Tewa Red and the Puebloan diaspora: The making of Ledbetter Red

Margaret Beck; Sarah Trabert; David V Hill; Matthew E Hill

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.01.036

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Tewa Red and the Puebloan diaspora: The making of Ledbetter Red

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Tewa Red and the Puebloan diaspora: The making of Ledbetter Red

Margaret Beck, Sarah Trabert, David V Hill and Matthew E Hill

Journal of archaeological science, reports, Vol.6, pp.148-159

04/2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.01.036

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Abstract

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Native American potters in the vicinity of the Scott County Pueblo (14SC1) in western Kansas produced a local copy of unpainted Tewa red ware known as Ledbetter Red. We examine the red-slipped unpainted ceramics from 14SC1 and two nearby sites, 14SC304, and 14SC409, using macroscopic data on slip and paste attributes, petrographic data on inclusions, and oxidation data on slip and paste colors to compare Ledbetter Red with Tewa Red and with the ancestral Apache ceramics native to the study area, and also to evaluate differences in Ledbetter Red between sites. Changes in the execution of Ledbetter Red between earlier (14SC1) and later (14SC304 and 14SC409) sites may represent the work of newly arrived Puebloan potters and then their descendants raised in ancestral Plains Apache territory. Although some Tewa Red traits were deemphasized or abandoned in Ledbetter Red over time, the red slip was maintained and actually improved in quality in later examples. The highly visible red color might have been symbolically the most important aspect of Ledbetter Red bowls, reflecting the ethnic and historical complexity of these protohistoric Plains communities. •17th century potters in western Kansas produced a local version of Tewa Red.•The local ceramic pastes resemble nearby clay and Ogallala Formation sand samples.•Earlier examples reflect problems with reproducing the red slip.•The apparent problems with local firing technology were resolved over time.•Polishing and smudging were later deemphasized, but the red slip persisted.

Oxidation analysis

Tewa Red

US Great Plains

US Southwest

Scott County Pueblo

Compositional analysis

Ledbetter Red

Petrographic analysis

Northern Rio Grande

Ceramics

Details

Title: Subtitle: Tewa Red and the Puebloan diaspora: The making of Ledbetter Red
Creators: Margaret Beck - Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, 114 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Sarah Trabert - Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, 455 West Lindsey, Dale Hall Tower 521, Norman, OK 73019, USA
David V Hill - Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, P.O. Box 173362, Campus Box 28, Denver, CO 80217-3362, USA
Matthew E Hill - Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, 114 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of archaeological science, reports, Vol.6, pp.148-159
DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.01.036
ISSN: 2352-409X
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa; DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement, award: 1316758; DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa Social Science Funding Program
Language: English
Date published: 04/2016
Academic Unit: Anthropology
Record Identifier: 9984083852302771

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