Concepts and Terms The Yellow Jacket Project Home

Archaeological Concepts and Terms: Recognizing Different Occupations and Constructions at the Yellow Jacket Sites

By Richard H. Wilshusen

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The Yellow Jacket sites investigated by the University of Colorado Museum have occupations dating to between Basketmaker III and Pueblo III. These designations originally were derived from a classification of cultural changes in the Southwest called the Pecos Classification (Cordell 1997Cordell, Linda S.
1997 Archaeology of the Southwest. Academic Press, Orlando.). In the last decades Southwestern archaeologists have adapted this classification to define distinctive periods of time in different regions rather than Southwest-wide evolutionary stages.

In a recent overview of the Mesa Verde region, Lipe, Varien, and Wilshusen (1999) used these periods to divide this chronology up in the following manner: Basketmaker III (AD 500-750)show definitionhide definition (the first period in Mesa Verde region in which there is a substantial and widely distributed Ancestral Puebloan population. Basketmaker III residential sites are characterized by one to two substantial pitstructures with associated smaller pit rooms and less substantial structures for food storage and warm-weather activities. Although Basketmaker III is dated as early as AD 500, it presently appears that the majority of the Basketmaker III occupation in the Mesa Verde region postdates AD 600. The majority of the early Basketmaker III population likely represents migrants coming from areas south of the San Juan River.), Pueblo I (750-900)show definitionhide definition (a period of rapid population growth and the first substantial villages seen in the Mesa Verde region. Although there are no Pueblo I components in the Yellow Jacket sites or the nearby large pueblo, Joe Ben Wheat recorded a substantial Pueblo I village (5MT6) only 3 km to the southwest of these sites. Archaeologists estimate that many Pueblo I villages had populations of more than 200 people. These villages have substantial roomblocks and associated pitstructures and are somewhat similar to modern trailer courts in their general layout.), Pueblo II (AD 900-1150)show definitionhide definition (characterized by a dramatic lowering of the population of the region between AD 900 and 1000 and a gradual resettlement thereafter. Small residential sites with one to three kivas and associated subterranean rooms for storage and food processing characterize many eleventh century residential sites. Only in the twelfth century do substantial masonry roomblocks of 5-20 rooms and masonry-lined kivas become more common at residential sites. By the end of the Pueblo II period communities of small residential sites are increasingly centered on great houses built in a Chacoan style. These community centers have massive walls, enclosed roomblocks and kivas, and well-built masonry.) and Pueblo III (AD 1150-1300)show definitionhide definition (marks the time of the great pueblo villages in the Mesa Verde region. By AD 1225-1260 the majority of the region's inhabitants live in villages with at least 50 rooms and sometimes up to 250 or more rooms in their roomblocks. These large masonry villages also have kivas, public architecture, and features such as water catchment basins and defensive walls. Sometime by middle or late Pueblo III people have begun to migrate from the area to the south and there is no evidence for any substantial prehistoric Pueblo occupation of the region after AD 1300.). Different structure types, architectural styles and features, and ceramic types can be used in combination with absolute dating methods to single out various components at the Yellow Jacket sites and place them within particular time periods. At a more basic level, sometimes even differences in settlement types can be used to characterize various temporal periods in the Mesa Verde region. While the usage of archaeological terms varies in the field notes, the report authors have tried to be consistent in their use of the terminology discussed below.

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Structure Types

There are distinct changes in architectural forms between AD 600 and 1300. Although these changes can be used to place a structure within a general period of time, in the last decades archaeologists have realized that architectural variation is not very precise or entirely accurate as a chronological measure. It appears that historical contingency and cultural differences within the Mesa Verde populations may result in significant variability in the shape and style of different contemporary structures and roomblocksshow definitionhide definition (two or more contiguous rooms that function as an architectural unit. A roomblock almost always has storage rooms, but also oftentimes has some rooms used for domestic activities. Roomblocks are associated with all time periods of the Yellow Jacket occupations.) within the same locale. When Joe Ben Wheat began his work at Yellow Jacket, architectural change was perceived as representing a fairly uniform process mirroring distinct cultural stages (Lancaster and Pinkley 1954Lancaster, James A. and Jean M. Pinkley
1954 Excavation at Site 16 of Three Pueblo II Mesa-Top Ruins. In Archeological Excavations in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 1950, by J.A. Lancaster, J.M. Pinkley, P. Van Cleave, and D. Watson, pp. 23-86. Archaeological Research Series No. 2. National Park Service, Washington, D.C.; Roberts 1939Roberts, Frank H.H., Jr.
1939 The Development of a Unit-Type Dwelling. In So Live the Works of Men, edited by D.D. Brand and F.E. Harvey, pp. 311-323. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.). In assembling the present reports we have preserved Wheat's terminological separation of early pitstructuresshow definitionhide definition (used to designate a structure which is square to subrectangular in shape and which is sufficiently large to have functioned as a domicile for at least a single household. Pitstructures typically are excavated into the ground such that the earth needed for walls and a roof are obtained from the excavation. They often have domestic features such as hearths, food-grinding areas, and other features associated with a household's daily activities. Joe Ben Wheat at different times called these structures pithouses, kivas, and protokivas in his field records. For the purposes of this report pitstructures are structures such as described above and dating to Basketmaker III, Pueblo I, and early Pueblo II.) from later kivasshow definitionhide definition (used in these reports to refer to a structure built with a specific design rather than to mean a particular use or function. In the Mesa Verde region, a kiva was a roofed structure that was usually circular, built underground, and at least 3.5 meters in diameter. Early kivas had earthen lined walls and roofs supported by internal wood columns. Masonry lining is quite common in later Mesa Verde kivas, in combination with a bench upon which roof-support columns (pilasters) were built. After AD 1150 the southern segment of the bench was usually wider than the rest of the bench and is called a southern recess. Kivas almost always had a central hearth and a ventilator system, and usually contained a deflector and oftentimes a sipapu. Kiva entry was typically through a hatchway in the center of the roof.), even though it some cases we realize that the functions of these structures may share much in common. Similarly, early pit roomsshow definitionhide definition (a small room built underground and typically dating to the Basketmaker III period. Pit rooms can be as large at 8 square meters and lined with stone slabs, but they also can be little more than oversized bell-shaped pits with earth walls. Pit rooms were typically large enough to allow one to two persons inside to either arrange stored goods or to perform specific domestic tasks such as food processing. They were not sufficiently large to allow them to function as domiciles, or houses. They may have had individual roofs or when several pit rooms were built next to one another they may have shared a common roof supported by exterior posts. Joe Ben Wheat variously designated them as small pithouses, storage rooms, rooms, and pit rooms in his excavation records. In these reports we have consistently called these small Basketmaker structures "pit rooms".) and later subterranean roomsshow definitionhide definition (an underground room used for storage, corn mealing, or other specialized activities. For the purposes of this report, subterranean rooms date primarily to Pueblo II and possibly to early Pueblo III. They are distinguished from earlier pit rooms by typically being deeper, dating to later time periods, and sometimes having very specialized associated activities. These features were called pitrooms, storage rooms, and pits in the excavation notes. In a few cases Pueblo II features which were called pitrooms or a similar designation in the field have been reclassified as storage pits in this report, simply because they were too small to be considered a room.) are denoted by different terms. There are also several cases of ramadasshow definitionhide definition (open-air structures that have substantial roofs but no walls. They appear to have been used for domestic activities in mild weather and often are placed in courtyard settings or integrated into smaller roomblocks.), or open-air structures, but these structures seem to have considerable temporal range.

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Architectural Styles and Features

Archaeologists can use variation in architectural style and architectural features to separate different constructions into slightly finer time periods. However, there is considerable variability in architectural styles, which may say as much about the varieties of peoples who used to live in the Mesa Verde region as the temporal sensitivity of architectural change. Wall construction changes through time with either post and adobeshow definitionhide definition (or jacal, is a type of wall construction in which multiple posts form the interior supports for a wall and adobe mud and vegetal materials are used to fill in the remaining spaces. The Yellow Jacket excavation notes typically make note of instances of post and adobe construction, and there are a number of cases, where this inference is justified. However, a less substantial construction form known as wattle and daub, which consists of a woven vegetal framework plastered over with adobe mud, is also known in the Mesa Verde region. It is possible that some of the post and adobe walls defined in the reports actually are of the less substantial wattle and daub construction.) or simple masonryshow definitionhide definition (denotes stone wall construction which is a single course wide. Simple masonry is most common in Pueblo I and Pueblo II. Although the preserved lower walls in the archaeological record are of masonry construction, it is possible in some of the Pueblo II cases that the lower portion of the wall is simple masonry and the upper portion is actually a composite construction such as wattle and daub.) being common through mid to late Pueblo II. Only late in Pueblo II and throughout Pueblo III are the more substantial core-and-veneershow definitionhide definition (a masonry wall that is two stones wide with the interior (i.e. the "core" or the space between the two stones) filled with rubble. Core and veneer masonry is most often associated with Chacoan-era great houses. It allows for the construction of a very massive and strong wall capable of carrying multiple story architecture. and double wide masonryshow definitionhide definition (walls that are two stones wide with no space between the stones. Double wide masonry construction usually postdates AD 1100 in the Mesa Verde region and is often associated with more elaborate sites or structures.) constructions more common. Changes in features such as benchesshow definitionhide definition (a wide ledge midway up a pitstructure or kiva wall that usually extends around at least three-fourths of the structure. A bench provided a surface on which the roof-support columns (pilasters) rested, as well as probably serving as a storage shelf.), ventilator systemsshow definitionhide definition (a specialized feature that allows fresh air to enter an underground structure such as a pitstructure or kiva. It usually consists of an outside vertical shaft that is connected to the interior of the structure by a horizontal tunnel. The air heated from structure's hearth exits through a hatchway in the roof and thereby draws fresh air into the structure through the ventilator shaft and tunnel.), and sometimes even deflectorsshow definitionhide definition (an upright slab or a short segment of wall between the hearth and the ventilator system. The deflector served to protect the fire in the hearth from direct air flow from the ventilator tunnel.) also can signal temporal differences. Although courtyardsshow definitionhide definition (the area between a pitstructure, or kiva, and its associated pitrooms or roomblock. This area was likely often used for many daily domestic activities.), plazasshow definitionhide definition (a large, open space, often enclosed on two or more sides by buildings or walls. Plazas are common in village sites (sites with roomblocks of 50 or more rooms) as early as Pueblo I. They are common in the larger Pueblo III villages and were likely used for many types of community gatherings as well as daily domestic activities.), and middensshow definitionhide definition (a concentration of household refuse usually associated with a residential site. Middens in the Mesa Verde region are typically found to the south or to the southeast of the main structural area of a site.) are sometimes not thought of as architectural features they appear to be areas with considerable daily activity and as important to the overall site plan as the more obvious features such as the built architecture. In a very simple way, these features also are temporally sensitive.

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Ceramic Wares and Types

Archaeologists oftentimes use the frequencies of different ceramic types on a site to estimate a range of dates for when the site might have been used. For the AD 600 to AD 1300 period when the Yellow Jacket sites were occupied there are gray wares, white wares, and red wares which are produced in the region and which have fairly well-dated pottery types. All of the assessments of pottery types at Yellow Jacket are very preliminary, as there has been no systematic or formal analysis of the vast majority of the ceramic sherds from the three sites.

Gray ware, or utility pottery, is the everyday cooking and storage vessels for almost all periods of occupation at Yellow Jacket. Gray ware types begin with the unembellished Chapin Grayshow definitionhide definition (an early unpolished gray ware with a smooth, undecorated rim. It occurs between AD 575 and 950 and is found as jars, ollas, bowls, seed jars, dippers, and specialized forms.) of Basketmaker III, which is largely replaced by gray ware vessels with neck- banding such as Moccasin Grayshow definitionhide definition (a gray ware in which the upper coils, or fillets, are left intact and are not smoothed over. Typically these fillets are wide and are usually limited to the upper neck of the vessel. Moccasin Gray is dated from AD 775 to about 950. Wide-mouthed cooking or storage jars predominate in this type.) or Mancos Grayshow definitionhide definition (similar to Moccasin Gray but the upper coils, or fillets, on the vessel are typically narrower and more clap-boarded in profile than is the case for Moccasin Gray. The unobliterated fillets are typically restricted to the neck of the vessel. It occurs typically between AD 850 and 975.) by early Pueblo II. A sweeping change in gray wares occurs with the introduction of corrugated pottery such as Mancos Corrugatedshow definitionhide definition (a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Dolores and Mesa Verde Corrugated by having a upright rim with little or no eversion. It dates between about AD 925 and 1100.) in Pueblo II. Corrugated types such as Dolores Corrugatedshow definitionhide definition (a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and possibly one or two unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Mancos and Mesa Verde Corrugated by having a upright rim with an eversion of about 45 degrees and is common between AD 1050 and 1200.) and Mesa Verde Corrugatedshow definitionhide definition (a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Dolores and Mesa Verde Corrugated by having a upright rim with little or no eversion. It dates between about AD 925 and 1100.) mark the shift from Pueblo II to Pueblo III. In early sites gray ware may account for more 90% of the total pottery assemblage, but by Pueblo III it often totals 50% or less of all the sherds recovered.

White ware is the fancy pottery used for serving vessels, specialized storage jars, and ceremonial containers. Early Basketmaker III "white" ware such as Chapin Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (a white ware with black mineral paint found in both Basketmaker III and Pueblo I contexts. It is unslipped and usually only lightly polished so that it looks like gray ware with black paint. It occurs as early as AD 575 and becomes less common after AD 800, but persists until possibly 900. Designs are simple and oftentimes isolated on the vessel, with line work embellished with Z, I, or dotted patterns. Bowls are the most common form, with seed jars and ollas being rare. It is not uncommon for Chapin Black-on-white bowls to have a fugitive red ore coating on their exterior surfaces.) often is little more than lightly polished gray pottery with black mineral or organic paint on it. Only with Piedra Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (the most common black-on-white type found in Pueblo I contexts, as it dates AD 775-900. Unlike Chapin Black-on-white, it is usually fairly well-polished, but not always slipped. Bowls, jars, gourd forms, pitchers, and dippers are all found as forms for this ceramic type. Mineral paint with a small amount of organic binder is usual, and common designs use parallel or intersecting lines, with embellishments of small triangular flags and ticked lines.) in Pueblo I does white ware pottery show the highly polished surface and increasingly the white slips expected for white wares. The mineral paint characteristic of Pueblo I continues with the increasingly finely made and well-decorated Pueblo II types of Cortez Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (replaces Piedra Black-on-white, but it is quite distinctive from it with a well-polished, white crackled slip. The mineral paint designs are sometimes divided into two or four opposing sections on a bowl with thin parallel line, rick-rack, or ticked line designs. Banded designs can be filled with interlocking scrolls, triangular designs, or squiggled designs. Mancos Black-on-white begins to replace Cortez Black-on-white by AD 1000 and effectively takes its place by 1050.) and Mancos Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (the most common white ware type in the Mesa Verde region from mid-Pueblo II to early Pueblo III (or roughly AD 1025-1175) and probably has the widest variation in design styles and production characteristics of any of the Mesa Verde white wares. The banded and hatchured designs of Mancos Black-on-white are part of a larger Dogoszhi style of pottery decoration common across the Northern Southwest in late Pueblo II. Although mineral paint is most common, in the Yellow Jacket collection there appear to be some examples of Mancos Black-on-white with predominantly organic paint. Almost all vessel forms are represented in this type.). By Pueblo III organic paint is more common in McElmo Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (an intermediary type between the Mancos and Mesa Verde black-on-white types and in truth there is considerable disparity in its assignment. Oftentimes the presence of organic paint is used to distinguish it from Mancos Black-on-white but this is not a firm rule. Banded designs are usually broad and simple and sometimes there is a single framing line parallel to the rim of the vessel. Rims range from rounded to flat and frequently are ticked or decorated with paint. Bowls are most common, but there are also examples of mugs, jars, ollas, and dippers in the collection. It is common from AD 1150-1225, but can be found for 75 years before or after.) and Mesa Verde Black-on-whiteshow definitionhide definition (the final white ware type in the Mesa Verde region and dominates pottery assemblages after AD 1225. It dates as early as AD 1175 and is coincident with McElmo Black-on-white in Pueblo III. Mesa Verde Black-on-white bowls are common, but mugs, jars, ollas, and dippers are also present. This type is distinguished by squared off, decorated rims and multiple framing lines parallel to the rim of vessels. Vessels often have more than half of their total surface area filled with design fields. Organic paint is typical and vessels are usually well polished, slipped, and well fired.) in the Mesa Verde heartland, but mineral paint is still quite common in Pueblo III vessels at sites close to the Colorado-Utah border. While white ware may amount to only a few percent of the total pottery assemblage at a Basketmaker III site, by Pueblo III white wares may account for over half of the pottery sherds found at residential sites.

Red ware pottery is first found in the region sometime after AD 700 and endures in the form of various regionally produced pottery types until about AD 1100. It is always a relatively small percentage of the total pottery assemblage at a site, and because of the lack of occupation at the Yellow Jacket sites in Pueblo I and early Pueblo II there is relatively little red ware in the Yellow Jacket collection. The lack of Abajo Red-on-orangeshow definitionhide definition (a red ware commonly associated with late Basketmaker III and early Pueblo I contexts, or AD 700-800. It has an orange background with orange or red designs. It is not well-slipped and has designs elements such as straight lines, wavy lines, triangles, and ticked lines. Bowls, seed jars, and pitchers are the most common forms.) and Bluff Black-on-redshow definitionhide definition (succeeds Abajo Red-on-orange by AD 800 and continues until after AD 900. It is distinguished by its black paint and an increasing variety of forms such as feather boxes, beakers, and dippers. Although the Bluff Black-on-red vessels have identical designs as on Abajo vessels, through time line work becomes finer with designs elements other than straight and wavy lines.) demonstrates this break in occupation. There is a limited amount of Pueblo II red ware which may be either Deadmans Black-on-redshow definitionhide definition (occurs roughly between AD 900 and 1100. It is usually well slipped and well polished and has banded designs commonly filled with hatchured lines or squiggles. The very strong and consistent slip and later design elements distinguish it from the somewhat earlier Bluff Black-on-red. Bowls are the most usual form.) or a trade ware from another region.

Our descriptions of the Mesa Verde ceramic types and their likely date ranges are rudimentary. They are meant only to clarify how we use the terms within these initial Yellow Jacket reports. The preponderance of our data is based on limited examinations of the artifacts. In the near future we expect there will be more systematic analyses of the collections. For more detailed discussion of the pottery types see references such as Wilson and Blinman (1955Wilson, C. Dean and Eric Blinman
1995 Ceramic Types of the Mesa Verde Region. In Archaeological Pottery of Colorado: Ceramic Clues to the Prehistoric and Protohistoric Lives of the State's Native Peoples, edited by Robert H. Brunswig, Bruce Bradley, and Susan M. Chandler, pp. 33-88. Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists Occasional Papers 2, Denver.) or Breternitz, Rohn, and Morris (1974Breternitz, David A., Arthur H. Rohn, Jr., and Elizabeth A. Morris
1974 Prehistoric Ceramics of the Mesa Verde Region. Ceramic Series No. 5. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.).

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Sites and Settlement Types

Archaeologists need to make sense of space as well as time, and to do this they use unique site numbers to identify different areas of prehistoric occupation. Joe Ben Wheat used the Smithsonian system of site numbering and gave the Yellow Jacket sites the numbers 5MT1, 5MT2, and 5MT3. Under this system, "5" stands for Colorado, MT indicates Montezuma County, and the numbers denote that these are the first three sites recorded in the county. These unique designations are registered with the State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. The sites range from being hamletsshow definitionhide definition (small farmsteads which may have up to five to seven households, but they usually only have two to three households, or about 10-20 people. Archaeologists typically find the ruined domiciles, features, and trash from the prehistoric daily life of these households and have to reconstruct the organization and lifeways based on this incomplete evidence.) of only a handful of householdsshow definitionhide definition (the most basic social unit which consistently can be identified with archaeological evidence. Patterned material remains such as the foundation for a dwelling and the features and artifacts of activity areas reveal the centers of household life. Clearly there are also social and behavioral dimensions to household life as well, but these require more detailed analyses than are usually available for the Yellow Jacket artifacts and records at this time.) such as 5MT1 and 2, to a small villageshow definitionhide definition (typically a large residential area with more than 50 contemporary rooms. Villages must have functioned as distinct social entities, and in many cases they were sufficiently large to have been single communities as well. Villages are relatively rare as phenomenon in the Mesa Verde region and there are only two periods of time, in Pueblo I and III when they are more common.) such as 5MT3, to a one of the largest villages in the whole Mesa Verde regionshow definitionhide definition (for this discussion, the area north of the San Juan River and extending from Grand Gulch in Utah to the Piedra River in Colorado. Its northern boundary is just north of Dove Creek or Monticello. This area delimits a region of various Anasazi, or Ancestral Pueblo, occupations between AD 600 and 1300. Over time distinct ceramic and architectural styles come to characterize this region and a general cultural sub-tradition is used to label them as "Mesa Verde".), Yellow Jacket Pueblo, which is just only a few hundred meters to the east of 5MT3. When all of these sites had contemporary occupations in Pueblo III it is likely that their inhabitants were in daily contact with one another and formed a single communityshow definitionhide definition (a group of households which potentially could have been in daily contact with one another and which likely shared access to key resources and had a common social identity. Although the households of a small hamlet might have held claims to certain resources such as agricultural lands, their numbers would have been too few to ensure these claims. Additionally, the community would have been crucial for setting up interdependent relationships such as marriage gifts or exchanges of food in times of shortage.).

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Definitions of Temporal Periods, Structure Types, Architectural Styles and Features, Ceramic Types, and Settlement Types

Abajo Red-on-orange:
a red ware commonly associated with late Basketmaker III and early Pueblo I contexts, or AD 700-800. It has an orange background with orange or red designs. It is not well-slipped and has designs elements such as straight lines, wavy lines, triangles, and ticked lines. Bowls, seed jars, and pitchers are the most common forms.
Basketmaker III] (AD 500-750):
the first period in Mesa Verde region in which there is a substantial and widely distributed Ancestral Puebloan population. Basketmaker III residential sites are characterized by one to two substantial pitstructures with associated smaller pit rooms and less substantial structures for food storage and warm-weather activities. Although Basketmaker III is dated as early as AD 500, it presently appears that the majority of the Basketmaker III occupation in the Mesa Verde region postdates AD 600. The majority of the early Basketmaker III population likely represents migrants coming from areas south of the San Juan River.
Bench:
a wide ledge midway up a pitstructure or kiva wall that usually extends around at least three-fourths of the structure. A bench provided a surface on which the roof-support columns (pilasters) rested, as well as probably serving as a storage shelf.
Bluff Black-on-red:
succeeds Abajo Red-on-orange by AD 800 and continues until after AD 900. It is distinguished by its black paint and an increasing variety of forms such as feather boxes, beakers, and dippers. Although the Bluff Black-on-red vessels have identical designs as on Abajo vessels, through time line work becomes finer with designs elements other than straight and wavy lines.
Chapin Black-on-white:
a white ware with black mineral paint found in both Basketmaker III and Pueblo I contexts. It is unslipped and usually only lightly polished so that it looks like gray ware with black paint. It occurs as early as AD 575 and becomes less common after AD 800, but persists until possibly 900. Designs are simple and oftentimes isolated on the vessel, with line work embellished with Z, I, or dotted patterns. Bowls are the most common form, with seed jars and ollas being rare. It is not uncommon for Chapin Black-on-white bowls to have a fugitive red ore coating on their exterior surfaces.
Chapin Gray:
an early unpolished gray ware with a smooth, undecorated rim. It occurs between AD 575 and 950 and is found as jars, ollas, bowls, seed jars, dippers, and specialized forms.
Community:
a group of households which potentially could have been in daily contact with one another and which likely shared access to key resources and had a common social identity. Although the households of a small hamlet might have held claims to certain resources such as agricultural lands, their numbers would have been too few to ensure these claims. Additionally, the community would have been crucial for setting up interdependent relationships such as marriage exchanges or exchanges of food in times of shortage.
Core and veneer masonry:
a masonry wall that is two stones wide with the interior (i.e. the "core" or the space between the two stones) filled with rubble. Core and veneer masonry is most often associated with Chacoan-era great houses. It allows for the construction of a very massive and strong wall capable of carrying multiple story architecture.
Cortez Black-on-white:
replaces Piedra Black-on-white, but it is quite distinctive from it with a well-polished, white crackled slip. The mineral paint designs are sometimes divided into two or four opposing sections on a bowl with thin parallel line, rick-rack, or ticked line designs. Banded designs can be filled with interlocking scrolls, triangular designs, or squiggled designs. Mancos Black-on-white begins to replace Cortez Black-on-white by AD 1000 and effectively takes its place by 1050.
Courtyard:
the area between a pitstructure, or kiva, and its associated pitrooms or roomblock. This area was likely often used for many daily domestic activities.
Deadmans Black-on-red:
is occurs roughly between AD 900 and 1100. It is usually well slipped and well polished and has banded designs commonly filled with hatchured lines or squiggles. The very strong and consistent slip and later design elements distinguish it from the somewhat earlier Bluff Black-on-red. Bowls are the most usual form.
Deflector:
an upright slab or a short segment of wall between the hearth and the ventilator system. The deflector served to protect the fire in the hearth from direct air flow from the ventilator tunnel.
Dolores Corrugated:
a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and possibly one or two unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Mancos and Mesa Verde Corrugated by having an upright rim with an eversion of about 45 degrees and is common between AD 1050 and 1200.
Double wide masonry walls:
walls that are two stones wide with no space between the stones. Double wide masonry construction usually postdates AD 1100 in the Mesa Verde region and is often associated with more elaborate sites or structures.
Hamlets:
small farmsteads which may have up to five to seven households, but they usually only have two to three households, or about 10-20 people. Archaeologists typically find the ruined domiciles, features, and trash from the prehistoric daily life of these households and have to reconstruct the organization and lifeways based on this incomplete evidence.
Households:
the most basic social unit which consistently can be identified with archaeological evidence. Patterned material remains such as the foundation for a dwelling and the features and artifacts of activity areas reveal the centers of household life. Clearly there are also social and behavioral dimensions to household life as well, but these require more detailed analyses than are usually available for the Yellow Jacket artifacts and records at this time.
Kiva:
used in these reports to refer to a structure built with a specific design rather than to mean a particular use or function. In the Mesa Verde region, a kiva was a roofed structure that was usually circular, built underground, and at least 3.5 meters in diameter. Early kivas had earthen lined walls and roofs supported by internal wood columns. Masonry lining is quite common in later Mesa Verde kivas, in combination with a bench upon which roof-support columns (pilasters) were built. After AD 1150 the southern segment of the bench was usually wider than the rest of the bench and is called a southern recess. Kivas almost always had a central hearth and a ventilator system, and usually contained a deflector and oftentimes a sipapu. Kiva entry was typically through a hatchway in the center of the roof.
McElmo Black-on-white:
an intermediary type between the Mancos and Mesa Verde black-on-white types and in truth there is considerable disparity in its assignment. Oftentimes the presence of organic paint is used to distinguish it from Mancos Black-on-white but this is not a firm rule. Banded designs are usually broad and simple and sometimes there is a single framing line parallel to the rim of the vessel. Rims range from rounded to flat and frequently are ticked or decorated with paint. Bowls are most common, but there are also examples of mugs, jars, ollas, and dippers in the collection. It is common from AD 1150-1225, but can be found for 75 years before or after.
Mancos Black-on-white:
the most common white ware type in the Mesa Verde region from mid-Pueblo II to early Pueblo III (or roughly AD 1025-1175) and probably has the widest variation in design styles and production characteristics of any of the Mesa Verde white wares. The banded and hatchured designs of Mancos Black-on-white are part of a larger Dogoszhi style of pottery decoration common across the Northern Southwest in late Pueblo II. Although mineral paint is most common, in the Yellow Jacket collection there appear to be some examples of Mancos Black-on-white with predominantly organic paint. Almost all vessel forms are represented in this type.
Mancos Gray:
similar to Moccasin Gray but the upper coils, or fillets, on the vessel are typically narrower and more clap-boarded in profile than is the case for Moccasin Gray. The unobliterated fillets are typically restricted to the neck of the vessel. It occurs typically between AD 850 and 975.
Mancos Corrugated:
a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Dolores and Mesa Verde Corrugated by having a upright rim with little or no eversion. It dates between about AD 925 and 1100.
Mesa Verde Black-on-white:
the final white ware type in the Mesa Verde region and dominates pottery assemblages after AD 1225. It dates as early as AD 1175 and is coincident with McElmo Black-on-white in Pueblo III. Mesa Verde Black-on-white bowls are common, but mugs, jars, ollas, and dippers are also present. This type is distinguished by squared off, decorated rims and multiple framing lines parallel to the rim of vessels. Vessels often have more than half of their total surface area filled with design fields. Organic paint is typical and vessels are usually well polished, slipped, and well fired.
Mesa Verde Corrugated:
a gray ware with indented coils across most of the body of the vessel and possibly one or two unobliterated fillets on the neck. It is differentiated from Mancos and Dolores Corrugated by having a very everted rim that is more than 55 degrees in profile. It is common between AD 1200 and 1300.
Mesa Verde region:
for this discussion, the area north of the San Juan River and extending from Grand Gulch in Utah to the Piedra River in Colorado. Its northern boundary is just north of Dove Creek or Monticello. This area delimits a region of various Anasazi, or Ancestral Pueblo, occupations between AD 600 and 1300. Over time distinct ceramic and architectural styles come to characterize this region and a general cultural sub-tradition is used to label them as "Mesa Verde".
Midden:
a concentration of household refuse usually associated with a residential site. Middens in the Mesa Verde region are typically found to the south or to the southeast of the main structural area of a site.
Moccasin Gray:
a gray ware in which the upper coils, or fillets, are left intact and are not smoothed over. Typically these fillets are wide and are usually limited to the upper neck of the vessel. Moccasin Gray is dated from AD 775 to about 950. Wide-mouthed cooking or storage jars predominate in this type.

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Piedra Black-on-white:
the most common black-on-white type found in Pueblo I contexts, as it dates AD 775-900. Unlike Chapin Black-on-white, it is usually fairly well-polished, but not always slipped. Bowls, jars, gourd forms, pitchers, and dippers are all found as forms for this ceramic type. Mineral paint with a small amount of organic binder is usual, and common designs use parallel or intersecting lines, with embellishments of small triangular flags and ticked lines.
Pilaster:
a roof-support column that rests on a bench of a kiva. Pilasters are rectangular or square in plan and usually constructed of coursed masonry. Four pilaster support systems are more common in early Pueblo II, but by Pueblo III six pilaster systems are predominant.
Plaza:
a large, open space, often enclosed on two or more sides by buildings or walls. Plazas are common in village sites (sites with roomblocks of 50 or more rooms) as early as Pueblo I. They are common in the larger Pueblo III villages and were likely used for many types of community gatherings as well as daily domestic activities.
Pit room:
a small room built underground and typically dating to the Basketmaker III period. Pit rooms can be as large at 8 square meters and lined with stone slabs, but they also can be little more than oversized bell-shaped pits with earth walls. Pit rooms were typically large enough to allow one to two persons inside to either arrange stored goods or to perform specific domestic tasks such as food processing. They were not sufficiently large to allow them to function as domiciles, or houses. They may have had individual roofs or when several pit rooms were built next to one another they may have shared a common roof supported by exterior posts. Joe Ben Wheat variously designated them as small pithouses, storage rooms, rooms, and pit rooms in his excavation records. In these reports we have consistently called these small Basketmaker structures "pit rooms".
Pitstructure:
used to designate a structure which is square to subrectangular in shape and which is sufficiently large to have functioned as a domicile for at least a single household. Pitstructures typically are excavated into the ground such that the earth needed for walls and a roof are obtained from the excavation. They often have domestic features such as hearths, food-grinding areas, and other features associated with a household's daily activities. Joe Ben Wheat at different times called these structures pithouses, kivas, and protokivas in his field records. For the purposes of this report pitstructures are structures such as described above and dating to Basketmaker III, Pueblo I, and early Pueblo II.
Post and adobe:
or jacal, a type of wall construction in which multiple posts form the interior supports for a wall and adobe mud and vegetal materials are used to fill in the remaining spaces. The Yellow Jacket excavation notes typically make note of instances of post and adobe construction, and there are a number of cases, where this inference is justified. However, a less substantial construction form known as wattle and daub, which consists of a woven vegetal framework plastered over with adobe mud, is also known in the Mesa Verde region. It is possible that some of the post and adobe walls defined in the reports actually are of the less substantial wattle and daub construction.
Pueblo I:
(AD 750-900) a period of rapid population growth and the first substantial villages seen in the Mesa Verde region. Although there are no Pueblo I components in the Yellow Jacket sites or the nearby large pueblo, Joe Ben Wheat recorded a substantial Pueblo I village (5MT6) only 3 km to the southwest of these sites. Archaeologists estimate that many Pueblo I villages had populations of more than 200 people. These villages have substantial roomblocks and associated pitstructures and are somewhat similar to modern trailer courts in their general layout.
Pueblo II:
(AD 900-1150) characterized by a dramatic lowering of the population of the region between AD 900 and 1000 and a gradual resettlement thereafter. Small residential sites with one to three kivas and associated subterranean rooms for storage and food processing characterize many eleventh century residential sites. Only in the twelfth century do substantial masonry roomblocks of 5-20 rooms and masonry-lined kivas become more common at residential sites. By the end of the Pueblo II period communities of small residential sites are increasingly centered on great houses built in a Chacoan style. These community centers have massive walls, enclosed roomblocks and kivas, and well-built masonry.
Pueblo III:
(AD 1150-1300) marks the time of the great pueblo villages in the Mesa Verde region. By AD 1225-1260 the majority of the region's inhabitants live in villages with at least 50 rooms and sometimes up to 250 or more rooms in their roomblocks. These large masonry villages also have kivas, public architecture, and features such as water catchment basins and defensive walls. Sometime by middle or late Pueblo III people have begun to migrate from the area to the south and there is no evidence for any substantial prehistoric Pueblo occupation of the region after AD 1300.
Ramadas:
open-air structures that have substantial roofs but no walls. They appear to have been used for domestic activities in mild weather and often are placed in courtyard settings or integrated into smaller roomblocks.
Roomblock:
two or more contiguous rooms that function as an architectural unit. A roomblock almost always has storage rooms, but also oftentimes has some rooms used for domestic activities. Roomblocks are associated with all time periods of the Yellow Jacket occupations.
Simple masonry:
denotes stone wall construction which is a single course wide. Simple masonry is most common in Pueblo I and Pueblo II. Although the preserved lower walls in the archaeological record are of masonry construction, it is possible in some of the Pueblo II cases that the lower portion of the wall is simple masonry and the upper portion is actually a composite construction such as wattle and daub.
Subterranean room:
an underground room used for storage, corn mealing, or other specialized activities. For the purposes of this report, subterranean rooms date primarily to Pueblo II and possibly to early Pueblo III. They are distinguished from earlier pit rooms by typically being deeper, dating to later time periods, and sometimes having very specialized associated activities. These features were called pitrooms, storage rooms, and pits in the excavation notes. In a few cases Pueblo II features which were called pitrooms or a similar designation in the field have been reclassified as storage pits in this report, simply because they were too small to be considered a room.
Ventilator system:
a specialized feature that allows fresh air to enter an underground structure such as a pitstructure or kiva. It usually consists of an outside vertical shaft that is connected to the interior of the structure by a horizontal tunnel. The air heated from structure's hearth exits through a hatchway in the roof and thereby draws fresh air into the structure through the ventilator shaft and tunnel.
Village:
typically is a large residential area with more than 50 contemporary rooms. Villages must have functioned as distinct social entities, and in many cases they were sufficiently large to have been single communities as well. Villages are relatively rare as phenomenon in the Mesa Verde region and there are only two periods of time, in Pueblo I and III when they are more common.

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