Identity through Ornamentation: An Iconographic Analysis of Nineteenth-Century Ceramic Tableware from Central New York

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The study of ceramics provides archaeologists with a closer look into the domestic life of people from the past. Whether it be daily wares designed for continuous use by close-knit familial groups, or ceremonial pieces used occasionally for specific audiences, ceramics play a critical role in the ritualization of meals. Despite their varying purposes, these vessels each work to signal aspects of their owner’s social, political, or economic identity. Following the end of the Revolutionary War, an influx of European colonists settled in the central New York region on the traditional lands of the Oneida. In 2021–2022, a collaborative team of archaeologists, seeking to better understand daily life at these homesteads, conducted geophysical surveys and excavated at two houses constructed between 1798 and 1804: the Barnabas Pond house and the Reuben Long house. Using the ceramics recovered from these sites, we investigate the use of ornamentation as an indication of social status. We explore the patterns and visual representations in this collection to trace fluctuations in the prominence of these styles over time. Through this data we are able to further our understanding of what these vessels conveyed about their owners, as well as those who dined at their table.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36610.0