DESCRIPTION OF CERAMICS
Several pottery wares identified by the use of different tempering materials--sand, limestone, burned clay, vegetable fiber, and shell--were recovered at the Pharr Site. The types and miscellaneous decorated sherds
DESCRIPTION OF CERAMICS
Several pottery wares identified by the use of different tempering materials--sand, limestone, burned clay, vegetable fiber, and shell--were recovered at the Pharr Site. The types and miscellaneous decorated sherds are grouped below under these categories.
Sand Tempered Ware
The Pharr sand tempered pottery was compared with type sherds collected at the Miller Site (Jennings, 1941) and the Bynum Mounds (Cotter and Corbett, 1951). The comparison showed that the Pharr material fits very comfortably in the Miller ceramic tradition.
Baldwin Plain (figs. 13a and 19e-f)
Remarks: The paste described for Baldwin Plain is typical of all the sand tempered types. Any individual peculiarities will be mentioned below.
Furrs Cordmarked (figs. 13b and 19g-h)
Vessels with direct and slightly everted rims are represented in the sherd material. The restored jar has a conoidal base and the suggestion of a shoulder on the body. Partial obliteration of the cordmarking by smoothing is common
Saltillo Fabric Impressed (fig. 19a-c)
The sherds indicate that large vessels with direct and slightly everted rims are typical of this type. The great majority of the sherds are badly weathered, frequently leaving only faint indications of the "washboard" effect produced by fabric marking. Partial obliteration as a result of smoothing is also frequent.
Zone Stamped (fig. 13c-d)
One complete vessel, one partially restorable bowl, and a few sherds represent this category.
The decoration consists of bands of dentate rocker stamping enclosed by broad incised lines. The stamping is finely executed and a close examination was necessary to reveal that the examples were rocker stamped. A plain rocker stamped band encircling the base of the bowl is the only exception to this technique noted.
The complete example is a compound jar with cylindrical base and a four-lobed midsection topped by a cambered rim. The curvilinear motif is centered on the peak of the lobes and the design element is repeated twice. The rim is cross hatched.
The partially restored bowl has a square base and widely expanding sides. The motif consisted of chevrons and other curvilinear elements and the design was apparently repeated four times.
Sand tempered, zone stamped pottery is apparently not common, but has been reported from several locations in nearby Alabama: Pickwick Basin (Webb and DeJarnette, 1942 Plates 100-1-2C and -2D), Guntersville Basin (Heimlich, 1952, p. 36), and with Porter Hopewellian pottery (DeJarnette, 1952, p. 277).
Miscellaneous (fig. 18)
There was also a variety of decorated sherds of unnamed types.
Six cord-impressed sherds differ from ordinary cordmarking in the careful execution of the cord impressing. Groups of three parallel cord impressions and a herringbone motif represent deliberate attempts to form designs.
Five sherds show vestiges of red filming in zones outlined by broad incised lines.
Bold, plain rocker stamping occurs on three sherds.
One sherd is decorated with rows of circular punctates.
Six sherds have incised decorations. Three are cross hatched rims and two have herringbone motifs.
There are three brushed sherds.
Limestone Tempered Ware
This ware is represented at Pharr by the types Mulberry Creek Plain, Long Branch Fabric Marked, Flint River Brushed, and Flint River Cordmarked. All of these decorative techniques occurred on the same paste, which is described as follows:
Clay Tempered Ware
This material is part of a widespread tradition for which, as far as I know, no workable typology has been formulated. Clay tempered pottery is given one set of names in the Mississippi Valley and another set in the Northwest Alabama area. Without sample sherds it is impossible to judge which the Pharr material most closely resembles. The only example assigned a type name is a Marksville Incised, var. Marksville, ornamental jar, which was identified by Stephen Williams (personal communication).
Plainware, red filming, cordmarking, and fabric impressing were all found on clay tempered paste. Again, the paste to which these decorative techniques were applied is similar and a single description will suffice.
Fiber Tempered Ware
All examples are plain sherds.
Shell Tempered Ware
All examples are plain sherds.
Last Updated: 15-May-2008