Ceramic production in the American Southwest /

Pottery from the American Southwest has long been studied for compositional and technological attributes, which provide an extensive database for the analysis of production characteristics, including vessel morphological standardization and household-level production specialization. This collection demonstrates that the organization of production varied spatially and chronologically within the Southwest c.500-1450 CE; use and distribution are not considered. All but two of the essays (the editors' introduction and Barbara Stark's stimulating ethnographically based critique of ceramic standardization) derive from a 1991 Society for American Archaeology symposium. Contributors employ paradigms devised by Cathy Costin or George Pool, a variety of compositional analyses (e.g., petrography and X-ray fluorescence), and statistics. The authors suggest that migration, ethnic diversity, population aggregation, sedentism, residential stability, and regional integration can explicate ceramic similarities or variances. Several essays examine the standardization of raw materials, production techniques, or finished vessels; Stephen Plog and Melissa Hagstrum provide compelling integrative overviews. Many of the contributions are applicable to middle-range archaeological theory. They also offer cross-cultural insights on the socioeconomic contexts of tribes and chiefdoms. Upper-division undergraduates and above. C. C. Kolb; National Endowment for the Humanities