To read the complete narrative of the GCAS field trip of May 2-4, 2018, see Part I here, and Part II here.
Day 2: May 3, 2018. Shopping day in the artisans' town of Mata Ortiz. Because the Grant County Archaeological Society embraces art and culture in all its forms. (h/t Marcia Corl for close-up photo of fine ceramics detailing.)
Juan Mata Ortiz is a town of about 1200 people located several miles south- 
southwest of Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. It was established in the late 19th Century as "Pearson," but after the 1916 Mexican Revolution it renamed itself "Juan Mata Ortiz" in memory of an army colonel and local hero who had fought against the Apache. The town's economy had been based exclusively on agriculture, but beginning in the late 1970s/early 1980s a ceramics tradition began to develop that now provides the town and its inhabitants with a more stable and diverse economy than agriculture alone had afforded.
Generally speaking, the shapes of Mata Ortiz ceramics and their motifs are a revival of, and a modern 
interpretation of, the prehispanic ceramics of the Paquimé culture. Many families in this small town include highly skilled ceramicists among their members. A Google of the phrase "Mata Ortiz ceramics" produces good examples of current Mata Ortiz ceramic art. These two photos of thousand-year-old ollas recovered from the ruins of Paquimé and which are now in the site's museum, illustrate the Paquimé style of ceramics on which modern Mata Ortiz pottery is based.
...to be continued in Part IV...
/s/ webmaster
I'm loving the report of the Paquime trip. Looking forward to the next installment.
Posted by: William Hudson | 05/29/2018 at 10:57 AM