woodland period moundbuilders of the bluegrass - Kentucky ...

clay’s workability and increasedthe strength of vessel walls.Temper also ensured that theunfired vessel would not shrinktoo much before firing, andthat during firing, it would heatevenly and not crack. Adenapotters did not fire their vesselsin kilns; they used open-airfires. Their finished pots werewatertight and sturdy.Unlike their ancestor’sclay pots, which were crude,deep, cauldron-like basins,Adena potters made wellsmoothed,thick-walled, oftenflat-bottomed jars (see pg. 42).These jars had thickened rimsMaking Adena fabrics, like this exampleshowing red and yellow dyed bands, tooka lot of work and time.and no handles of any kind. Very rarely, they were decorated on theoutside with geometric designs. With the increased importance of gardenplants in their diet, Adena peoples may have developed new ways toprepare food, ones that differed from those of their ancestors. This mayhave led them to change the shape of their cooking vessels.Trade and ExchangeBluegrass Adena peoples traded with their neighbors. Theyundoubtedly exchanged locally available, but unworked, raw materials,like chert, banded slate, and granite. Unfortunately, perishable goodsrarely leave any trace in the archaeological record. Thus, we can onlyguess what kinds of food, baskets and fabrics, feathers, paints, andmedicinal or dye plants might have changed hands. During the exchangeof these tangible goods, they likely also shared information, stories, andsongs.They probably also would have traded for special ritual items madefrom local materials. These could have been leaf-shaped chert blades, orbarite and hematite cones and boatstones. The latter also are sources ofpigment. When rubbed lightly, barite produces a white powder. Hematite,when ground, produces a red powder called red ochre.The raw materials for some ritual items and burial offerings werenot available locally or regionally, however. Bluegrass Adena peoples18