SYMMETRY AND COLOR PERSPECTIVES ON BASKETMAKER CULTURAL IDENTITIES: EVIDENCE FROM DESIGNS ON COILED BASKETS AND CERAMICS

Abstract Basketmaker basket designs have long been considered the model for the earliest black-on-white ceramic designs in the northern Southwest. This article explores this premise from the perspective of symmetry analysis. We compare the design systems used to decorate Basketmaker baskets and ceramic bowls, and conclude that although some elements are shared, Basketmaker III basket weavers and potters used different symmetrical layouts to decorate their baskets and ceramic containers. We suggest that some of the more elaborate and complex symmetries found on late Basketmaker baskets and other perishable artifacts might have extraregional sources south of the Four Corners region. Abstract Por mucho tiempo se han considerado los diseños de las cestas del período Basketmaker el modelo para los diseños cerámicos negro sobre blanco en el norte del suroeste. Este artículo explora esta premisa desde la perspectiva del análisis de la simetría. Comparamos los sistemas de diseño utilizados para decorar las cestas y los tazones cerámicos y concluimos que aunque hay algunos elementos compartidos, los tejedores de cestas y los alfareros de Basketmaker III usaban diseños simétricos diferentes para decorar sus cestas y sus recipientes cerámicos. Sugerimos que algunas de las simetrías más elaboradas y complejas encontradas en las cestas de Basketmaker tardío y en otros artefactos merecedores puedan tener fuentes extraregionales al sur de la región Four Corners

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