First posted by C. Dean Wilson 2014

Borger Cordmark refers to pottery exhibiting characteristics similar to types with cordmarked produced and distributed across much of the Great Plains and Woodland areas of the United States and Southern Canada. Borger Cordmark has been identified at sites in the Texas Panhandle along drainages of the Canadian River in components commonly assigned to the Antelope Creek Focus (Perttula and Lintz 1995; Suhms and Jelks 1989). Similar pottery appears to extend into sites in Western Oklahoma. This description is presented here given the probable occurrence of cordmarked pottery in sites along areas of the Canadian River in New Mexico. Pastes tend to be dark gray and brown, orange or reddish color. Sooting and fire clouds are common and indicate their use in cooking. Temper includes quartz, sand, and mica. Crush bone may also occur in the eastern part of the Texas Panhandle (Suhms and Jelks 1989). This type appears to be exclusively represented by wide mouth jars with short vertical necks and gobular bodies. Surfaces are unpolished and bumpy. Vessel size is fairly uniform, and vessel walls tend to be thin. Rims are rounded to flat and may be notched on the outer edge. Exterior surface exhibit cord impressions and in some cases incised and punctated decorations. Cord impressions cover the entire jar exterior. These are oriented vertically across the vessel exterior. In some cases, cordmarks are partly smoothed over and a single deeply incised line or row of fingernail incisions circle the rim junctures. While a description of Borger Cordmaked is included here for a possible reference for cordmaked pottery that seems likely could have originated in villages in the Texas Panhandle, it should be noted that cordmarked forms exhibiting variation indicative of types known have been produced in other regions also could be potentially represented by cordmarked pottery found in sites in New Mexico.

References:
Perttula, Timothy K., and Christopher Lintz
1995 Prehistoric and Protohistoric Ceramics from the Lower Plains, Caprock Canyonland, and Texas Panhandle. In Buelletin of the Texas Archaeological Society Volume 66,

Suhm, Dee Ann and Edward B Jelks
1989 Handbook of Texas Archaeology: Type Descriptins. Prehistoric Ceramics in Texas, edited by T. K. Perttula and Nancy Reese, pp 203-210. The Texas Archaeological Society Special Publication Bulletin 1, Austin.