Early Pottery: Technology, Function, Style, and Interaction in the Lower Southeast

294 Pages·2004·6 MB·English

by  Dr. Rebecca Saunders

Early Pottery

EARLY POTTERY
Technology, Function, Style, and
Interaction in the Lower Southeast
Edited by
Rebecca Saunders and Christopher T. Hays
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2004
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeface: Bembo
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Science–Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Early pottery : technology, function, style, and interaction in the lower Southeast /
edited by Rebecca Saunders and Christopher T. Hays.
p. cm.
Papers originally presented at the Society for American Archaeology meetings in
2000.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8173-1420-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8173-5127-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Indian pottery—Southern States—Themes, motives. 2. Indian pottery—Southern
States—Classification. 3. Mississippian pottery—Southern States—Themes, motives.
4. Excavations (Archaeology)—Southern States. 5. Indians of North America—Southern
States—Antiquities. 6. Poverty Point culture. 7. Southern States—Antiquities. I. Saunders,
Rebecca, 1955– II. Hays, Christopher T. (Christopher Tinsley), 1957– III. Society
for American Archaeology.
E78.S65E16 2004
738.3´089´97075—dc22
20040105 98
ISBN 978-0-8173-1420-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 9780-8173-5127-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8173-8427-2 (electronic)
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1. Introduction: Themes in Early Pottery Research
Rebecca Saunders and Christopher T. Hays 1
2. Common Origins and Divergent Histories in the Early Pottery
Traditions of the American Southeast
Kenneth E. Sassaman 23
3. Spatial Variation in Orange Culture Pottery: Interaction and Function
Rebecca Saunders 40
4. Paste Variability and Possible Manufacturing Origins of Late Archaic
Fiber-Tempered Pottery from Selected Sites in Peninsular Florida
Ann S. Cordell 63
5. The Emergence of Pottery in South Florida
Michael Russo and Gregory Heide 105
6. Fiber-Tempered Pottery and Cultural Interaction on the
Northwest Florida Gulf Coast
L. Janice Campbell, Prentice M. Thomas, Jr., and James H. Mathews 129
7. Early Pottery at Poverty Point: Origins and Functions
Christopher T. Hays and Richard A. Weinstein 150
8. In the Beginning: Social Contexts of First Pottery in the
Lower Mississippi Valley
Jon L. Gibson and Mark A. Melancon 169
9. Petrographic Thin-Section Analysis of Poverty Point Pottery
Anthony L. Ortmann and Tristram R. Kidder 193
vi / Contents
10. Did Poverty Pointers Make Pots?
James B. Stoltman 210
Notes 223
References 233
Contributors 263
Index 265
List of Figures
1.1. The lower Southeast 2
1.2. Pottery traditions of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains 3
1.3. Locations of assemblages discussed in this volume 4
2.1. Hypothetical model of the origins and spread of ¤ber-tempered
pottery 26
2.2. Hypothetical model of bannerstone exchange from the middle Savannah
to the St. Johns region among preceramic populations 28
2.3. Absolute frequency distribution of carinated vessels from Stallings Island
by ori¤ce diameter 37
2.4. Absolute frequency distribution of carinated vessels from Stallings Island
by rim height 38
3.1. Location of Orange culture sites mentioned in the text 41
3.2. Topographic map of the Rollins Shell Ring 44
3.3. Rollins vessel diameters by vessel pro¤le 53
3.4. Elaborately decorated shallow bowl from Rollins 55
3.5. Motif variants for two motif groups from Summer Haven
and Rollins 59
3.6. Sherds with slightly curvilinear designs 60
4.1. Map of site locations, peninsular Florida 67
4.2. Photomicrographs of ¤ber-tempered sherd from Summer Haven 73
4.3. Bar chart of geographic distribution of gross paste categories 88
4.4. Incised chalky ¤ber-tempered sherds: Marco Island, Brit Army, Cotten,
Tick Island, South Indian Field 99
viii / Figures
4.5. Incised nonchalky ¤ber-tempered sherds: Marco Island, Brit Army,
Palmer, Askew, Cotten, Tick Island, Summer Haven 101
5.1. The Joseph Reed Shell Ring 106
5.2. Culture regions of Florida described in the text 107
5.3. Pro¤les of Joseph Reed Units 1, 2, and 4 116
5.4. Rim and base pro¤les, Joseph Reed pottery 117
5.5. Preliminary early pottery chronology based upon tempers and inclusions
for coastal East Okeechobee, southwest Florida, south Florida, and the Indian
River and St. Johns regions 121
6.1. Map showing the Florida panhandle and study area 131
6.2. Distribution of Elliotts Point sites 135
6.3. Map of Fourmile Peninsula showing location of Elliotts Point sites 136
6.4. Clusters of Elliotts Point sites with ¤ber-tempered pottery in
the study area 141
6.5. Prehistoric sites on Live Oak and Turtle Creeks 142
6.6. Prehistoric sites on Alaqua and Basin Creeks 143
6.7. Elliotts Point sites with ¤ber-tempered pottery on Alaqua and
Basin Creeks 144
6.8. Distribution of prehistoric sites on Turkey Creek 145
6.9. Elliotts Point sites with ¤ber-tempered pottery on Turkey Creek 146
6.10. Distribution of sites with ¤ber-tempered pottery at
Fourmile Peninsula 147
7.1. Location of the Poverty Point site and other sites mentioned in
the text 151
7.2. Contour map of the Poverty Point site, showing locations of excavation
units from which pottery was analyzed 152
7.3. Examples of some of the early pottery wares from Poverty Point, along
with enlargements of their respective pastes 155
7.4. Stratigraphic position of ¤ber-tempered, Tchefuncte, and St. Johns
pottery recovered at Poverty Point 160
7.5. The southeastern United States, showing regions with probable and/or
potential pottery connections to the Poverty Point site 162
8.1. The Lower Mississippi Valley showing Poverty Point and other
contemporary sites 170
Figures / ix
8.2. First pottery from the Poverty Point site 175
8.3. First pottery from the Jaketown site 176
9.1. Linked-pair cluster analysis of data grouped into ¤ve particle
size classes 197
9.2. Plot of eigenvectors 1 and 2 from principal components analysis of data
categorized into ¤ve particle size classes 199
9.3. Plot of eigenvectors 1 and 2 from correspondence analysis of data
categorized into ¤ve particle size classes 200
9.4. Linked-pair cluster analysis of data categorized into three particle
size classes 201
9.5. Plot of eigenvectors 1 and 2 from principal components analysis of data
categorized into three particle size classes 202
9.6. Plot of eigenvectors 1 and 2 from correspondence analysis of data
categorized into three particle size classes 203
9.7. Linked-pair cluster analysis of mean average diameter vs.
mean roundness 204
9.8. Scatterplot of mean average diameter vs. mean roundness 206
10.1. Photomicrograph of thin section of Memphis soil from beneath
Mound E, Poverty Point 214
10.2. Photomicrograph of thin section of a PPO 215
10.3. Ternary plot showing comparative paste values for PPOs, soil samples,
and ¤ber-tempered sherds from Poverty Point and one Wheeler Plain vessel
from the Tennessee Valley 215
10.4. Photomicrograph of thin section from a Wheeler Punctated vessel from
Poverty Point 216
10.5. Photomicrograph of thin section from a Tammany Punctated vessel
from Poverty Point 218
10.6. Ternary plot showing comparative paste values for three Tchefuncte
vessels vs. soil samples and PPOs from Poverty Point 218
10.7. Photomicrograph of thin section from a St. Johns Plain vessel from
Poverty Point 220
10.8. Ternary plot showing comparative paste values for three spiculate vessels
vs. soil samples and PPOs from Poverty Point, plus one St. Johns Plain vessel
from Florida 221