Photo Gallery

Mimbres pot with a stylized scorpion within a circle of round and zig-zag lines and a hole in the middle. The pot was "killed" in the grave of the owner, so that the spirit of the pot and that of the deceased may meet again in the hereafter. Diameter: 9.2-10.8 inches.
From the collection of E.H. Morris, UCM.

Sea shell pendant, the convex surface of which is set with more than 340 turquoise pieces with a single red shell piece set in the center. Diameter: 3.64 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Mimbres pot, black on white, with a stylized lizard. The circular lines call to mind the shimmering heat in which this animal lives. Diameter: about 4 inches. Mimbres Valley (New Mexico), Mogollon Culture (E.H. Morris Collection), UCM.
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Polychrome bowl, 10 inches diameter, Mogollon Culture, 1300-1400, HMP
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Polychrome vessel, 6.4 inches diameter, Kinishba, Salado-culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - A pair of turquoise pendants or earrings, set at the center with a red shell, 1.24 inches long and 0.32 inches thick, Anasazi Culture, Kayenta area, ASM - Sea shell pendant, the convex surface of which is set with more than 340 turquoise pieces with a single red shell piece set in the center. Diameter: 3.64 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Ceremonial staff, a mortuary offering found in a grave in a kiva, carved out of the thigh bone of a grizzly bear with a precisely executed geometric design and a finely polished surface. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Examples of partially underground pit houses, the oldest permanent shelter constructed by Southwest Indian people. Made of twigs and branches covered with mud they sheltered the inhabitants from the heat in the summer and cold in the winter. - Reconstruction of a Mogollon pit house; depth of the floor: 32 inches, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site (New Mexico).

Three "killed" Mimbres ceramic bowls, black on white, from the Mimbres Valley (New Mexico), Mogollon Culture. Left: Stylized representation of a human figure with a club such as those used to hunt rabbits, UCM.
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Two necklaces; the smaller one with turquoise stones was found wrapped around the wrist of a child, Sinagua Culture; the longer necklace is 9.6 inches and consists of about 236 stones (one in the shape of a bird). Mogollon Culture. Noseplug of blue-green travertine. Length: 1.6 inches. Sinagua Culture, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Mimbres pottery, black on white, Mogollon Culture. Each pot with a hole in the bottom represents a mortuary offering that was "killed," thereby setting its soul free. - Bowl with a stylized bat with spread wings, one of the finest examples of representative Mimbres pottery. Diameter: 9.84 inches. ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Mimbres pottery, black on white, Mogollon Culture. Each pot with a hole in the bottom represents a mortuary offering that was "killed," thereby setting its soul free. - A pot in the shape of a bird with an opening at the head end. Diameter: 7.4 inches. MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Mimbres pottery, black on white, Mogollon Culture. Each pot with a hole in the bottom represents a mortuary offering that was "killed," thereby setting its soul free. - Large pot Colla) with a narrow neck and two handles, decorated with the sun symbol, stars and the stairway to heaven; MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Mimbres pottery, black on white, Mogollon Culture. Each pot with a hole in the bottom represents a mortuary offering that was "killed," thereby setting its soul free. - Bowl painted with a styled big-horn sheep, its body resembling a chessboard. Diameter: 9.44 inches. UCM
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Detail of a richly decorated Mimbres bowl, black on white. In the middle is depicted a geometric pronghorn antelope with a rhomboid head and naturalistic antlers, mouth and hooves; at its widest point the diameter is 12.32 inches. Mimbres Valley (New Mexico), Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Mimbres bowl, black on white, with stylized, naturalistic motifs; Mogollon Culture. - Scorpion within a circular design representing feathers. Diameter: 10.4 inches. MNM.
MNM = Collections of the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe (New Mexico)

Mimbres bowl, black on white, with stylized, naturalistic motifs; Mogollon Culture. - Two deer-like animals, one in front ofthe other. The tail of one covers the back of both in a composition of striking simplicity. Diameter: 10.56 inches. UCM
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Mimbres bowl, black on white, with stylized, naturalistic motifs; Mogollon Culture. - An animal biting its own tail, similar to the image of a coiled snake, the symbol of eternity. The naturalistic style clearly borders here onto pure geometry. 9.84 inches diameter, UCM.
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

This clay figurine once embellished the handle of a jar or a ladle. With almond-shaped eyes, prominent nose, expressionistic in style, it is comparable to the Hohokam figurines (see PUE-164 and PUE-165). Height: 2.76 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Pottery from Casas Grandes (Mexico), Ramos polychrome, with well-executed, stylized geometric and naturalistic designs; several are anthropomorphic. The pots are painted with those design elements that were used over and over again in the Southwest, universal symbols like spirals, birds, stairways to heaven, etc. - Stylized rabbit figure. Diameter: 9.28 inches. AFM.
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Pottery from Casas Grandes (Mexico), Ramos polychrome, with well-executed, stylized geometric and naturalistic designs; several are anthropomorphic. The pots are painted with those design elements that were used over and over again in the Southwest, universal symbols like spirals, birds, stairways to heaven, etc. - Square pot with four legs, painted with deer (?) and the stairway to heaven design. 3.28 inches long on a side, 0.12 inches thick. AFM
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Pottery from Casas Grandes (Mexico), Ramos polychrome, with well-executed, stylized geometric and naturalistic designs; several are anthropomorphic. The pots are painted with those design elements that were used over and over again in the Southwest, universal symbols like spirals, birds, stairways to heaven, etc. - Spirals and birds, with a handle in the shape of a parrot's head. Height: 6.8 inches. AFM.
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Pottery from Casas Grandes (Mexico), Ramos polychrome, with well-executed, stylized geometric and naturalistic designs; several are anthropomorphic. The pots are painted with those design elements that were used over and over again in the Southwest, universal symbols like spirals, birds, stairways to heaven, etc. - Human face surrounded by parrot heads with large crooked beaks. Diameter: 8.04 inches. AFM
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Water jar (olla) in the shape of a bird, painted in reddish brown on white, with a stylized deer or antelope head; cult object (or mortuary offering). Height: 9.64 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)