Corrugated pottery, technological style, and population movement in the Mimbres region of the American southwest

dAn understanding of small-scale population movements is essential to recen t research on migration. Consideration of the technological style (processe s of manufacture) of pottery, in conjunction with petrographic sourcing ana lyses, provides means of identifying and interpreting population movements at various scales. Diverse styles characterizes Postclassic Mimbres (A.D. 1 150-early 1200s) regional reorganization in southwest New Mexico. One new s tyle, indented corrugated pottery, is similar to northern types. Postclassi c assemblages include both roughly and finely made examples, both locally p roduced. The finely executed vessels were made by migrants from the north a nd possibly by local potters who learned the northern techniques. The rough ly made vessels were produced by local potters who copied the technique. Th e rough and fine vessels are found in the same contexts, suggesting no spat ial or temporal differentiation. Thus in-migration to the eastern Mimbres a rea involved individuals or small groups who joined a preexisting network, possibly through intermarriage.