Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

For thirty years, Fremont ceramic analysts have primarily relied on the ceramic typology proposed by R. Madsen in 1977. The intervening years of research have yielded a wealth of relevant data and re ned analytical techniques. Contemporary analysts regularly identify variations in Fremont ceramic temper that exceed Madsen’s descriptions. In addition, key observations from previous analyses were omitted from the Madsen typology. I review past and current conceptions of Fremont ceramic types as well as the literature pertaining to the treatment of ceramic variation, speci cally temper. Building on this work and on recent developments in Hohokam ceramic studies, I suggest a method to identify and exploit temper variability in Fremont ceramics. I then propose a reclassi cation of Fremont pottery within a Type – Series –Ware hierarchy. Fremont pottery is subsumed under a single ware, with series de ned by temper and types by surface treatment