Chronologies of English Ceramic Ware Availability in the 17th-Century Potomac River Valley

Summary

The mercantile networks that connected England to its North American colonial enclaves in the 17th century were tenuous and often fleeting. At the time, the manufacture and exchange of household goods mostly took place within local or regional networks. Thus, colonial access to objects made in the British Isles depended upon the local or regional networks merchants could access on both sides of the Atlantic Basin. Such mercantile uncertainty complicates the traditional means by which historical archaeological deposits are dated, since the beginning date of a ware type’s manufacture is less important than the date when it was first brought across the Atlantic. Using Correspondence Analysis and related statistical measures we compare the presence and amount of particular ceramic types from sealed 17th-century contexts in the Chesapeake Bay region to well-documented chronological markers in order to better understand the chronologies of English ceramic ware penetration into colonial markets. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 402