THE IDENTIFICATION AND POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EARLY HOLOCENE PREPARED CLAY SURFACES: EXAMPLES FROM DUST CAVE AND ICEHOUSE BOTTOM

Prepared surfaces are defined as discrete, localized, red (2.5YR, 5Y) clay, cultural deposits that are often fired to a hard consistency and can exhibit textile impressions. We present detailed descriptions of the physical attributes of prepared surfaces from Early Holocene contexts at two sites in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Southeastern archaeology 2005-07, Vol.24 (1), p.70-82
Main Authors: Sherwood, Sarah C., Chapman, Jefferson
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeological sites
Caves
Excavations
Griddles
Hypotheses
Icehouses
Material culture
Pottery
Rivers
Sediments
Stratigraphy
Studies
Technological change
Textiles
Valleys
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Summary:Prepared surfaces are defined as discrete, localized, red (2.5YR, 5Y) clay, cultural deposits that are often fired to a hard consistency and can exhibit textile impressions. We present detailed descriptions of the physical attributes of prepared surfaces from Early Holocene contexts at two sites in the Tennessee River Valley, Dust Cave and Icehouse Bottom, as well as results of micromorphological analyses of the deposits from Dust Cave. Based on these data and a review of similar features from other archaeological and ethnographic contexts, we explore the possibility that prepared surfaces played a significant role in the development of cooking technology and food processing (particularly plants) and may have functioned in a manner similar to griddles for roasting or parching. In addition, these clay deposits, representing some of the earliest manipulations of clay in the Eastern Woodlands, may inform theories of the origins of pottery in eastern North America.
ISSN:0734-578X
2168-4723