EL PASO POLYCHROME POTTERY EL PASO POLYCHROME POTTERY. El Paso
polychrome pottery is a red, black, and brown ware produced by
Indian workmen between A.D. 1200 and 1600. The type locality is
the Hueco basin northeast of El Paso, Texas. Though common
within a radius of 100 miles of El Paso, the pottery is most
abundant in the type area and the southern portion of the
adjacent Tularosa basin, New Mexico. The workmanship is crude
both in the vessels and in the application of paint. The clay is
grayish brown to black, sand-tempered, and friable. Sand,
frequently quite coarse, may be visible on the surface. Vessels
include ollas, jars, bowls, and, more rarely, ladles, zoomorphic
forms, and erratically shaped pieces. The shoulders of ollas and
jars are thin, remarkably so in some instances, with surface
smoothing accomplished by wiping or rubbing. The brown to
reddish base color is applied either by a thin wash or, more
probably, by a float. The decoration on the brown background is
red and black. The red paint vari