The Testimony of Hands

68.43.9, incised jar

68.43.9, Potsui'i Incised jar, 39 centimeters (15 ½ inches) in diameter
Found at San Gabriel de Yunque (A.D. 1598–1610)
UNM field school collection
Photograph by B. Bernard

Potsui'i Incised is a Pueblo Indian pottery type usually dated to A.D. 1450–1550, so its discovery at San Gabriel raises two possibilities. The type may have lasted a half-century longer than archaeologists assume, and in that case was obtained by the colonists for their own use. Otherwise, the location may have been inhabited by Pueblo Indians for decades before the Spanish showed up, and in that case this pot is from pre-colonial deposits.

Potsui'i Incised is an example of "utility ware," meaning pottery created for cooking or food storage rather than for food service. In the Southwest, utility pottery was mostly unpainted, but nonetheless could be given "eye appeal" by texturing the surface and by other means. The next two photographs show additional utility pots from San Gabriel.

68.43.136, utility jar

68.43.136, Micaceous Smeared Indented jar, 39 centimeters (15 ½ inches) in diameter
Found at San Gabriel de Yunque (A.D. 1598–1610)
UNM field school collection
Photograph by B. Bernard

68.43.137, micaceous jar

68.43.137, Micaceous Smeared Indented jar, 37 centimeters (14 ½ inches) in diameter
Found at San Gabriel de Yunque (A.D. 1598–1610)
UNM field school collection
Photograph by B. Bernard

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