Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

70 / Hutcheson
Figure 5.1. Map of San Salvador, Commonwealth of the Bahamas (original by Perry L.
Gnivecki.
ure 5.1), the author began an ongoing study of negative basketry impressions on
Palmetto ware. It became apparent that positive molds needed to be created from
a large number of impressed pottery sherds (Pigeon Creek [SS1] no. 260; Palmetto
Grove [SS2] no. 205) for later basketry analysis (Berman and Hutcheson 2000;
Hutcheson 2001).
Many materials have been used over the years for creating positive molds and
casts of impressed ceramics, none of which have been completely satisfactory, including
clay (Holmes 1884; Sears and Sullivan 1978), latex (Rachlin 1955), Sculpey®
(Drooker 1992, Reith 2004), Reprosil®, a dental compound (Stothert et al. 1991),
and Plasticine® (see Drooker 2001 for details).
Dental alginate met our requirements for retention of design detail, easy release
with minimal damage to friable unglazed ceramics, and ease of use in the
field, even though there was some concern about long- term mold stability and
shrinkage. As a result, dental plaster, or “dental stone,” casts were also deemed necessary.
Even though the casts exactly replicate the pottery sherds, measurements
were taken from the artifacts whenever possible. A protocol was developed to enhance
the stability of the alginate in the field providing adequate durability for
long- term analysis of pattern and structure.
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