Lines of Communication: Mimbres Hachure and Concepts of Color

Abstract

Turquoise has played an important role in the Southwest, both today and in the distant past. Increasingly, archaeologists are coming to appreciate that the mineral was likely valued for its symbolism, rather than its chemical properties or economic worth. Thus, the color blue-green and a variety of blue-green things may have been conceptually analogous, together referencing and petitioning moisture. J. J. Brody recognized that additional symbols, while not themselves blue-green, may have likewise belonged to this blue-green complex. Over a decade ago, and while testing Brody's hypothesis, Stephen Plog convincingly argued that black-on-white hachure in Gallup-Dogoszhi pottery served as a proxy for blue-green. Here, we ask whether Mimbres artists incorporated the same symbolism. Findings suggest that Mimbres hachure was likely representative of color but not necessarily blue-green. In fact, it may have referenced yellow. Yellow and blue are often paired among the Pueblos, and interregional differences in the meaning of hachure may relate to interregional complementarity.

Reading between the Lines: The Social Value of Dogoszhi Style in the Chaco World

“…The widespread use of Dogoszhi style on cylinder jars reinforces its potential significance (e.g., Crown and Wills 2003), but it was also used on a large number of other forms in daily use-such as serving bowls, pitchers, and jars. Hachure designs may even have symbolic significance in ceramic traditions outside the Chaco World (Russell et al 2017). The sudden Hayes and Lancaster (1975:124, 130).…”

“…The widespread use of Dogoszhi style on cylinder jars reinforces its potential significance (e.g., Crown and Wills 2003), but it was also used on a large number of other forms in daily use—such as serving bowls, pitchers, and jars. Hachure designs may even have symbolic significance in ceramic traditions outside the Chaco World (Russell et al 2017). The sudden proliferation of Dogoszhi-style ceramics coinciding with major growth of other material indicators of the Chaco World and the potential symbolic importance of hachure designs on ceramic vessels are potential evidence favoring arguments for Dogoszhi as an elite style.…”

The Social Significance of Mimbres Painted Pottery in the U.S. Southwest

“…Palabres clave: arqueología del Suroeste, Mimbres, diseños de la cerámica, organización social, análisis estilístico, fronteridades sociales, tenencia de la tierra M imbres pottery from the U.S. Southwest, especially its spectacular painted designs, is the subject of numerous American Antiquity articles and other publications. Mimbres designs sometimes depict animals in realistic detail, such as scarlet macaws and female pronghorn (Creel and McKusick 1994;Russell et al 2018), and transformational creatures such as birds with fish tails (Trask and Russell 2011). They also depict humans of recognizable sex and gender engaged in various activities (Munson 2000), as well as Mesoamerican iconography (Gilman et al 2014;Shafer 2010).…”