Ladle Item Number: 03.325.10847 from the Brooklyn Museum

Credit Line

Museum Expedition 1903, Purchased with funds given by A. Augustus Healy and George Foster Peabody

Label

Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) Pottery: A Spectrum of Black and White

Puebloan people excelled at creating an immense variety of pottery using only black and white. This color scheme was partly dictated by the nature of the clay and the mineral or plant paints available. Archaeologists surmise that cross-hatched designs like the one on this bowl may have represented the color turquoise—reflecting the precious stone and the color of water, a sacred commodity in the dry Southwest region.