Event Information
Join Aztec Ruins for their final Sip and Speak event of 2023! The program will feature an evening talk by park archaeologist, Lori Stephens. From 6:30-8:00 p.m. you can enjoy the lecture, watch pottery demonstrations, and roam around Aztec Ruins as the sun goes down. Don't forget, ticket price includes a pour of our limited edition Aztec Centennial Ale!
Aztec Black Pottery and Chacoan Identity:
"It is well known that Ancestral Pueblo potters in the Aztec Ruins vicinity made decorated black-on-white pottery and gray ware cooking pots. Contrary to this conventional wisdom, there is a small number of unique black pottery pieces that were made by Aztec community potters in the early AD 1200s. Most of these items were collected by Earl Morris during his early 20th century excavations in Aztec West, but since that time additional pots have been identified in the collections or found during other archaeological projects at the site. Earl Morris originally identified these black pots as coming from the Mogollon region to south as trade ware, but in the late 1980s archaeologist Peter McKenna suggested that some of them were locally made. During the 2009 analysis of pottery from test excavations in Aztec West, I identified several more pots and fragments that fit McKenna’s description of the locally made pieces. Michelle Turner and I are currently collaborating on research to identify and analyze all the Aztec Black items from the park, look at the spatial distribution of the pottery, explore its role in continuing and revitalizing Chacoan identify at Aztec West, and incorporate descendent community perspectives from Hopi archaeologist Lyle Balenquah. In this presentation, I will discuss this continuing research, explain the unique Aztec Black pottery style and technology, talk about our initial observations and interpretations, and how we are moving forward in collaboration with Lyle Balenquah."
All proceeds will benefit the non-profit organization the Chaco Culture Conservancy. Tickets are available for on-line purchase.
