Pueblo Pottery: The Protohistoric
and Historic Periods [pp. 108- ]

The Hopi people appear to have been associated with northeastern Arizona for as long as the Anasazi tradition can be identified -- Jeddito Black-on-yellow becomes the model from which the variations emerge

T E X T
As has been previously noted, the Prehistoric and Historic periods were characterized by change. Almost all parts of the Pueblo world experienced a period of population growth and aggregation during the 1200s. Many centers came into existence as peoples in various districts banded together to form large social units, and under such conditions there was an accompanying increase in the scale of interaction between villages as well as within the villages themselves. One effect was the development of numerous ceramics that came to symbolize particular communities. The 1300s were a period of stress: many demographic relocations took place; some regions were abandoned, while others experienced rapid population growth. Overall, there may have been a decline in the total number of people.

There is little agreement among investigators as to specific causes for these changes. Drought, arroyo cutting that destroyed arable lands, changes in the rainfall that shortened the growing season in the higher elevations, failure of the Mesoamerican trade network, and even enemy peoples have been considered as possible reasons. It is probable that no single cause explains all cases. But there is agreement that stresses of many kinds played major roles in the responses to change made by Pueblo Indians.

The events of the Protohistoric and Historic periods did not occur at the same time in all districts, now were all districts affected equally. Each had a unique history. The events varied from the aggregation of related peoples who came together from a widespread region into a few large pueblos, to the progressive movement of people from remote regions into occupied areas. External factors were added when Europeans began to settle in the Southwest and when Athapascans or other Indian groups made inroads into the Pueblo area. In the case of the Spanish occupation, there was an attempt at directed culture change.

The Protohistoric period was the time when many of the present Pueblo groups became identified with a particular district. After the abandonment of major parts of the Southwest such as Mesa Verde and the Chaco Basin, and subsequent resettlement, many of the new homelands have remained the ones with which groups are associated today.

The Hopi people appear to have been associated with northeastern Arizona for as long as the Anasazi tradition can be identified. Hopi ceramics of the Prehistoric period were virtually unique in that ceramic developments of the Protohistoric and Historic periods continued the regional trends noted earlier and displayed very few significant changes. Specializations within the group are evident, and there are distinctive variations in the basic theme. More than any other ceramic, Jeddito Black-on-yellow becomes the model from which the variations emerge.