Posted by C. Dean Wilson 2018

Pottery assigned to this group appear to reflect fairly a widely distributed but poorly defined utility ware that appears to have been produced from the proto-historic and well into the historic period (Kidder 1936). Pottery assigned to this category reflect the distribution of jars with unpolished exteriors and polished and often smudged interiors. Pottery exhibiting such characteristics appear to fairly common in both Northern Rio Grande Pueblo and Hispanic assemblages dating to the early Colonial period but their occurrence appears to have been often lost by their placement into very broadly gray or smudged ware groups. This category as described here reflects pottery with poorly local alluvial sand temper similar to that described for the Plain Polished Red. In contrast to Plain Red, Shepard's examination of temper for Plain Black Ware from Pecos Pueblo indicates that about half was tempered with sand and half with fine tuff indicating that only half of the polished black wares examined were locally produced at Pecos. Pastes and surfaces are often dark gray to black but may be gray, brown or tan. Exterior surface are smoothed, unpolished, very rough, with occasional striations. Interiors are always slightly to moderately polished, and often black, reflecting smudging over an unslipped surface. Vessel forms are almost always represented by wide-mouth or cooking jars with moderate rim eversion.

References:
Kidder, Alfred V.
1936 The Pottey of Peocs, Volume II Glaze Paint, Culinary, and Other Wares. Papers of the Phillips Academy No.7, New Haven.

Related Photos

Pecos Valley Plain Polished/Smudged Utility sherds

Pecos Valley Plain Polished/Smudged Utility sherds (interior surface)