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The Mata Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo Connection: Similarities in Design By Guy Berger  Paquime’ was an old village in northern Mexico that existed from the years 1200-1540 AD, very near the modern day village of Mata Ortiz. Acoma Pueblo sits 50 miles west of Albuquerque in New Mexico. Exploring the sometimes subtle, sometimes striking similarities between ancient Paquime’ pottery examples, modern Native American Pueblo pottery and modern Mata Ortiz designs was a fascinating exercise for me.Having been involved in buying and selling Native American pottery for the past 20 years, my eye instantly recognized how many of the designs resembled each other. The most common design similarity between the two styles is the bird. Since it is known that the Paquime’ people raised macaws and there are stories handed down about Acoma Pueblo people following parrot-like birds to find water, I believe this is strong evidence for correlating the designs of the two places. It follows that much of the contemporary Mata Ortiz pottery patterns depict this most interesting bird.  Paquime’ people created pottery unique to their part of the world and decorated the pottery with designs from things in their world. “In many aspects Paquime’ looks like a Southwestern Pueblo, with multistory adobe room blocks bordering communal plazas and pottery that is clearly part of Southwestern polychrome tradition. In other ways, Casas Grandes is an enigma. Ball court, monumental architecture, a stratified social hierarchy, macaw breeding and ceramic effigies all suggest Mesoamerican influences.” This reference to macaw breeding could help us explain the designs found on pottery shards among the Paquime’ ruins.The bird motif in question was done in many different varieties, but has the same basic design elements. Some are easy to spot, while others take a while to see within the entire pattern. Most bird patterns have semi-circle ending in a point, signifying a beak. As you follow the curves around it is noticeable that there is a light dot surrounded by darker lines to represent an eye. This is evident on Acoma pots with stylized bird designs as well. Some pots showed even further development of the bird with abstract feather designs for both wind and tail feathers. Were the designs I was seeing on the Mexican pottery connected to the New Mexico Pueblo pottery? How did the figures come to be so alike? How did the ideas transfer through Mesoamerica? As I looked at these unique similarities, I wondered how the designs came to take on some of the same characteristics, yet be separated by such great distances. Could it be that the “Acoma Parrot” and the Paquime’ macaw is one and the same? Could the Spanish explorers have traded for these unique birds on their way through Mexico and exposed the Acoma Indians to them? Were these the same birds from Acoma in a story told to me by Barbara Cerno, a well known Acoma potter, about how the elder Acoma ladies followed colorful birds each morning in order to find water? What other ways could the design have traveled through Mesoamerica? The bird design is carried on in many of the modern examples of Mata Ortiz pottery, but the thing I find most interesting is how close these macaw designs are to the bird motifs used at Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. My hypothesis is that the bird designs used by the modern Mata Ortiz potters are taken from the old Paquime’ examples, so there must me a correlation between the old Paquime’ bird design, the modern Mata Ortiz design and the Acoma Pueblo design. And Then There Were Six By Diana Strickland  Over the past several newsletters I have had the pleasure of writing about Palms employees who are, more often than not, also members of my family. Today’s introduction is no exception, as I have the opportunity to introduce you to the newest addition to the Palms team, my brother, Peter. Peter’s employment at Palms brings the total number of immediate family members to six: owner Guy Berger, Peter Berger, Vince Medici, Enso Medici, Ashley Medici and myself.Coming to work for Dad was an easy choice for Peter upon moving back to Albuquerque after his graduation from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California, in May. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and focus on International E-marketing, Peter was eager to take on advertising and marketing tasks. Over the past several months of his employment, Peter has successfully implemented strategies to increase Palms’ visibility with prospective and current customers, as well as garner interest in the business. No doubt, Peter is thrilled to be back at home again. Always the sweet talker-and New Mexican at heart, he cites his favorite part of moving back to Albuquerque as “being around people with great attitudes and hard work ethic, but mostly the large increase in green chile availability.” His favorite aspect of working for the family business? Just that-working with family members and forming relationships with the artists who allow us to do what we do. As if working for our father did not show enough that we aspire to follow in his footsteps, Peter has also formed a fondness for something Dad and I love: coaching. This year Peter is our father’s assistant coach for the JV basketball team at St. Pius X High School, our alma mater. When he’s not working or coaching, Peter enjoys fishing, hunting and spending time with his 5 month old husky puppy, Jack. His favorite foods include our paternal grandmother’s (Nonnie) lemon meat-what I view as an awful concoction of raw meat cooked solely by the acidity of an abundance of lemon juice-Caprese salad and stuffed mushrooms. Never one to take himself too seriously, when asked for his final thoughts, Peter responded with “I enjoy long walks on the beach, sunflowers on sunny days and fluffy rain clouds.” One thing is for sure, he certainly knows how to keep us on our toes. Palms Trading Now Offers Flavors of the Southwest!  It is a well known fact that New Mexico is, in part, known for its food culture and various spins on traditional food. So much so, in fact, that our official state slogan is “Red or Green?”, in reference, of course, to a person’s chile preference. However, one can always choose “Christmas” – a combination of the two chiles-quite fitting for the holiday season!In an effort to expand our product line and bring our valued customers a bit more of Southwest flair, Palms Trading Company is now offering a wide variety of regional food products. From jarred green and red chile and sopapilla mix from Bueno Foods in New Mexico, to green and red chile flavored pistachios and pistachio bark from Heart of the Desert in Alamogordo, to whipped honeys, jellies, jams and sauces from Honeyville in Durango, Palms offers something for every palate. Give us a call or stop by and taste what the Southwest has to offer. |
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 Artist Spotlight: Sofia Medina  Sofia Medina, born on the Zia Pueblo February 9, 1932, has been creating beautiful, traditional Zia pottery since 1964. She learned how to make pottery from her husband’s mother, Trinidad Medina and has passed on her pottery making knowledge to the younger generation, including all eight of her children. Sofia, at 77, has won countless awards-in fact, her witty response to the prompt “awards received” on our artist questionnaire is “I’ve won too many awards to mention in this tiny space!” She is most known for her multi-colored birds and geometric designs and cites her favorite activity in the pottery making process as “building my pottery from the ground up.” A renowned artist, Sofia’s work is collected at institutions such as Harvard University and the Peabody Essex Museum and featured in the Albuquerque Museum’s 1979 One Space, Three Visions exhibit. |
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A couple of days ago, I was sitting in my comfortable recliner before the break of dawn reading a book called “The Trial of Alex Cross”, a story set in the early 1900’s in the very segregated south; a very easy and entertaining read, I might add. As I read, my mind began to drift off to an early chapter in my family’s history when my grandparents eked out an existence in the Zuni Mountains of western New Mexico in the depression era of the early 1900’s.
