The World’s Largest SW Indian Pottery Collection Highlighted in New Exhibition
All Photos by Jannelle Weakly, courtesy Arizona State Museum

Modern computer technology allows museum to share ancient pottery technology on global scale, serving both researchers and general public.

The Arizona State Museum recently opened its newest exhibition, “The Pottery Project.” At some 20,000 whole vessels, ASM’s collection of Southwest Indian pottery is the world’s largest and most comprehensively documented.

An exciting feature of the exhibition will certainly be the Virtual Vault.
The Virtual Vault is a three-dimensional, interactive database of signature pieces from within the museum’s actual storage vault (The Agnese and Emil Haury Southwest Native Nations Pottery Vault).

“For curatorial reasons, the museum cannot allow visitors into the real storage vault, which must stay at a constant 72 degrees F. and 32% humidity,” explains Diane Dittemore, an ASM collections curator, “so this is an excellent way for us to share the collection with visitors and with the world.”

The Virtual Vault will enable visitors to access pieces of their choice "virtually:" to remove a pot from the shelf, rotate it, learn more about the archaeological site where it was found, watch a potter demonstrate how it was made, hear the stories it embodies, hear a curator discuss its cultural significance, and peruse its catalog data. Interpretive components will situate the development of ceramics in the American Southwest within the broader context of current archaeological and ethnographic research.

So far 140 pots have been digitized. The database has capabilities for continuous additions and upgrades.

“This visual database conveys a wealth of interpretive and contextual information not delivered by traditional exhibition mechanisms,” explains Davison Koenig, an exhibits curator at ASM.  “This globally accessible, three-dimensional database will be as informationally relevant for the hard core researcher as it will be intellectually stimulating for the casual visitor. For both, visually stunning!”

The adaptability of this powerful tool ensures that both the models themselves and the high-quality content they help to impart are accessible to academic and professional researchers, K–20 educators, and an avocational audience worldwide.

What’s the oldest pot in the collection?

ASM #98-136-177 (see pictured) is one of the oldest whole pots in the ASM collection, dating to approximately AD 50-150. This seed jar, or "tecomate," was found in a pit house at the Stone Pipe Site, near Prince Road and the I-10 frontage road. The site, attributed to what archaeologists call the “Agua Caliente” phase, spans the dates c. AD 50-475. The site was excavated by Desert Archaeology, Inc. in 1993-1995 under the direction of Jonathan Mabry (now the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Tucson). The currently accepted cultural affiliation for the Agua Caliente phase is "Early Formative."

#98-136-177 is important because it originates in the phase during which the earliest ceramic containers are known for the Southwest. Though early, it is relatively large and remarkably well-made, which suggests that it does not represent the very earliest attempt at pottery making in the Agua Caliente phase. Another point of interest is that these earliest ceramics are primarily storage, not cooking, vessels. #98-136-177, with its relatively small mouth, is a seed jar and would have functioned as a storage vessel.

Why is the collection so large?

Because of statewide urban expansion. ASM issues about 140 archaeological permits a year due to urban expansion statewide, on public lands (highway expansions, new power lines, new shopping malls, new housing, etc). As the official repository for archaeological objects uncovered as a result of that archaeological activity, the museum’s holdings grow on a daily basis. Two thirds of the pottery collection is of an archaeological nature. The remaining one third is historic and contemporary. 

Why is pottery so important?

Archaeologists spend a lot of time studying pottery, whether whole or in shards, because it contains an enormous amount of cultural information: who made it, where it was made, how it was made, how it was used, what it contained, where it got traded to, where it was traded from, etc. Ceramics define what we know about the ancient cultures of this region and have helped archaeologists clarify the differences among the Hohokam, Salado, Mogollon, Mimbres, Sinagua, and ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi). 

Inspiration and Collaboration

A professional collaboration between Arizona State Museum and the Center for Desert Archaeology is at the core of the Virtual Vault project. Doug Gann from the Center for Desert Archaeology has been investigating applications of profile modeling, an innovative technique enabling rapid, low-cost digitization of three-dimensional objects. This revolutionary method quickly creates photorealistic digital models of objects using photography rather than costly laser scans. Already a pioneer in 3D modeling of archaeological sites, Gann views the nexus between these two techniques as an ideal means of creating past worlds where virtual explorers can view pottery and artifacts in situ.

 "I see this project as a prototype for finally unlocking the potential of the “virtual museum.”   Rather than simply displaying pictures of interesting objects, the State Museum is going to be able to share both detailed three-dimensional models and interpretive information on some of the most amazing examples of ancient, historic, and modern Native American ceramic arts. "

Ongoing Support Needed

This project is supported by Arizona State Museum and the Center for Desert Archaeology.  A $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will allow the museum's virtual vault to be shared with a global audience via the Internet . The award will fund completion of an alpha-level version of the Virtual Vault for testing and evaluation.   Private support is needed for subsequent phases and ongoing additions of significant pieces. To contribute financially to this project contact Steve Harvath, director of development, at 520-626-3466 or harvath@email.arizona.edu.

Diane Dittemore, the Ethnological Collections Curator at Arizona State Museum, was a featured guest on our online radio show ‘Champagne Sundays’. To hear Diane Dittemore’s interview that aired on May 18, 2008, please double click on the Play Button below.