This pitcher, about 8 inches (20 cm) tall, was produced between 1000 and 1150 AD. It belongs to a ceramic type called "Mancos Black-on-white" after the location in Colorado where it was first identified.
Features characteristic of Mancos Black-on-white include the flattened handle, the checkerboard design, and the pitcher's shape-- a sharp shoulder with a slightly tapered neck.
Decoration is in black paint (probably an organic and vegetal mix) over a white slipped surface. The inner clay is probably tempered with crushed pottery from an earlier generation of ceramics.
This vessel was probably used for serving or short-term storage.
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