Sourcing Chuskan Ceramic Production: Petrographic and Experimental Analyses

ABSTRACTChuskan ceramics are often used as a classic example of the usefulness of temper analyses to identify the large-scale distribution of vessels from their locus of production. Although the general production location of Chuskan ceramics in the Chuska Mountains has been known since Shepard's pioneering work, specific sources of the igneous rock within this broad area have not been systematically investigated. We suggest that the paucity of clear-cut matches in previous analyses of archaeological and geological materials is owing to (1) limited geological sampling, and (2) a lack of consideration of the effects of temper-processing activities in ceramic production. We use petrographic and experimental approaches on an extensive geological sample to argue for at least one likely source for the Chuskan tempers.