32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 82 



Upon the suggestion of Dr. A. V. Kidder, at the 1929 Archeologi- 

 cal Conference at Pecos, New Mexico, we here refer to this form 

 as " Four-mile polychrome." Fewkes' Four-mile ruin seems to be the 

 type site for Four-mile polychrome. There it is found in great abun- 

 dance and in what appears to he its most highly developed stages. 

 Furthermore, Four-mile ruin is the approximate focus of the known 

 distribution of this pottery. Its distribution is roughly conterminous 

 with the area drained by Silver Creek and its afifluents. Notable sites 

 not included in this drainage but where Four-mile polychrome is 

 found in some abundance are Forestdale, Chavez Pass, Homolobi, and 

 Chevlon. All of these, however, are peripheral to the drainage area in 

 question. Trade pieces have been found as far south as Bylas, 

 Arizona, on the Gila River; in the Tonto Basin; at Casa Grande, 

 and as far north as the old Hopi ruins in the Jeddito Valley. 



Technology. — A study of the technology of Four-mile polychrome 

 reveals the traits on which the creation of this type is based. The 

 constancy with which some of the characteristics occur is worthy of 

 note. 



The paste is light gray in color, usually merging into a dark gray core 

 towards the inner part of the vessel walls, and sometimes appearing 

 reddish outwards. The paste fires to a hardness sufBcient to give breaks 

 with fairly sharp and smooth edges. Tempering material consists of 

 ground-up potsherds and small rounded grains of sand, these in- 

 gredients occurring in about equal proportions. There is also a 

 relatively small amount of dark particles, apparently ground basalt. 

 In plate 10, figure i, is shown a quantity of tempering, enlarged four 

 times, which was removed from a sherd of an unfired vessel. Small 

 angular bodies of white slipped vessels can be detected. Plate 10, 

 figure 2, shows an unfired sherd (four times normal size) containing 

 a sizable fragment (circled) of a former red-slipped vessel. As 

 may be supposed, the addition of tempering derived from pulverized 

 sherds of various sorts would be apt to introduce a considerable 

 variety of extraneous inorganic substances.^ The quartz grains as well 

 as particles which appear to be crushed basalt were probably used as 

 tempering material in previous vessels. 



The slip is an even red color unless over-fired, when it turns to 

 dark brown or almost black. Before firing, the slip is yellow, being 

 made of the yellow limonite. This is to be seen in the upper half 



^ The sherd collection, which has already been noted as having been made for 

 the purpose of grinding, is ample evidence of this. 



