Plain pottery includes one restorable bowl and eight additional sherds.
Construction is hard to determine from so small a number of sherds,
but indications suggest coiling and scraping. Coils were fairly wide
(see Fig. 60). Core color is usually grey to black though one sherd is
oxidized to a brick red. Firing was done in a “reducing atmosphere”,
with some scattered spots oxidized. The temper is angular with
occasional mica fragments visible; it is probably crushed granite.
Some sherds may contain a small amount of quartz sand. The size of the
temper is variable, usually fine with a few large granules mixed in.
Vessel walls are usually fairly strong. The pottery is friable, not
flaky. Both surfaces are unslipped, and smoothed on all specimens.
The exterior is a brownish black, the interior is black. One sherd,
however, is dull grey. Thickness is from ¼-⁵/₁₆ inch, one sherd ³/₁₆
inch. The only partially complete form observed is a bowl. However,
another large sherd (about 8 inches square) suggests part of the wall
of a pot, perhaps with an incurving shoulder. The bowl has a mouth
diameter of 5½ inches, and in vertical cross-section resembles a
parabolic curve 3¼ inches high. Rims in general are gradually tapered.
[Illustration: FIGURE 59—Plain pottery bowl. White portions restored, ⅔
actual size.]
[Illustration: FIGURE 60—Plain pottery sherd, showing coiled
construction. Actual size.]