FEWKEs] POTTERY FBOM PUEBLO VIEJO 179 



There can hardly be a doubt that water was carried in large earthen 

 vessels to some of the terraced gardens, the altitude of which above 

 the water in the river would make irrigation otherwise impossible. The 

 surface of the land near the banks of the stream is continually shift- 

 ing, on account of erosion due to heavy freshets and overflow of the 

 river banks. On this account many of the ancient canals have been 

 filled with soil, or their banks washed down to the level of the sur- 

 rounding plain. 



Pottery from Pueblo Viejo 



The pottery from the Pueblo Viejo ruins is identical with that from 

 lower down the Gila river, at Phoenix and Temi^e. It differs very 

 markedh- from that of the White mountains. 



color and surface finish 



As a rule the Gila potterj^ is coarse, and the decoration is simple, 

 consisting mostly of rectangular geometrical designs. It may be con- 

 sidered under the following types : 1, undecorated rough ware ; 2, deco- 

 rated rough ware; 3, undecorated red ware; i, decorated black and 

 white ware; 5, decorated gray ware. 



Undecorated Rough Ware 



The larger ollas found in excavated rooms are almost always made 

 of a rough coiled or indented ware of coarsest manufacture. These 

 were capacious enough to contain several gallons of water, and were 

 apparently used for that purpose. The exteriors of many were black- 

 ened with soot, as though they had been used for cooking, as is at 

 present the custom among the Pueblo Indians. 



Most of the large si^ecimens of this rough ware were broken, appar- 

 ently by the falling of walls or other debris upon them. It may also 

 be mentioned that they were almost universally found in houses, 

 and that one contained the skeleton of an infant. 



Small rough-ware vessels also occur, broken or entire (see plate 

 LXVii). The author has limited this group to those specimens of 

 pottery of rough ware in which there is no shining black slip on the 

 inner surface. Xo food vessels of I'ough ware were found, but all 

 specimens of this form, of which there were many, had a ijolished 

 black interior, and belong to the second group. 



Decorated Rough Ware 



In tliis group are placed those food vessels in which the interior is 

 covered with a black slip, which reminds one of the modern ware of 

 Santa Clara pueblo. As will be seen by consulting a jjlate showing 

 this type (plate lxvii), there is some variation in the arrangement of 

 the indentations and coiling in this ware, but no color decoration 

 was attempted. Bowls of this kind are often rubbed smooth on the 

 outer surface, but decoration by indentation or coiling is common. 



