Floyd Black-on-gray is a type of San Francisco Mountain Gray Ware found between the Aubry Cliffs and the San Francisco Peaks, and as a trade ware as far as the Little Colorado River.

Archaeological Culture: Cohonina

Date Range: A.D. 800 to 1025 (per Christian Downum, Northern Arizona University).

Construction: By paddle and anvil.

Firing: In a reducing atmosphere.

Core Color: Gray.

Temper: Abundant fine rounded quartz sand; occasional grains of dark angular fragment; fine mica particles visible on surface.

Surface Finish: Exterior jar surfaces are polished and compacted; not slipped; interior bowl surfaces polished and compacted; not slipped; exterior bowl surfaces somewhat irregularly smoothed, or rough if painted red; interior jar surfaces are irregularly smoothed, scraped, scratched, or wiped. Anvil marks are discernible but not obvious. Very fine mica particles glitter on both surfaces.

Surface Color: Almost white to very light gray, to smoky blue or gray.

Forms: Bowls predominate, jars rare, some use of lugs.

Decoration:

• Paint: Clear black with distinct outlines; bowl outsides often fugitive red.
• Pigments: Organic.
• Design: Confined to bowl interiors and jar exteriors; fine lines overlapping at junctures; dots, some oval or elongated, high triangles and low thin triangles, checkerboard squares. Kana-a style.

Comparisons: Distinguishable from Kana-a Black-on-white by presence of minute mica flakes seen on both surfaces; design motifs are similar. Distinguishable from Deadmans Black-on-gray by thinner sherds, whiter color, clear black paint which does not fade into the surface, and generally finer lines.

Other Names: Yavapai Plain.

Compiled from the following sources:
Colton, Harold. (1958) Pottery Types of the Southwest. Museum of Northern Arizona Ceramic Series No. 3D. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Compiled by:
April Peters, Northern Arizona University Anthropology Laboratories.