8 - Theories of style and ceramic design variation

Summary

The tests presented in Chapters 6, 7, and 8 support the hypotheses presented in Chapter 2. The tests show that ceramic exchange, temporal variation, and stylistic differences between different vessel forms all account for part of the ceramic design variation at the sites included in the analysis. In addition, arguments for the importance of considering settlement-subsistence systems in explanations of stylistic variation are presented.

The results of the tests are summarized in Table 8.1; the table indicates that of temporal variation, vessel form, and exchange, the latter variable accounts for the most significant differences in the design attribute state frequencies on ceramics from Chevelon sites. There are significant differences between two pottery classes, PGM and SShO, in the relative frequencies of different primary forms, types of design composition, and type of hatching; in the frequency of appended secondary forms and rim decoration; and in the size of primary lines, hatching lines, framing lines, and the spacing of hatching lines. The co-occurrence of these two classes on Chevelon sites is a result of the importation of SShO vessels, most likely from the area around Winslow. The two pottery classes are characteristic of two cultural traditions in the American Southwest, the Winslow branch of the Anasazi and the Mogollon.