By Rebecca Olsen
Even in prehistoric times pottery decoration was an intellectual art. The women of the ancient western Anasazi were the experts, and their work is displayed right here on campus.
“Rise up from Fragments” is currently on exhibition at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures. It features pottery and other artifacts from the western Anasazi people during A.D. 1050 – 1250, also known as the Late Pueblo II to Early Pueblo III periods.
The pottery teaches much about the ancient culture.
“We learn that they were making the pottery locally and were using similar patterns,” said Glenna Nielsen, curator at the museum. ” They had the same way of making pots and were teaching each other and passing it on to the next generation.”
The western Anasazi artisans, most commonly women, painted both organic and mineral pigments onto the clay using the fibers of the Yucca plant. Every detail and decoration required time and thought. Decorated pots were not common, and in fact made up between 35-40 percent of pottery found in a given site today. These fine wares had special uses for trading, ceremonies and afterlife gifts.
The Anasazi women would freehand paint the designs, which was difficult to paint on curved surfaces.
“They obviously had skill,” Nielsen said. “How many of us can make really nice pots? They were handmade, not on a wheel. They created very beautiful pottery.”
Their pottery was not only beautiful, but also useful. They used the corrugated ware, which they found made water boil better than plain pots.
Several types of symmetry is used in the pottery, including reflective, which is a basic design that mirrors itself across a line; refractive or a reverse reflection; glide, which is a repeated pattern of designs above a line; rotational, where the element repeats itself as it moves around a point; positive, where the design is painted directly; and a negative or reserve design in which the reserve design is one that is not painted.
“They really have a certain pattern and did so for a reason,” said Katie Carroll, promotions manager at the museum.
Visitors are invited to test their knowledge by taking a symmetry quiz. On the quiz, visitors study the various designs and analyze the zigzags, swirls, triangles and all types of symmetry in select pieces of pottery.
At first glance, a certain black on white bowl called a “killed bowl” looks as if the hole was accidentally made into it. But that is not the case, according to the Carroll.
“Some holes are made by accident, but a hole like this was made for a specific reason and ritual,” Carroll said.
That hole was likely made during a funeral service to ritually release the spirit of the bowl and similarly release the deceased spirit. The museum said archaeologists are not exactly sure that this is fact, but if it is, it is extremely rare.
What: Ancient painted Anasazi pottery
Where: Museum of Peoples and Cultures, 700 N. 100 East, Provo
When: Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. open late Tuesday and Thursday until 7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Web site: http://fhss.byu.edu/anthro/mopc/main.htm
