The large amount of turquoise artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica suggests that turquoise was an important commodity in pre-Columbian trade networks. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of turquoise exchange networks and the provenance regions of the turquoise in the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica are poorly understood. Turquoise (CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8•4(H2O)) is a supergene mineral that forms from meteoric water along fractures that are often associated with copper porphyry deposits. This copper-rich mineral can range in color and chemistry within a single sample or deposit. The ability to identify the turquoise resource areas of turquoise artifacts using the stable isotopes of hydrogen (2H/1H) and copper (65Cu/63Cu) has overcome many of the limitations of trace element analyses of complex minerals such as turquoise. The geography and geology of turquoise deposits dictate the isotopic composition of turquoise. Employing the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) technique to measure the hydrogen and copper stable isotope ratios in turquoise samples, a comparative reference database consisting of 876 analyses from 21 turquoise resource areas in the western United States was established. Sixty-two turquoise artifacts recovered from Aztec Ruin, Salmon Ruin, and nine sites in Chaco Canyon were analyzed and their isotopic signatures were compared to the reference database identifying the turquoise resource areas of 35 artifacts. These results were compared to pre-existing models of trade and exchange in the American Southwest and models that explain the complex culture history of the inhabitants of these sites. The results showed that turquoise was obtained from several different turquoise provenance regions across the western United States and there are notable differences in the turquoise procurement patterns between the three major great houses and between Pueblo Bonito and the small sites within Chaco Canyon. The results from this study improved the understanding of turquoise trade and relationships among the occupants of important Ancestral Puebloan sites in northwestern New Mexico. The development of the turquoise comparative reference database established the foundation of future research for reconstruction of ancient turquoise trade networks and investigation of turquoise procurement strategies in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica.

The large amount of turquoise artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica suggests that turquoise was an important commodity in pre-Columbian trade networks. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of turquoise exchange networks and the provenance regions of the turquoise in the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica are poorly understood. Turquoise (CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8•4(H2O)) is a supergene mineral that forms from meteoric water along fractures that are often associated with copper porphyry deposits. This copper-rich mineral can range in color and chemistry within a single sample or deposit. The ability to identify the turquoise resource areas of turquoise artifacts using the stable isotopes of hydrogen (2H/1H) and copper (65Cu/63Cu) has overcome many of the limitations of trace element analyses of complex minerals such as turquoise. The geography and geology of turquoise deposits dictate the isotopic composition of turquoise. Employing the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) technique to measure the hydrogen and copper stable isotope ratios in turquoise samples, a comparative reference database consisting of 876 analyses from 21 turquoise resource areas in the western United States was established. Sixty-two turquoise artifacts recovered from Aztec Ruin, Salmon Ruin, and nine sites in Chaco Canyon were analyzed and their isotopic signatures were compared to the reference database identifying the turquoise resource areas of 35 artifacts. These results were compared to pre-existing models of trade and exchange in the American Southwest and models that explain the complex culture history of the inhabitants of these sites. The results showed that turquoise was obtained from several different turquoise provenance regions across the western United States and there are notable differences in the turquoise procurement patterns between the three major great houses and between Pueblo Bonito and the small sites within Chaco Canyon. The results from this study improved the understanding of turquoise trade and relationships among the occupants of important Ancestral Puebloan sites in northwestern New Mexico. The development of the turquoise comparative reference database established the foundation of future research for reconstruction of ancient turquoise trade networks and investigation of turquoise procurement strategies in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica.

Este trabalho propôs um estudo da cerâmica Anasazi/ Pueblo Antigo, Mogollon e Casas Grandes, com o intuito de averiguar a presença de um \"código pictórico\". Para tanto, foram realizadas análises quantitativas e qualitativas de um conjunto de 1.451 peças arqueológicas. Os resultados dessas análises levaram à constatação da existência de um \"código pictórico\" formado por um conjunto finito de símbolos gráficos, cuja produção e reprodução foi observada em cerâmicas dispersas tanto por uma ampla faixa territorial, como ao longo de uma considerável escala temporal (aprox. de 500 d.C. a 1500 d.C.). O conjunto artefatual estudado foi produzido por grupos humanos que habitaram uma região conhecida na arqueologia como \"Sudoeste\". Tendo como base a constatação de que este \"código pictórico\" foi amplamente expresso na cerâmica encontrada ao longo de vastos territórios, foi também aqui investigado e demonstrado que alguns de seus \"símbolos principais\" poderiam também ser encontrados na iconografia de áreas hoje consideradas como norte e centro - mesoamericanas. Nesse sentido, o trabalho buscou contribuir também para o aprofundamento do debate da natureza das trocas e dos contatos que hoje acredita-se terem sido travados ao longo destas extensas áreas. / This work aims to demonstrate the existence of a common \"pictorial code\", through a study of the Anasazi/ Ancient Pueblo, Mogollon and Casas Grandes ceramic production. The quantitative and qualitative analyses conducted in 1.451 ceramic artefacts were able to demonstrate the presence of a pictorial code, formed by an specific set of graphic symbols, expressed in the ceramics found through a vast territory, covering a substantial time lapse (from aprox. 500 d.C. to 1500 d.C.). Groups that once inhabited a region known in archeological literature by the name of \"Southwest\", produced the ceramic artifacts analyzed by this study. Considering that this \"pictorial code\" was present and seen through such extensive areas, its presence was also investigated in the material production of the surroundings areas of Mesoamerica. It was demonstrated, through such investigation, that some of its main symbols were also depicted in the iconography of north and central Mesoamerica. The analysis of such scenario contributes to a better understanding of the nature of the contacts and exchanges that it is known today to have happened through such territories.

Este trabalho propôs um estudo da cerâmica Anasazi/ Pueblo Antigo, Mogollon e Casas Grandes, com o intuito de averiguar a presença de um \"código pictórico\". Para tanto, foram realizadas análises quantitativas e qualitativas de um conjunto de 1.451 peças arqueológicas. Os resultados dessas análises levaram à constatação da existência de um \"código pictórico\" formado por um conjunto finito de símbolos gráficos, cuja produção e reprodução foi observada em cerâmicas dispersas tanto por uma ampla faixa territorial, como ao longo de uma considerável escala temporal (aprox. de 500 d.C. a 1500 d.C.). O conjunto artefatual estudado foi produzido por grupos humanos que habitaram uma região conhecida na arqueologia como \"Sudoeste\". Tendo como base a constatação de que este \"código pictórico\" foi amplamente expresso na cerâmica encontrada ao longo de vastos territórios, foi também aqui investigado e demonstrado que alguns de seus \"símbolos principais\" poderiam também ser encontrados na iconografia de áreas hoje consideradas como norte e centro - mesoamericanas. Nesse sentido, o trabalho buscou contribuir também para o aprofundamento do debate da natureza das trocas e dos contatos que hoje acredita-se terem sido travados ao longo destas extensas áreas. / This work aims to demonstrate the existence of a common \"pictorial code\", through a study of the Anasazi/ Ancient Pueblo, Mogollon and Casas Grandes ceramic production. The quantitative and qualitative analyses conducted in 1.451 ceramic artefacts were able to demonstrate the presence of a pictorial code, formed by an specific set of graphic symbols, expressed in the ceramics found through a vast territory, covering a substantial time lapse (from aprox. 500 d.C. to 1500 d.C.). Groups that once inhabited a region known in archeological literature by the name of \"Southwest\", produced the ceramic artifacts analyzed by this study. Considering that this \"pictorial code\" was present and seen through such extensive areas, its presence was also investigated in the material production of the surroundings areas of Mesoamerica. It was demonstrated, through such investigation, that some of its main symbols were also depicted in the iconography of north and central Mesoamerica. The analysis of such scenario contributes to a better understanding of the nature of the contacts and exchanges that it is known today to have happened through such territories.