Ann S. Cordell

PASTE CHARACTERIZATION OF WEEDEN ISLAND POTTERY FROM KOLOMOKI AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIALIZED PRODUCTION

Abstract We report the results of a petrographic analysis of pottery from Kolomoki, a Middle and Late Woodland period mound and village complex in southwestern Georgia. Thin sections of 65 sherds representing several prestige and utilitarian Weeden Island pottery types, from both domestic (midden) and ceremonial (mound) contexts, were obtained. For comparison, we also analyzed samples from a few potential clay sources. We characterize the range of variability in paste/resource groupings present in the Kolomoki assemblage and use these data to address patterns of manufacture and exchange of Weeden Island pottery through comparisons to thin sections of comparable types from the McKeithen site and other Weeden Island sites in the region.

Comparative Clay Analysis and Curation for Archaeological Pottery Studies

ABSTRACT We describe the curation and use of clay samples as part of the ceramic ecology program at the Florida Museum of Natural Historys Ceramic Technology Laboratory (FLMNH-CTL). We outline the history of the comparative clay sample collection at the FLMNH-CTL and detail the standard operating procedure by which samples are processed, analyzed, and curated. We also provide examples of how the clay samples have been used in research projects as well as some of the challenges inherent to studies using such samples. Our collection of processed clays and associated thin sections, which is curated in perpetuity, represents a valuable resource for ongoing and future lab endeavors and is available to other researchers focusing on Florida and adjacent regions. En este artículo describimos la conservación y el uso de muestras de alfarería como parte del programa de ecología cerámica del Laboratorio de Tecnología Cerámica del Museo de Historia Natural de Florida. Explicamos la historia de la colección de muestras de barro del laboratorio y el procedimiento operativo estándar para procesarlas, analizarlas y organizarlas. Describimos también ejemplos del uso de estas muestras en proyectos de investigación, así como algunos problemas inherentes en los estudios comparativos de arcilla. Nuestra colección comparativa de arcilla y secciones delgadas asociadas, que está curada de manera permanente, representa un recurso valioso para los esfuerzos en curso y a futuro del laboratorio, y está disponible para otros investigadores cuyo trabajo se enfoca en la Florida y las regiones adyacentes.

FOUNDATIONS OF THE CADES POND CULTURE IN NORTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA: THE RIVER STYX SITE (8AL458)

Abstract The River Styx site was an important Middle Woodland ceremonial center in north-central Florida that included a horseshoe-shaped earthen embankment, a burial mound containing only cremations, and diverse nonlocal artifacts. The site was recorded more than forty years ago but a report was never written. This article presents a summary of excavation results at River Styx and analysis of the pottery assemblage based on archived notes and collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History. From the pottery assemblage, 24 vessel lots, consisting of mostly partially reconstructed vessels, are described in terms of form, surface treatment, and mineralogical constituents characterized by petrographic analysis. The provenance of each vessel is inferred, and more than half of the analyzed assemblage is judged to be nonlocal.

The ceramic ecology of florida: compositional baselines for pottery provenance studies

Abstract The success of pottery provenance studies is fundamentally dependent upon spatially patterned variation in the composition of exploited clay resources. Uniformity in clay composition within a region and recognizable differences between regions of interest are essential requirements for determining provenance, but these parameters are difficult to satisfy in study areas such as the coastal plain of the southeastern USA in which chemical and mineralogical variation tend toward continuous gradients. In an attempt to improve the reliability and validity of pottery provenance studies in the area, this research investigates compositional variation in raw clay samples from across Florida and southern Georgia through NAA (n=130) and petrographic analysis (n=99). The results indicate that fourteen distinct compositional regions can be differentiated, ranging from 50 km to 400 km in length. These regions dictate the direction and minimum distance a pottery vessel must have been transported in order to be recognized as nonlocal through compositional analysis. The validity of the proposed compositional regions is supported by previous case studies focused on assemblages from three of the regions. In each case, vessels were transported from other compositional regions more than 100 km away.

Provenance of Weeden Island “sacred” and “prestige” vessels: implications for specialized ritual craft production

ABSTRACT Weeden Island mortuary ceremonialism united distinct cultures across the Late Woodland social landscape. The Weeden Island pottery series is central to recognizing regional ceremonial parity, with prestige (elite) and sacred (cult) wares showing strong similarities among distant sites. Finely made vessels and their ostensibly shamanistic themes led archaeologists to consider the liturgical and political roles of ritual specialists, whose tasks might have included vessel manufacture in centralized locations. This research evaluates the prospect of craft specialization and centralized production of sacred and prestige wares through comparisons of the provenance of vessels from three Florida localities: Palmetto Mound (8LV2), the mounds at Melton (8AL5, 8AL7), and McKeithen (8CO17). Results of Neutron Activation Analysis and petrographic analysis show that the majority of the sampled vessels were made far from the mounds in which they were deposited, from a variety of locations but especially within the area between Kolomoki and the Tallahassee Hills. We argue that production was not centralized but may have been specialized to the extent that an integrated ritual network was necessary to coordinate rules of manufacture and use that were evidently observed by all participants.