Date of Completion

2023

Thesis Type

College of Arts and Science Honors

Department

Anthropology

First Advisor

Scott Van Keuren

Keywords

GIS, Ceramics, Archaeology, Southwest, Exchange

Abstract

Pottery was central to the lives of ancient peoples in the American Southwest, having both mundane and special purpose functions. Some ceramic types were widely circulated well beyond where they were crafted. However very little investigation has been done on the processes or paths used to transport pottery within social networks. This project examines the movement of a central fourteenth-century pottery type in east-central Arizona. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I analyze the physical and cultural landscapes in this area to identify possible corridors of human movement between known pottery-creator and -recipient villages. Building on existing knowledge of where pottery is produced, this project will focus needed attention on how ceramics were moved around the landscape and what trails were used to move them in the ancient Southwest.

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