Roosevelt Red Ware - Ceramic Typology

Ceramic Typology

Roosevelt Red Ware is divided by archaeologists into a series of types, which cover shorter spans of time, based on configurations of the painted designs and rim profiles of bowls. Roosevelt Red Ware has traditionally been organized into three types based on stylistic differences. More recently researchers at the Center for Desert Archaeology in Tucson, Arizona have identified an additional six types based on a combination of stylistic and morphological characteristics. For bowls with both interior and exterior decoration, the exterior style is labeled as the variant (Example: Gila interior with a Tonto exterior would be labeled as Gila Polychrome: Tonto Variant)

All types within this ware share a number of broad categorical similarities although over a roughly 250 year time span significant variation is seen. The paste is generally brown to reddish-brown in color and is tempered with sand. Generally red and/or white slip cover both the interior and exterior and black paint is used on one or both surfaces, usually surrounded by white rather than red slip. Black paint is most commonly organic, but a mixture of organic and mineral paint appears on some vessels. Petrographic analyses have shown that Roosevelt Red Ware is produced across the full distributional range.