Ceramic: Mesa Verde Black-on-white, mug, AZRU1-893

Mesa Verde Black-on-white, mug, Accession AZRU-00001 Catalog #893. Morris FS 5176. CULTURALLY SENSITIVE: NAGPRA ARTIFACT; ACCESS RESTRICTED. Analyzed by Lori Reed 2011. Temper is granular igneous rock and sherd suggesting manufacture at Aztec. Wear pattern on front of mug opposite handle suggests mug was used for scooping. Vessel is 100% complete. Measurements: 5.7 x 5.3 cm orifice dimensions, 8 cm height. Image AZRU1-893 A: top view showing orifice and rim design. Image AZRU1-893 B: top view showing orifice and rim design. Image AZRU1-893 C: base view. Image AZRU1-893 D: side of base showing abrasion from use as a scoop. Image AZRU1-893 E: side of base showing abrasion from use as a scoop. Image AZRU1-893 F: side view showing design. Image AZRU1-893 G: front view showing scoop wear at rim. Image AZRU1-893 H: side view showing design. Image AZRU1-893 I: handle view showing kokopelli design. Recovered from Earl Morris excavation of Kiva A.7, Burial 139 Aztec West Ruin Annex. Earl Morris’ (1924:247-248) description of Kiva A.7 at the time of excavation is as follows: “This kiva was merely a cylindrical pit unlined with masonry. Adobe plaster had been applied directly to the well-smoothed banks of the excavation. The diameter was 11 feet and it was 10 feet 3 inches from the floor to the surface of the mound at the north or highest side…No deflector or fireplace could be found. Under the floor was 1 foot of mixed earth containing some refuse, but there was no evidence of a used floor underneath it. The banks of the pit were of natural soil, hence it is evident that this earth was carried in for the express purpose of raising the floor level. Refuse completely filled the chamber and extended to the surface of the mound. It was coarse, containing many fire-broken stones, numerous deer and turkey bones, and many potsherds…”
Reference: Earl Morris, 1924, Burials in the Aztec Ruin and the Aztec Ruin Annex, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History Vol. XXVI, Parts III and IV, American Museum of Natural History, New York.