Abstract
This thesis explores an underutilized ceramic dataset to describe and quantify Owens Valley Brown Ware variability. The goal of this study is to identify why pottery was incorporated into the mobile lifeways of Owens Valley hunter-gatherers and how various environmental factors influenced pottery use in the region. Data for this project derives from original ceramic analysis supplemented by a large regional sample and environmental data. Analyzed sherds underwent macroscopic analysis, and 186 sherds from lands administered by Inyo National Forest were subjected to textural analysis. Variability in ceramic technology appears to conform¬ to the adaptive, mobile lifeways of Owens Valley residents. On average, larger pots were used in more residential contexts at better watered, more productive valley floor locales, and smaller pots were used in more arid locales where greater mobility was more common. Over time, pots were made thinner to increase portability throughout the western Great Basin.