Corrugated Pottery, Technological Style, and Population Movement in the Mimbres Region of the American Southwest

Abstract

An understanding of small-scale population movements is essential to recent research on migration. Consideration of the technological style (processes of manufacture) of pottery, in conjunction with petrographic sourcing analyses, provides means of identifying and interpreting population movements at various scales. Diverse styles characterizes Postclassic Mimbres (A.D. 1150-early 1200s) regional reorganization in southwest New Mexico. One new style, indented corrugated pottery, is similar to northern types. Postclassic assemblages include both roughly and finely made examples, both locally produced. The finely executed vessels were made by migrants from the north and possibly by local potters who learned the northern techniques. The roughly made vessels were produced by local potters who copied the technique. The rough and fine vessels are found in the same contexts, suggesting no spatial or temporal differentiation. Thus in-migration to the eastern Mimbres area involved individuals or small groups who joined a preexisting network, possibly through intermarriage.