Salado Art

At Tonto National Monument, visitors from far and wide have become captivated and awed by the intricate designs painted on the vessels and shards of ancient Salado pottery.  Over 700 hundred years ago, Salado women used mother earth’s gift of clay to fashion these unique vessels, bowls, and ollas of stunning beauty, while men harvested fiber from the fields to weave baskets and textiles of stunning wonder. Their style of pottery would come to be known polychrome. Polychrome ceramics were a defining characteristic of the Salado culture. During the Classic Period (1275CE-1450CE) polychrome ceramics were the most abundant decorated vessels in the American southwest. Salado vessels varied in design, though, based on time era and the tribal communities that designed them.

Pinto Polychrome was the earliest style of polychrome and red ware used by the Salado Culture. This style of polychrome consisted of bowls painted red on the outside and white on the inside. Black geometric designs were painted over the white interiors. Despite being one of the earliest styles of polychrome, though, it did not spread to regions outside of modern Arizona.  

Around 1300CE, Gila Polychrome was created. Unlike Pinto Polychrome, Gila Polychrome included complex asymmetrical designs decorated on the white interiors of bowls, jars, squat pots, and ollas with red brims. Gila polychrome was also the most common style of polychrome found throughout the American southwest. Similar to Gila Polychrome was the Tonto Polychrome style. Tonto Polychrome differed from Gila Polychrome though because red paint was sometimes applied to the white interiors of vessels while black and white designs were painted on the red exteriors of vessels. This style was also common throughout the American southwest during the twelfth century CE.

More than anything else, the polychrome pottery created by the Salado culture provides the richest information about the people who once inhabited the Tonto Basin. By examining the styles, mediums, and textiles of Salado pottery archeologists have concluded that most vessels were created locally and that the Salado had extensive trade and communication systems with other tribes in the southwest.   

Source: 

Daquila , C. & Hubbard, D. "What does Salado Mean?" Tonto Overview. Southwestlearning.org. (June 6, 2008)

Daquila, C & Hubbard, D. "Rosevelt Redwares and Salado Polychrome" Tonto Fact Sheet. Southwestlearning.org (June 19, 2008)