Exploring the Development and Persistence of the Eastern Puebloan Economy: Rio Grande Glaze Ware as a Window on Regional Interaction

Abstract

This dissertation uses multiple lines of ceramic evidence to examine continuity in the economic organization of Eastern Pueblo communities along the Rio Grande from the late pre-contact period (ca. A.D. 1300-1598) into the early period of Spanish colonialism (A.D. 1598-1680). One of the major decorated ceramic traditions of the Eastern Pueblo region, Rio Grande Glaze Ware, was in constant production from the early 14th century well into the Spanish Colonial Period. Production only ceased sometime after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The production and consumption of Rio Grande Glaze Ware vessels was heavily embedded in a regional network of relationships among Pueblo villages. As such, continuity in the production of Rio Grande Glaze Ware vessels under Spanish colonial rule suggests that the network of relationships in which glaze ware production was embedded likely also persisted. Using a combination of typological and archaeometric data, I employed social network analysis to both evaluate the development of a regional network of interaction surrounding Rio Grande Glaze Ware production and consumption and to evaluate the degree to which the structure of that network persisted into the early Spanish Colonial Period. The techniques of single layer network analysis were applied to evaluate change over time in the structure of regional interactions in the greater Southwest and northern Mexico, as revealed by patterns of ceramic consumption. From this analysis we identify the development of distinct regional patterns of interaction in the Western and Eastern Pueblo regions over the course of the 15th century. The results of new archaeometric testing—both petrographic analysis of rock temper and isotopic analysis of lead glaze paint—are also presented, helping to further refine existing understanding of material diversity within the broad category of Rio Grande Glaze Ware vessels. These results are particularly relevant in identifying a distinct pattern of lead ore use by potters at villages in the Lower Rio Grande region. Finally, I present a case-study evaluating the utility of multilayer network techniques in better understanding of the complexity of regional interaction in the project area and study period. Multilayer network techniques allow for a synthesis of typological data with the two different lines of archaeometric data collected for this project. Results of the multilayer analysis indicate that the structure of interaction among Pueblo villages remained largely unchanged from the 15th century into the early Spanish Colonial Period. Results indicate that Pueblo people found a way to maintain a regional system of interaction despite the impact of Spanish colonial appropriation of Pueblo labor.