room 111, Grave 25, Aztec West Ruin. Morris found that “Refuse had been poured into Room 111 through a stair tunnel, presumably like that described under Room 92, in the west end of the south wall. Directly beneath the opening the accumulation was 4 feet deep, sloping down to 2 ½ feet at the northwest corner, and 1 ½ feet across the east end…The wares from the refuse deposit were of Chaco type, but the majority of the vessels from the burial level were clearly and distinctly later. However, there were some possessing characters distinctive of both periods and the largest proportion of black Tularosa ware which has been observed in the entire ruin. A thick pine log had been set into the refuse 5 feet from the west wall and 2½ feet from the south, as if to hold up the south end of the western ceiling support” (Morris 1928:355). 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.