Mimbres Ware

The Mimbres culture is one that is associated to southwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona.  Although they were located within such a small area, their culture grew into something quite unique.  The Mimbres developed from the Mogollon culture.  This is evident because of the connections between their early pottery and house types.  Even though they had their similarities, there were still differences between the two cultures, especially in their pottery and its usage.  What made the Mimbres pottery so original was its style and ritualistic use.

The pottery produced by the people living in the Mimbres valley of New Mexico over  1000 years ago until roughly 1150 C.E. is distinguished by the fact that it has been found in large numbers in graves.  The Mimbres people buried their dead under the floors of their homes, along with their beautifully painted pottery.  This was a practice unique in the region at that time, and the pottery appears to have been made specifically for decorative or ritualistic uses rather than everyday utensils, as many painted specimens are of a lower quality ceramic, more brittle than undecorated cookware, storage or serving vessels. 

Another distinction is the decorative style of the various pieces.  Animals are common subjects, as well as people and whimsical or mythical beings, often with geometric designs worked into and around the design.  A common creature that is seen on some of the Mimbres ware is a lizard figure.  This figure is usually composed of a diamond-shaped head and a body with similar diamond shapes. The colors of Mimbres ware are often black and white.  They can also be red, black, and yellow with brown decorations. Some of the greater discovered pieces are colored a light orange.  It has also been found, through undecorated vessels, that Mimbres pottery was created by using coils.  For the time and place, the complexity and craftsmanship of the decoration is unrivaled. The stylizations and patterns of the painting are reminiscent of the rock art found throughout the southwest, and many pieces appear to show ceremonies or scenes, with designs arranged to tell a story or describe an event. The meanings of the individual characterizations are lost, although many are distinctly recognizable.

A common piece found in most of the burials was a bowl.  Most of the bowls have been found over the faces of the deceased, with a hole knocked out of the bottom, also known as a “killed” bowl.  Some scholars believe this was to ritually kill the vessel to ensure its passage into the spirit world with the owner, others think that the hole was to allow the soul to escape.  Although this would make a perfectly serviceable bowl, some suggest the shape mimics the shape of the sky over the earth, and the bowl was made explicitly for funeral rites.  Although many of these types of bowls were found, the food bowls that have been discovered cannot be excluded.  The food bowls that have been found usually have a rounded base, but one object is flat on the bottom. The edges of the bowls that are from the ruin at Black Mountain are curved outward.  This feature is unique when looking at ancient Pueblo vessels, but is now more common in modern forms.  Sometimes seen on their food bowls are men engaged in various occupations, such as hunting or ceremonial dances.  These bowls have proven to be quite useful, seeing that it allow modern man to be able to see the way the Mimbres dressed, their way of arranging their hair, weapons, and other materials. Animals were also present on these bowls.  It is thought that animals are seen with these male figures because the Mimbres had a close relationship with them and they were an essential part of their social organization.

Aside from the bowls, pitchers were also quite commonly seen in the burial scene.  Pitchers of this time had a stylish shape, which consisted of different sized curves.  Like the bowls, some of the same designs are present.  The lines and shapes painted on the Mimbres pitchers take on a geometric form.  The animal motif is also still present.  Sometimes the bases of the pitchers were left unpainted, while other times, they were painted.  One unusual use for these pitchers was to hold calcined bones and ashes of a cremated human.  Studies show that this was a unique practice because only 1.5% of the discovered burials were cremations.  It is presumed that a cremation could either indicate that someone died under unusual circumstances or the person that died was of a different status.  These pitchers basically became storage vessels.

These pieces of pottery create portals back to the time of the Mimbres culture.  The designs, style, and rituals that accompany Mimbres ware have allowed modern man to better understand this unique culture.

Sources

http://www.beloit.edu/~museum/logan/southwest/mimbres/mimbresbw/mimbresbwfig.htm

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.29/17-pottery.html

http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Fewkes.htm

http://www.mimbres.com/