Prehistoric Ceramics
The prehistoric ceramic assemblage recovered from 38FA608 from 2015-2018 comprises 945 sherds, inlcuding 46 rim sherds. All of the pottery is tempered with sand and/or grit: no fiber- or shell-tempered sherds have been recovered from 38FA608 so far. The assemblage includes two small rim sherds classified as pipe bowl fragments.
This page presents a very basic description of the pottery assemblage from 38FA608 and uses information available on the Guide to Native American Potter of South Carolina website. No attempt is made in this report to assign individual pieces of pottery to named types.
The majority of the sherds from 38FA608 have no discernable surface treatment. Among the body sherds where a particular surface treatment has been identified, complicated stamping predominates, occurring on about 4.4% of the assemblage. Simple stamped and checked stamped sherds are present in lower numbers. A single cordmarked body sherd has been identified thus far. As would be expected, identifiable surface treatments are less common on the rim sherds (surface treatments often do not extend to the rim of the vessel).
Decorated sherds are not plentiful. Only a few decorated pieces have been identified among the body sherds. The prevalence of decoration is higher among the rim sherds: incised and/or punctate decorations are present on about twenty percent of the rims.
The range of surface treatment and decorations on the prehistoric pottery from 38FA608 demonstrates that the ceramic assemblage was produced during several different portions of the Woodland and Mississippian periods. An analysis of the stratigraphic distribution of surface treatment and decoration has not yet been conducted.
This page presents a very basic description of the pottery assemblage from 38FA608 and uses information available on the Guide to Native American Potter of South Carolina website. No attempt is made in this report to assign individual pieces of pottery to named types.
The majority of the sherds from 38FA608 have no discernable surface treatment. Among the body sherds where a particular surface treatment has been identified, complicated stamping predominates, occurring on about 4.4% of the assemblage. Simple stamped and checked stamped sherds are present in lower numbers. A single cordmarked body sherd has been identified thus far. As would be expected, identifiable surface treatments are less common on the rim sherds (surface treatments often do not extend to the rim of the vessel).
Decorated sherds are not plentiful. Only a few decorated pieces have been identified among the body sherds. The prevalence of decoration is higher among the rim sherds: incised and/or punctate decorations are present on about twenty percent of the rims.
The range of surface treatment and decorations on the prehistoric pottery from 38FA608 demonstrates that the ceramic assemblage was produced during several different portions of the Woodland and Mississippian periods. An analysis of the stratigraphic distribution of surface treatment and decoration has not yet been conducted.
Simple Stamped Pottery
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Simple stamped pottery makes up only a small percentage of the pottery collected thus far from 38FA608: only 11 sherds with a non-plain surface treatment were characterized as simple stamped.
Simple stamped surface treatments are applied by pressing a wooden paddle carved with longitudinal designs (or other object that can produce similar patterns) into the damp surface of a vessel. The grooves created by this technique can be U- or V-shaped and can vary widely in size and the degree of care taken in application. In South Carolina, simple stamped surface treatments are most closely associated with pottery from the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods. Simple stamped wares also occur during later periods, however. None of the simple stamped sherds recovered thus far is decorated, and no analysis of the stratigraphic context of the pottery has been undertaken. |
Examples of simple stamped sherds from 38FA608.
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Checked Stamped Pottery
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Check stamped sherds are about twice as common in the 38FA608 assemblage as simple stamped sherds but half as common as complicated stamped sherds.
Like other stamped surface treatments, checked stamped surface treatments are applied by pressing a carved wooden paddle into the damp surface of a vessel. The variety of checked stamped designs that can be created using this technique is great. Both the checks and the lands can vary in size, shape, and arrangement. In South Carolina, check stamped pottery is most closely associated with the Earlyand Middle Woodland periods. |
Examples of check stamped sherds from 38FA608.
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Complicated Stamped Pottery
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Following plain surfacing, complicated stamping is the most common surface treatment among the sherds recovered thus far from 38FA608.
Complicated stamped surface treatments are created by pressing a carved wooden paddles into the damp surface of the vessel. Mississippian-age complicated stamped pottery from the Coastal Plain in this region exhibits numerous curvilinear and rectilinear motifs (e.g., see Anderson 1994:364-365). The designs present on the sherds from 38FA608 appear to be predominately curvilinear and include concentric circles. |
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Pottery with Punctate/Incised Decoration
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The sample of decorated sherds from 38FA608 is small: only eight rims recovered thus far have an identifiable decoration.
Rim decoration on the sherds from 38FA608 includes simple punctate and incised decorations created with a stick, reed, or other small tool. One rim has a series of incised/impressed lines perpendicular to the rim. Others have circular impressions near or on the lip of the vessel. One rim (1361.1802) is castellated. Incised/punctate decorations are associated with several time periods in South Carolina. The decorations seen on the sherds from 38FA608 appear to be unlike those associated with Late Archaic/Early Woodland Thoms Creek pottery, and presumably date to a later period. No analysis of the stratigraphic contexts of these sherds has yet been performed. |
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Pipe Bowl Fragments
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The ceramic assemblage from 38FA608 includes two small rim sherds identified as probable fragments of pipe bowls. Given the large numbers of smoking pipes known from Mississippian sites and the presence of a siginifcant Mississippian period occupation at 38FA608 (marked by the presence of complicated stamped pottery) it seems likely that the pipe fragments are Mississippian in age.
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