This study ultimately examines the role of preference in the evolution of material culture among Hohokam, Mogollon, Casas Grandes, Salado, and Ancient Pueblo groups in the prehistoric Southwest A.D. 200 - A.D. 1400. I documented the presence of specific motifs on vessels from the Dallas Museum of Art. The findings show that the distribution of hatching and acute and obtuse triangles was significantly different between Ancestral Pueblo and Mogollon during Cohort 2 (A.D. 900 - A.D. 1149) (p≤0.05). Despite these groups’ adjacent locations, they preferred different motifs styles, indicating possible differences in social structure and individual agency.