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Sherds

An Experiment.—Since sherds of certain types possess the
property of fracturing more easily than those of other types, and since
sherds from loci where there has been unusual weight, pressure, or

Table 2
ROOM AND KIVA SHERD PERCENTAGES

other physical disturbance may have broken into smaller fragments,
there is perhaps a possibility that percentage differences under some
circumstances might be deceptive. A priori, it seems plausible that
when dealing with large samples the cancellation of plus and minus
factors would obviate these difficulties, but I know of no empirical
examination of the question. As a small test, C. T. R. Bohannon
suggested that relative weights might be tried. We were aware, of
course, that using weights would bring other irrelevancies and difficulties
into the picture, but the experiment seemed, nevertheless,
worth trying. Time and the pressure of other duties did not permit us
to carry the experiment to a satisfactory conclusion, but the simple
facts on samples of 8 pottery types are presented for whatever of
interest, stimulation, or amusement they may induce:

             

Pottery Type	Number of Sherds	Weight in Ounces	Relative Weight in Ounces per 100 Sherds
Exuberant	834	359	43.0
Escavada	595	200	33.6
Lino	435	131	30.1
Red Mesa	276	90	32.6
Gallup	194	92	47.4
McElmo	75	32	42.6

(Sherds came from various quarters of the excavation and all were
soaked overnight in water to equalize saturation.) It will be evident
that in some situations rank order taken by weight and by percentage
could be expected to be different.

Sherd Percentages.—The evidence is given in Table 2,[4] but since
the table is very compact, some analysis is perhaps called for.

The outstanding contrast with the sherd data from the refuse
mound is probably the position of Lino. As Dr. Hawley pointed out,
Lino is there the numerically ranking type at all levels examined,
although appreciably more predominant in the lower levels. In the
rooms and kivas, however, Lino is in majority at floor level only in
room 10 and kiva 2 and in the fill of rooms 9 and 23 (sub). It is
second ranking type at floor level in rooms 21 and 22 (sub) and kivas
5 and 6; also in the fill of rooms 16 (super) and 18 and of kivas
1 and 2. We note, however, that it is unequivocally predominant at

the 3′ to 6′ sub-floor level in rooms 1 and 3 and the ranking type at the
0-3′ sub-floor level of rooms 3, 4, and 7, and kivas 3 and 4 (and a
close second at this level in rooms 1, 2, and 8). One simple generalization
can be made with confidence: as one descends to the lower
levels in the northern portion of Bc 51 (and the adjacent refuse
mound) Lino rises sharply and unmistakably in prominence. It seems
plausible to connect this fact with the hypothesis that the Lino Gray
and Lino Fugitive Red pottery types were those manufactured in
greatest quantity by the pithouse dwellers.

In the rooms and kivas the ranking position is taken by another
utility ware, Exuberant Corrugated, which is in majority at floor
level in all save rooms 7, 10, 15, 20, 22 (super), 23 (super) and kivas
2 and 6, and in about an equal number of the fills. Escavada is the
most prominent painted type, having the ranking percentage at floor
level in 4 rooms and 2 kivas and in the fill of 4 rooms and 1 kiva
and being second at floor level in 3 rooms and 1 kiva and in the fill
of 10 rooms and 3 kivas. Red Mesa is distinctly less prominent than
in Bc 50, for it is first only in one sub-floor level and in the fill of one
room, and at floor level appears in the 2nd and 3rd categories but
3 times. Gallup runs more frequently than Red Mesa in the 3rd and
4th brackets but, in contrast to Bc 50, never attains 1st place.

No single floor level can be assigned to a Red Mesa pottery complex.
Almost without qualification, the rooms and kivas are characterized
by that pottery complex of which Exuberant and Escavada
are the outstanding types, while sub-floor levels show a consistent
rise in percentage of Lino and (in many cases) of Red Mesa. The
only putatively trade wares found, which have not been discussed
or referred to by Dr. Hawley,[5] are Deadman's Black on White,[6] and
Puerco Black on White.[7]

Sherd evidence affords no unequivocal indications as to relative
age of the various rooms and kivas, though possibly a somewhat
greater age of kiva 5 may be indicated by the absence of Gallup and
other putatively late types in significant percentages. It is noteworthy
that the pottery complexes of the substructure are hardly distinguishable
from those of upper rooms, generally. The rise of Red Mesa to
2nd place at floor level and of Lino to 1st in floor fill of room 23 (sub)
prompted investigation, but the use of the chi-squared test of significance
gave odds of less than 1 in 3 that the difference was meaningful.
Similarly, there is no statistical warrant for taking the position of
Lino in rooms 9 and 10 and in kiva 2 very seriously. (The samples
in room 9 and kiva 2 are so small that, in any case, inference would be

hazardous in the extreme). Wall sherd data (unfortunately very
limited) does not change the general picture.

Careful study of percentages by levels indicated a probably significant
rise in Gallup in the upper levels (and also in the northern
as opposed to the southern rooms of the ruin). Although found at
floor and sub-floor levels associated with Red Mesa, Gallup is definitely
more prominent at surface or near surface levels. For example the
17 sherds in the firepit to the southwest of the surface of kiva 2 gave:
Gallup, 59; Chaco Corrugated, 23; Exuberant, 12; Deadman's Black
on Red, 6. Similarly, though less consistently, Chaco Black on White
and Chaco Corrugated bulk larger in the northern area and in levels
nearer the surface.

Analyzing the fill by levels and taking a pottery complex as
defined by the three most numerous types, 90 per cent of the complexes
by levels are made up of varying permutations of these types: Exuberant,
Escavada, Lino, Gallup, Red Mesa (with Exuberant present in
some position in more than 95 per cent of instances). Into roughly 10
per cent of the complexes by levels one of the following enters: McElmo,
Wingate Black on Red, Chaco Corrugated, Sunset Red, Chaco
Black on White, Kana-a Black on White, La Plata Black on White.

In the sum, the data of Table 2 affords some confirmation of the
general stratigraphic sequence of the Lino, Red Mesa, and Escavada
pottery complexes posited in Part I, Section A, but suggest that the
period when floor and room and kiva fill sherds accumulated fell within
the ascendancy of the Escavada complex. The evidence indicates
considerable trade.