Sifting through the Sherds: An In-Depth Look at the Ceramic Assemblage from Woodpecker Cave (13JH202)

Summary

Woodpecker Cave (13JH202) provides a unique opportunity to study variation in ceramic technology and resource allocation during the ceramic production process at a Late Woodland East-Central Iowa site. Excavations by the University of Iowa field school spanning six seasons have recovered hundreds of ceramic pottery sherds from Woodpecker Cave, including a modest amount of decorated rim pieces and a large number of undecorated body sherds. Previous typological analyses of the ceramic assemblage have supported the hypothesis that the site was host to repeated seasonal occupations spanning hundreds of years. In this study, both quantitative analysis of ceramic thin sections and elemental analysis of sherds utilizing portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) were implemented to identify variations in local clay sources, paste characteristics, and potential tempering agents within vessels at the site, as well as local and regional patterns. Additional residue analysis helped to define temporal aspects of the site and allowed for broader comparative analyses involving similar regional research, which can aid in further studies regarding social behavior in the prehistoric Midwest.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21544