The origins of pottery as a practical domestic technology: Evidence from the middle Queen Creek area, Arizona

The site of Finch Camp in the middle Queen Creek area of Arizona, southeast of Phoenix, has produced some of the earliest evidence of utilitarian pottery use in the US Southwest. Using multiple lines of evidence from vessel morphology, surface alteration, and minute fatty acid residues in vessel walls, I evaluate the nascent function of the earliest vessels (mostly neckless jars, or tecomates) and infer a diachronic process of functional expansion from about 350 B.C.–A.D. 400. This evidence provides robust evidence for evaluating various theoretical models of pottery origins. I argue that utilitarian pottery was initially adopted in connection with the intensification of small particulate plant foods (e.g., seeds, grains) and increasing household-level control over resources. Further, vessel functions may have expanded during the early centuries A.D. in response to women’s task-scheduling conflicts stemming from increasing residential stability and growing reliance on low-level horticulture.

► Pottery adoption at Finch Camp reflected utilitarian, subsistence-related concerns. ► The earliest pots were tecomates, which are versatile utilitarian containers. ► Tecomates were used to intensively process small particulate plant foods. ► Increased pottery use reflected changes in women’s subsistence obligations. ► Processes of pottery adoption were regionally variable and historically contingent.