Sourcing Interactions: X-Ray Diffraction of Central Plains Tradition Ceramics during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly

Summary

Recent research by Roper (1995 and 2007) questions the long-held perspective that the various phases of the Central Plains tradition (CPt) consisted of small village dwelling populations with distinct borders. New evidence suggests a more fluid distribution of autonomous farmsteads following major stream systems throughout the Central Plains (USA). This debate has led to various questions surrounding the interaction amongst communities and individuals in the CPt populations with an emphasis on the scale, degree and nature of the interaction. To begin examining this issue of interaction, our research has focused on developing procedures using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to obtain detailed compositional data on CPt ceramic deposits and thereby determine the source of these deposits in the Nebraska Sand Hills during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. We compare these compositional data sets with those reported by Roper (2007) for CPt deposits elsewhere. By comparing the composition of CPt ceramics with clay from surrounding sources, this research aims to understand more about the movement and spatial distribution of the pottery and, in addition to, the people within the broader CPt system during this time period.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage