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

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Figure 5.3. Weave pattern schematics and extrapolated designs and design elements. 1a: illustration of a sherd with basketry impression; 1b: pattern indicates a diagonal divide in the overall design; 2: pattern producing a border or division in the design field; 3: a quartered field creating multiple lozenges; 4: a multipart complex design; 5: a quartered field radiating out from the center (illustrations by C. D. Hutcheson, imaging by Bron Duncan, Totally Digital, Roanoke, VA. See details of 1a, 1b, 2, and 4 in Berman and Hutcheson 2000; details of 5 in Hutcheson 2001). You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press.
76 / Hutcheson McWeeney 1999). Due to the often crisp, clear nature of many of the impressions, and the remarkable detail in the alginate molds, it is sometimes possible to make direct observations of plant morphology. A collection of materials, both plant and basketry, was amassed, with which to study these impressions. Some of the materials have been woven into mats, while others have been left relatively unprocessed; both are then impressed into clay after which molds are made. This aids in understanding what plant attributes can be expressed in the sherds and ultimately the molds. Purposefulness vs. Production By- Product Many of the basketry impressions are amazingly crisp, with the exception of very used worn pottery and the presence of heavy soot and other debris coating the artifacts. In many instances 5x magnification of the molds shows the vertical scraping of the cut edges of the basket elements in the clay. This, in conjunction with my experiments in pottery manufacture and impression (Berman and Hutcheson 1997), lends further support to my belief that these impressions are purposeful. This is not to say that the pots could not have initially been made on “mats” as Hoffman (1967, 1970) states, but rather that those imperfect markings were removed and crisp ones added at a specific time in the production sequence. Sears and Sullivan contend that the impressions are deliberate (1978:12–13). Modern support for this concept comes from Yde, who asked a Wai Wai woman in 1967 to make a clay cassava griddle. The clay was worked on a mat in the initial stages of the production sequence, but those markings were removed during the finishing process (Yde 1967:182). It is believed that the Lucayan potters used a similar production sequence. Adovasio and associates (2001:65-67) discuss the fabric or basket impressions of the St. Johns assemblage, Tick Island site, ca. 500 b.c. to a.d. 100. They state: “These mats are doubtlessly the surfaces upon which the St. Johns vessels were placed in the still wet state and with some downward force as the indentations in the impressions are quite sharp” (Adovasio et al. 2001:67). While this statement does not indicate a belief of purposefulness, it does imply that the impressions were made in a single downward motion, as opposed to multiple multidirectional forces consistent with hand- built pottery production. If the Lucayan impressions are indeed intentional, then we must look for their cultural significance instead of continuing to assume they have no meaning because they were created by someone slapping some clay onto a piece of basketry (cf. Hoffman 1967, 1970). Summary The creation of dental alginate molds by the technique discussed here, while not one- step, is not difficult and works well in the field lab. The vast array of data You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press.
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Crossing the Borders You are readin
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Crossing the Borders New Methods an
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Contents List of Illustrations 1. C
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Contents / vii References Cited 233
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List of Illustrations FIGURES 2.1.
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Illustrations / xi 10.2. Use- wear
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Crossing the Borders You are readin
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1 Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries
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New Methods and Techniques / 3 Rous
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New Methods and Techniques / 5 cal
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New Methods and Techniques / 7 niqu
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New Methods and Techniques / 9 (Van
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New Methods and Techniques / 11 tur
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New Methods and Techniques / 13 inc
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New Methods and Techniques / 15 ect
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New Methods and Techniques / 17 Pal
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I PROVENANCE STUDIES You are readin
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2 In Tuneful Threefold Combining Co
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Archaeological Methods, Archaeometr
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Page 44 and 45: Figure 2.5. Diagram showing the res
Page 50 and 51: Metal Objects and Indigenous Values
Page 58 and 59: 4 Chert Sourcing in the Northern Le
Page 60 and 61: Geochemical Techniques in Discrimin
Page 66 and 67: Corbison Point (CP) Central Plain g
Page 74 and 75: Table 4.3. Antigua Formation Flints
Page 82 and 83: II FUNCTIONAL STUDIES OF ARTIFACTS
Page 84 and 85: 5 A New Material to View the Past D
Page 86 and 87: Dental Alginate Molds of Friable Ar
Page 94 and 95: Investigating Stone Bead Drilling T
Page 106 and 107: Lithic Technology / 91 Figure 7.1.
Page 108 and 109: Lithic Technology / 93 of researche
Page 110 and 111: Figure 7.2. a: Vivé, small bipolar
Page 112 and 113: Lithic Technology / 97 north. Red j
Page 114 and 115: Lithic Technology / 99 Figure 7.4.
Page 116 and 117: 8 Tool Use and Technological Choice
Page 118 and 119: Functional Analysis of Caribbean To
Page 124 and 125: Figure 8.3. Toolkit for the product
Page 130 and 131: 9 Understanding the Function of Cor
Page 132 and 133: Function of Coral Tools from Anse
Page 136 and 137: Figure 9.4. Matching experimental a
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10 The Significance of Wear and Res
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Significance of Wear and Residue St
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Figure 10.5. a: starch grain with e
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11 Starch Residues on Lithic Artifa
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Starch Residues on Lithic Artifacts
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Figure 11.2. Lithic tools from Los
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Table 11.1. Summary of Artifacts Se
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Fabaceae 2 6 1 1 10 50% Phaseolus v
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Figure 11.3. Archaeological starch
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Figure 11.4. Archaeological starch
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Dioscorea sp. (pos. domest.) 1 12.5
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12 The Burén in Precolonial Cuban
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Plants and Ceramic Griddles / 161 p
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Table 12.1. Plant Identi¤cation by
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Plants and Ceramic Griddles / 165 I
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Plants and Ceramic Griddles / 167 m
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Plants and Ceramic Griddles / 169 t
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III NEW TRENDS IN PALEOETHNOBOTANIC
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13 Caribbean Paleoethnobotany Prese
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Table 13.1. Selected Excerpts and C
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Table 13.2. Plant Taxa Indicated in
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 179 19
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 181 tu
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Archaic Age Early Ceramic Age Later
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Table 13.3. Continued Caribbean Pal
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 187 ch
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 189 co
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 191 ap
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Caribbean Paleoethnobotany / 193 wi
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14 New Evidence of Two Different Mi
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New Evidence of Two Different Migra
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Table 14.2b. Continued CEI CUD ECD
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Table 14.4. Continued CUD ECD CVR O
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Tracing Human Mobility with 87 Sr/
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Table 15.2. Strontium Ratios of Hum
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Epilogue / 227 cially apparent when
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Epilogue / 229 nore the diversity t
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Epilogue / 231 derstanding of prehi
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References Cited Abel, T. 1998 Comp
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References Cited / 235 1974 Archéo
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References Cited / 237 Bertouille,
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References Cited / 239 1964 The Arc
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References Cited / 241 Coomans, H.
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References Cited / 243 2005 Caribbe
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References Cited / 245 De Mille, C.
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References Cited / 247 Febles, J.,
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References Cited / 249 a Sicán Bur
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References Cited / 251 Haslam, M. 2
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References Cited / 253 Hofman, C. L
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References Cited / 255 Lange, H. S.
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References Cited / 257 Kennedy, M.
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References Cited / 259 columbian Go
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References Cited / 261 mental Micro
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References Cited / 263 Montgomery,
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References Cited / 265 Norr, L. 200
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References Cited / 267 1855 by J. A
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References Cited / 269 Peterson, L.
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References Cited / 271 of the State
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References Cited / 273 Roobol, M. J
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References Cited / 275 Schweingrube
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References Cited / 277 Sjøvold, T.
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References Cited / 279 Townsend, G.
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References Cited / 281 Site on the
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References Cited / 283 Walker, J. B
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Contributors Benoît Bérard is Ma
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Contributors / 287 Wales, U.K. sinc
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Contributors / 289 chaeology, Leide
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Index Aceramic Age: peoples of, 195
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Scanning electron microscope/ energ
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