Shadows of the Things That Have Been: An Analysis of and Identification Guide to Ceramics From the Chapel Complex Excavation of the San Diego Presidio Volume 5: Summary, Synthesis and Conclusions . . . . By Stephen R. Van Wormer, Susan D. Walter, and Sue A. Wade (original) (raw)
Related papers
2024
This monograph presents results of an analysis of ceramics recovered from excavation of the San Diego, California, Presidio Chapel Complex. The material has been presented in a format that also serves as an identification guide for these artifacts. The purpose of this study was to identify as thoroughly as possible all of the vessels represented in the collection and gain an understanding of their archaeological and cultural contexts and use. Vessels were quantified by sherd count, weight, and minimum number (MNV). Another objective of this report was to provide under one cover the background information needed to understand the historical, archaeological, and cultural contexts of the ceramic artifacts. . In Volume 1, a history of the Chapel Complex site excavation and assessment of the site’s formation provide the archaeological context.
2024
This monograph presents results of an analysis of ceramics recovered from excavation of the San Diego, California, Presidio Chapel Complex. The material has been presented in a format that also serves as an identification guide for these artifacts. The purpose of this study was to identify as thoroughly as possible all of the vessels represented in the collection and gain an understanding of their archaeological and cultural contexts and use. Vessels were quantified by sherd count, weight, and minimum number (MNV). Another objective of this report was to provide under one cover the background information needed to understand the historical, archaeological, and cultural contexts of the ceramic artifacts. In Volumes 3 and 4, the chapters on ceramic artifacts are organized by origins and ware types and structured to serve as an identification guide. Each section begins with a review of the manufacturing and trade history of the ceramics. The discussion has been organized to progress from identification of individual sherds through to whole vessels. This has been aided by numerous photographs and illustrations.
2024
This monograph presents results of an analysis of ceramics recovered from excavation of the San Diego, California, Presidio Chapel Complex. The material has been presented in a format that also serves as an identification guide for these artifacts. The purpose of this study was to identify as thoroughly as possible all of the vessels represented in the collection and gain an understanding of their archaeological and cultural contexts and use. Vessels were quantified by sherd count, weight, and minimum number (MNV). Another objective of this report was to provide under one cover the background information needed to understand the historical, archaeological, and cultural contexts of the ceramic artifacts. In Volume 2, an emic context for understanding the use of ceramics by Mexican Californios was achieved through an examination of the physical and demographic history of the San Diego Presidio, a history of trade and economics in California during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and assessments of Californio cultural origins and food ways, as well as a folk typology for Mexican ceramics.
2024
This monograph presents results of an analysis of ceramics recovered from excavation of the San Diego, California, Presidio Chapel Complex. The material has been presented in a format that also serves as an identification guide for these artifacts. The purpose of this study was to identify as thoroughly as possible all of the vessels represented in the collection and gain an understanding of their archaeological and cultural contexts and use. Vessels were quantified by sherd count, weight, and minimum number (MNV). Another objective of this report was to provide under one cover the background information needed to understand the historical, archaeological, and cultural contexts of the ceramic artifacts. In Volumes 3 and 4, the chapters on ceramic artifacts are organized by origins and ware types and structured to serve as an identification guide. Each section begins with a review of the manufacturing and trade history of the ceramics. The discussion has been organized to progress from identification of individual sherds through to whole vessels. This has been aided by numerous photographs and illustrations.
Investigations by Malcolm J. Rogers of archaeological ceramics from southern California and the broader “Yuman” area beginning in the 1920s provide the foundation for all subsequent ceramic studies in the region. Although much information about his methods and analyses remains unpublished, his type collections and notes curated at the San Diego Museum of Man evidence efforts to develop a regional ceramic typology influenced by ethnographic observations. This paper describes how the work of Rogers has shaped studies by later researchers. Recently, larger sample sets and new analytical techniques are helping to refine and sometimes refute his early interpretations of archaeological ceramics. http://www.pcas.org/documents/4834Burton.pdf
Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, 2014
Excavations of the Chapel Area Complex of the San Diego Presidio (CA-SDI-38) were conducted by San Diego State University from 1964 to 1976 under the direction of Dr. Paul H. Ezell (1976). This report describes the presidio occupation period glass artifacts recovered from that project and presents some ideas concerning the social status and cultural preferences of the population that deposited the items. The presidio period assemblage contained several pieces indicating that most of the glass was manufactured between 1820 and 1840 and therefore arrived in California as cargo aboard hide and tallow ships. Categories of glass included bottle, domestic glassware, and window glass. These items probably represent luxury articles that made up smaller portions of a regular cargo or had been specifically ordered by individuals. Chipped glass flakes and tools were also identified. They attest to the further value of glass as a material for tool manufacture by both Mexicans and Native Americans. Most of the work done to date on sites from the Colonial and Mexican periods has been concerned chiefly with architecture, and little information was found on glass for this period from other excavations.
"Archaeologists have long used ceramics, especially majolica, as a key indicator of status in the Spanish colonial Americas. In actuality, archaeological evidence for the relationship between status and ceramics varies greatly. Requisitions and invoices (memorias and facturas) from two presidio settlements in Alta California provide valuable information about pricing of ceramic goods and the terminology that colonial officials used to describe them. Analysis of these documents suggests that ceramics were peripheral to Spanish colonial negotiations of status and rank. Some ceramics commonly assumed to indicate high status, such as majolica, are among the least expensive wares shipped to the province. Vessel function appears to have been more important to colonial officials than the ware types or decorative types emphasized by archaeologists. While the findings of this study are specific to Alta California, these results suggest that a broader re-examination of archaeological interpretations of Spanish colonial ceramics may be in order."
Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology , 2022
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is one of the most important historic areas in San Diego County, containing 68 recorded archaeological sites. One site, the Los Peñasquitos Ranch House Complex (CA-SDI-8125/5220), has been the focus of numerous archaeological and architectural investigations since 1980. In 2010, the Palomar College Department of Behavioral Sciences Archaeology Division began conducting archaeological test excavations in the field and knoll areas adjacent to the Ranch House. Between September 2010 and December 2019, the students in the Palomar College Archaeological Field School excavated 75 units in those two locations to identify historic activity areas and structures. In the fall of 2021, Palomar College students analyzed various historic artifacts to incorporate into a report submitted by Palomar College to the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation. This article presents the results of the analysis of historic ceramic household artifacts found in the vicinity of the Los Peñasquitos Ranch House.
PUEBLO CERAMICS OF THE ALAMEDA SCHOOL SITE, LA 421
This chapter documents the analysis of 4193 prehistoric and historic Native American ceramics of an estimated 20,000 recovered during the 2009 Office of Contract Archeology excavations at the Alameda School Site, LA 421. The ceramics were recovered from 136 features including 66 burials, as well as 41.75 m 2 of excavated area. This analysis builds on what has been learned from the previous ceramic research performed by Bargman (1997) and Kurota (2005). Previous research at the site yielded data on trends in ceramic manufacturing and trade as well as possible demographic trends as inferred from painted bowl vessel size. The current data recovery produced a sizeable ceramic assemblage that offered an opportunity to build on this past research and refine some of the possible trends initially described during the previous analyses. Additionally, the current excavations also have generated a moderate assemblage of partial vessels which offered an opportunity to address research questions that have not received much attention previously at LA 421 or in the Albuquerque Basin. Indeed, the data presented in the present analysis will help establish a baseline for future research on Classic period ceramic use in the region. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The considerable size of the ceramic assemblage and the diversity of the ceramic types and wares have provided an opportunity to address a variety of questions. These questions will allow us to expand our knowledge base on a range of topics including the Alameda School Site's chronology, subsistence practices, site's demographic trends, as well as questions that could enhance our better understanding of the origin, variety, and use of certain ceramic types and wares.