Dividing Sites into Time Periods
One line of evidence VEP archaeologists used to divide sites into time periods was pottery analysis. The styles of pottery changed over time, and archaeologists have dated these changes by associating pottery with tree-ring dates.

The following images show the main pottery types found in the VEP North study area. There are gray wares, white wares, and red wares. Gray wares and white wares were made in the VEP North study area, but red wares were made outside the study area and were obtained through trade.

The first image provides an overview of pottery change through time. The next few images (images 2–7) show the gray wares made in the VEP North study area and how these changed over time. Most gray wares were jars used for cooking and storage; however, they may have gotten more specialized as cooking vessels over time.

The next group of images (images 8–14) shows the decorated white wares. White wares include bowls, jars, and other vessel forms, and most were used for serving and storage.

The last three images are of pottery assemblages that illustrate the different kinds of vessel forms, show how pottery changed from the earliest assemblages (image 15) to the latest assemblages (image 16), and show a sample of the different types of red wares (image 17).

Date ranges are given for the pottery types. For each type, there was a peak period when that type was most popular, often occurring at about the middle of the range.

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Image 1: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Images 2–17: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center (Bureau of Land Management–Anasazi Heritage Center collections; Mark Montgomery, photographer).

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