Masters Thesis

Analyzing style in classic mimbres black-on-white geometric pottery designs

The focus of this project is a stylistic analysis of the nonrepresentational or geometric painted designs on Mimbres Style III Black-on-White pottery bowls, which were produced during the Classic period (A.D. 1000-1130) in an area centered in southwestern New Mexico. Based on intensive critical reviews of previous Mimbres design studies, major theoretical approaches to style, and relevant methods of ceramic stylistic analysis, I present a theoretical and methodological framework to analyze style in Classic Mimbres geometric pottery designs across space, in order to understand how these designs relate to aspects of social group affiliation and interaction in the Mimbres region. Using a three-phased stylistic analysis methodology—including (1) a visual qualitative analysis, (2) a symmetry analysis, and (3) a structural attribute analysis—a preliminary stylistic analysis was conducted with 489 vessels from five sites in the Mimbres Valley. Results from the analysis revealed no overall differences in geometric designs across the sites, but rather a homogenous distribution of design styles. Based on research concerning ceramic production and distribution in the Mimbres region, as well as evidence from other relevant studies, it is suggested that the homogeneity of geometric designs during the Classic period (characterized by a diverse repertoire of structural attributes) may have been the result of a design tradition that encouraged diversity, but ensured uniformity through mechanisms of social learning within sites and the sharing of ideas and vessels across sites.

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