First stage.—In the early stages of art the elements used in embellishment are greatly non-ideographic, and the forms of expression are chiefly geometric. The elements or motives are limited in number and are in a measure common to all archaic art. They embrace dots, straight lines, and various angular and curvilinear figures, which in their higher stages become checkers, zigzags, chevrons, complex forms of meanders, fretted figures, and scrolls, with an infinite variety of combination and detail. At the same time there is no confusion. The processes by which the parts are segregated are as well regulated as are the processes of natural growth. This phase of decoration seems to be the prevailing one in the earlier stages of Pueblo art.
Second stage.—A second phase or stage is marked by the free introduction of ideographic devices of pictorial origin into decoration. These are drawn, to a great extent, from that most prolific source of artistic conceptions, mythology. This stage is the second in Pueblo art. The period or stage of culture at which such elements are introduced varies with different peoples. It is possible that ideographic and non-ideographic devices may enter art simultaneously. This is certainly to be expected in the ceramic art, which comes into existence rather late in the course of progress.
Third stage.—In strong contrast with the preceding stages is the state of modern Pueblo decoration. Contact with the whites has led to the introduction of life forms and varied pictorial delineations. These conditions belong to a stage in advance of the position reached in the natural course of growth. Ideographic, non-ideographic, and purely pictorial characters are combined in the most heterogeneous manner in the decoration of a single vessel. The decorator has ceased to work under the guidance of his instincts as a rule unerring, and now, like the mass of his more highly civilized brethren, he must grope in darkness until culture shall come to his aid with canons of taste—the product of intellect.
Classification of ware.—In the treatment of this great group, or rather collection of groups, of pottery a scheme of classification is the first thing to be considered. In glancing over the field we notice that a whitish ware, having a certain range of material, finish, form, and decoration, is very widely distributed, that, in fact, it is found over nearly the entire area known to have been occupied by the Pueblo tribes. We find, however, that within this area there are varieties of this particular group distinguished by more or less pronounced peculiarities of color, form, and ornament, resulting from dissimilarity of environment rather than from differences in time, race, or method of construction. This group is associated, in nearly every locality, with the archaic coiled ware, and together they are especially typical of the first great period of Pueblo art. Its makers were the builders of the cliff dwellings, of the round towers, and of countless stone pueblos.
Distinct from the preceding, and apparently occupying an intermediate place in time and culture between the primitive and the recent wares, we have a number of pretty well defined groups. At least two of these are peculiar to the ancient province of Tusayan. The vessels of one of these groups are noticeable for their rounded symmetrical bodies, their finely textured paste, and their delicate creamy shades of color. The designs are well executed and display unusual refinement of taste.
Another, and probably the more important variety, is characterized, first, by peculiarities of form, the body being doubly conical and the bottom deeply indented; second, by richness of color, orange and yellow tints prevailing; and, third, by the striking individuality and remarkable execution of the painted designs.
In the valley of the Little Colorado and extending southward to the Gila, we find remnants of a group of highly colored pottery differing from the preceding and, in many respects, from the widely distributed red ware of the north, specimens of which occur in connection with the white ware. The surfaces are painted red and profusely decorated in white, black, and red lines and figures.
Still another variety is obtained from this region. As indicated by collections from Saint John and Springerville, it consists greatly of bowls, the colors, forms, and decorations having decided points of resemblance to corresponding features of the cream-colored ware of ancient Tusayan. There are still other groups, probably of intermediary periods, whose limits are not yet well defined, examples of which are found in possession of the Pueblo Indians.
At Pecos the art was practiced long after the advent of the conquerors, and later specimens show the archaic decorative ideas worked out in Spanish glaze. The deserted pueblos of the Rio Grande furnish antique forms that show wide distinctions from the ancient wares of the west. Another variety peculiar to the southwest shows indications of having been carried down to the present in the work of the Indians of the Lower Colorado Valley. Each of these groups and such new ones as may be discovered will be made the subject of careful study.
The remainder of this paper will be devoted to a single group—the first mentioned in the preceding list.