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Megascopic and Petrographic Analyses of a Foreign Pottery Vessel from the Cahokia Site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charles J. Bareis  and
James Warren Porter
Charles J. Bareis
Affiliation:
University of IllinoisUrbana, Illinois
James Warren Porter
Affiliation:
University of IllinoisUrbana, Illinois
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Abstract

A decorated pottery vessel excavated at the Cahokia site in southwestern Illinois is believed to be a specimen from the southeastern United States. A megascopic and a petrographic analysis are presented to confirm a southern origin. The megascopic analysis suggests that the vessel is of Caddoan derivation. The petrographic analysis demonstrates that the paste of the vessel is not indigenous to the American Bottoms and suggests the use of weathered Tertiary shale deposits from the lower Mississippi River Valley. Both analytical procedures are required in order to assess adequately the sources of origin for suspected foreign pottery specimens in archaeological sites.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , July 1965 , pp. 95 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1965

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