Mesa Verde Black on White Pottery

Hikers in the more remote areas of the Four Corners will frequently come across pottery shards near the ruins sites. Not many shards are visible at Mesa Verde, but the Chapin Mesa Museum has a good display of several styles including the Mesa Verde Black on White style.

The Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado has some textbook style explanations of different pottery styles and list more types of Black on White than the Mesa Verde Black on White. The definition of the Mesa Verde type given there says more common after 1200 AD. It has heavier designs with more black space, placed either in bands or in all-over patterns divided in halves, thirds, or quarters. Bowls are usually decorated on both surfaces.

The McElmo Black on White style is more common between 1150-1200 AD and often shows bands of triangles, checkerboards, steps, and hatched areas. Bowls were usually painted on the inside surface only.

The Chapin Mesa Museum doesn’t mention the different styles of Black on White but emphasizes the pottery forms. The description for this bowl says it has a ticked rim, a wide design band framed with thick and thin lines.

This water jar has a symmetrical geometric design with narrow spaced hatching. The water jars are also called Ollas. They may have an indentation on the underside to make it comfortable to carry on your head.

This example is labeled as a Kiva Jar as they have been mostly found in kivas. The top is shaped to accept a lid. This kiva jar is considered to be the finest piece in the Mesa Verde collection. The trail guide for the Nordenskiold Ruin No. 16 Trail on Wetherill Mesa says that this jar was found there during the excavations of Jesse Nusbaum in 1928-1929. It has been on display here at the Chapin Mesa Museum since the 1950s.

A miniature of this same jar also seems to appear in the diorama that depicts alcove life after 1200 AD. The dioramas are part of the CCC work of the depression era 1930s. It becomes obvious with experience at Mesa Verde that the dioramas are based on actual locations in the park. The scene that contains the famous pottery example is based on the Spruce Tree House that is right outside the museum.