Compositional analysis of Iroquoian pottery: determining functional relationships between contiguous sites

Iroquoian pottery;Portable X-ray Fluorescence;New York;Pottery Production Site;Seasonality

Devlin, Hannah

the University of Pittsburgh

Others  :  http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/27793/1/Devlin.2016.ETD.BPhil.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: Institutional Repository at University of Pittburgh

【 摘 要 】

Studying site diversity is a growing research interest in Iroquoian archaeology. In this study, analyses of undecorated pottery sherds from two Cayuga Iroquois sites, Parker Farm and Carman, were carried out in the context of determining differences in site functionality. First, analyses relied on datasets of soil volume and pottery counts and categorizations. Pots were classified by interior color which served as a proxy for vessel use. Reduced (blackened) interiors are associated with cooking and oxidized (light) interiors correlate with dry storage. This information yielded differences both in overall concentrations of pottery and in concentrations of interior color. A second analysis used x-ray fluorescence to determine chemical composition of the sherds. Overall, analyses revealed similar levels of elements, but slightly different patterns for some elements. Parker Farm showed consistent elemental levels, but Carman showed more irregular levels, particularly for manganese.These results suggest a different use of space at the sites and a possible difference in site function, providing a contributing to our understanding ofthe nature of site diversity in this particular area.