Western Ceramic Traditions Volume 135

This volume is dedicated to studies of plainwares-theundecorated ceramics that make up the majority ofprehistoric ceramic assemblages worldwide. Early analysesof ceramics focused on changes in decorative designelements to establish chronologies and cultural associations.With the development of archaeometric techniquesthat allow direct dating of potsherds and identificationof their elemental composition and residues, plainwaresnow provide a new source of information about thetiming, manufacture, distribution, and use of ceramics. This book investigates plainwares from the far west,stretching into the Great Basin and the northwesternand southwestern edges of Arizona. Contributors useand explain recent analytical methods, includingneutron activation, electron microprobe analysis, andthin-section optical mineralogy. They examine nativeceramic traditions and how they were influenced by theSpanish mission system, and they consider the pros andcons of past approaches to ware typology, presentinga vision of how plainware analysis can be improvedby ignoring the traditional "typological" approach ofearly ceramicists working with decorated wares. This work provides a much-needed update toplainware studies, with new hypotheses and datathat will help set the stage for future research.