Prehistoric Hohokam Indians of southern Arizona occasionally made
mica-tempered pottery. I can’t post photos on the listserve but if anyone
wants one I can email you a jpg photo showing an example of Hohokam
micaceous plainware from the Yuma Wash archaeological site, AZ
AA:12:311(ASM), in Marana, Arizona.  Ceramist Linda Gregonis, who
conducted the pottery analysis for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s Yuma
Wash archaeology projects in which examples of Hohokam micaceous ware
ceramics were recovered, noted the following about this pottery in one of
our project reports:

"Sherds typed as micaceous plain have a brownware paste that most often
contains quartz-feldspar-mica or granitic temper. An abundance of mica
occurs on the surface of the vessel but may or may not be as abundant in
the paste. The sherds may have patterned polishing, but the temper does
not appear to be different from other plainware except for apparent amount
of mica. At Yuma Wash, garnets sometimes occur in the temper."

Gregonis also notes that mica temper is present in several of the painted
pottery types she examined for the Yuma Wash project, especially type that
originated in Arizona’s Phoenix Basin.


Allen Dart, RPA, Executive Director
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
PO Box 40577
Tucson AZ  85717-0577   USA
    520-798-1201 office, 520-798-1966 fax
    Email: [log in to unmask]
    URL: www.oldpueblo.org
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On Thu, July 2, 2009 6:40 am, Boyer, Jeffrey, DCA wrote:
> By the way, there is also a controversy among New Mexican archaeologists
> as to whether the region's Hispanic occupants picked up micaceous pottery
> manufacture. The best evidence, in my opinion, says "no" and that pottery
> manufacture in Hispanic communities was the activity of Indians residing
> in those communities, primarily Apaches and Navajos, but that opinion is
> not universally held.
> Also, as regards Carl's note about micaceous pots, my grandmother always
> said -- and I have heard many viejos nortenos say -- that frijoles (beans)
> are best cooked in micaceous pots.
> Jeff
>
> Jeffrey L. Boyer, RPA
> Project Director
> Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico
> mail: P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico  87504
> physical: 407 Galisteo Street, Suite B-100, Santa Fe, New Mexico  87501
> tel: 505.827.6387          fax: 505.827.3904
> e-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. --Ellen
> Parr
>