Laboratory of Sonoran Ceramic Research (LSCR)
Description:
The Laboratory of Sonoran Ceramic Research (LSCR) investigates the lifeways of the ancient Hohokam people in the Sonoran Desert of central and southern Arizona, particularly through analyses of ceramic materials. To study the economic, political and social lives of the Hohokam through specialized ceramic studies, the lab regularly collaborates with colleagues in the geological and chemical sciences and employs a suite of technological and stylistic analyses, including petrographic and electron microprobe analyses. A unifying research theme for various projects is the organization of pottery production and distribution across time and space, which is opening a window onto the economic and social networks that composed the Hohokam regional system. By determining where on the natural landscape the materials for pottery manufacture were collected and how those materials were combined for pottery manufacture, the movement of clay containers is traced among Hohokam neighbors across distances as short as 5 km, allowing the webs of social and economic ties to be reconstructed with unprecedented detail.
The LSCR employs three graduate student research assistants, who are funded by private-sector archaeological research projects and grants from the National Science Foundation and other granting agencies. Their work contributes to a long-term research program devoted to developing the unique contribution that ceramic research can make to the study of prehistoric communities.
Projects include:
Calderwood Butte
An analysis of mostly plain ware pottery from one Classic period compound site and several smaller habitation and non-habitation sites in the upland zone north of Phoenix. Emphasis placed on the organization of plain ware production and exchange along the lower Agua Fria River; for Soil Systems, Inc.
Arroyo Seco
An analysis of pottery recovered near the White Tank Mountains of the western Phoenix Basin. Emphasis on plain and buff ware provenance in the White Tanks area; for SWCA, Inc.
Pueblo Viejo
A ceramic analysis from the Pueblo Viejo site located northwest of South Mountain. Special attention paid to chronology and buff ware provenance; for Archaeological Research Services, Inc.
SRP
An analysis of ceramics from five sites spanning the late Preclassic and Classic periods in the Queen Creek delta and eastern Santan Mountains areas. Emphasis is on chronology and buff ware provenance and exchange; for Northland Research, Inc.
Desert Rose
An analysis of ceramics from six sites on the northern fringes of South Mountain. Emphasis placed on buff ware provenance; for Soil Systems, Inc.
Superstition Mountains
A study of pottery from three sites on the eastern edge of the Superstition Mountains on the east side of the Phoenix Basin. An emphasis was placed on chronology, site function and permanence and buff ware provenance; for Soil Systems, Inc.
Lakin, Morocco Ruin
A mortuary analysis of whole and reconstructible vessels from Morocco Ruin, located in the western part of the Phoenix Basin near the confluence of the Salt, Gila and Agua Fria Rivers. Emphasis placed on vessel form and technological characteristics, as well as temper identification to determine production source; for SWCA, Inc.
Lake Pleasant
A project solely focused on chemically characterizing plain ware ceramics from a small site near Lake Pleasant, north of Phoenix, to study plain ware production along the lower Agua Fria River; for Northland Research, Inc.
Saguaro Forest
An analysis of plain ware ceramics from five small Classic period sites located in the uplands north of Phoenix, near Cave Creek. A heavy emphasis on chemical characterization for pottery sourcing in the northern uplands; for SWCA, Inc.
Caterpillar
An analysis of ceramics from several sites near the White Tank Mountains on the western edge of the Phoenix Basin. Topics of special study include a design analysis of Hohokam buff wares, buff ware provenance, the function of Lower Colorado buff ware in the assemblage and patterns of interaction with Yuman/Patayan groups; for Soil Systems, Inc.
Cactus Forest
An analysis specifically focused on Salado Polychrome designs from a late Classic period site along the middle Gila River, south of Phoenix. Emphasis placed on differences over time and comparisons with other design studies. IT is to be used in conjunction with a provenance stuffy using INAA conducted by Northland Research, Inc.
Phyllite Study
This long-term project identifies specific pottery production sources in the upland zone north of Phoenix. Until now, all plain wares across this vast territory were classified as a single type, but chemical analyses are revealing multiple production sources and a substantial volume of ceramic transactions among the populations of the upland region.
Alliance and Landscape: Perry Mesa, Arizona in the Fourteenth Century
The portion of this NSF-funded project corresponding to ceramics is focused on the provenance of plain and red ware pottery from central Arizona and the movement of clay containers among the members of the Verde Confederacy.
