Menu
RESEARCH: Bennie Keel defined this defined this as an annular or segmented coil pottery that was built on a conical, disc, or tabular base. Keel’s description of this type was based on his research in sites in western North Carolina.
TEMPER: Connestee Cord Marked pottery was tempered with fine to medium sand with small amounts of crushed quartz occasionally mixed in. The sand often contained mica naturally, but it was not purposefully mixed in. The surface was smooth, but sandy to the touch with a light tan to dark brown exterior, with darker colors being more predominant.
SURFACE DECORATION: The entire vessel was finished with an S-twisted, two-ply cord marking that averaged 2mm in diameter. Only a small percentage of vessels had a plain band between the rim and shoulder of the vessel that was lined about the shoulder with punctations.
VESSEL FORM: Vessel forms included conoidal jars, hemispherical bowls and flat-based jars with podal supports. Lips were rounded, flattened or chamfered. These were notched, brushed or punctated. Rims were most often flaring, but were also straight, vertical or incurved.
CHRONOLOGY: A number of radiocarbon dates from various sites have been associated with Connestee pottery that range from Middle to Late Woodland periods. From Russell Cave, Alabama, the type dated to A.D. 740+/- 100. In Tennessee the type dated to A.D. 605+/-90 at Icehouse Bottom. In Georgia at Tunacunnhee it dated to A.D. 150; at Manderville to A.D. 530+/-150. In North Carolina at the Garden Creek Mound No.2 site it dated to A.D. 805+/-85. Keel concluded that Connestee pottery disappeared between A.D 600 to 650. Associated points might include Ebenezer and Jack’s Reef Corner Notch points.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Connestee pottery has been found in western North Carolina, western South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia, and northeastern Alabama
Collections of the University of Georgia
(Left) Private collection, Houston County, Georgia, (Right) North Carolina Southern Coastal Plain
RESEARCH: John M. Goggin mentioned this type in 1952 and suggested that Joseph Caldwell would later define it.[i] Chester DePratter believes this to be the same as Chatham County Cord Marked pottery.
TEMPER: This is pottery that is tempered with sand in Florida and fine to medium grit in Georgia that appears on Deptford sites. The interiors of the vessels are gritty, often having marks from smoothing implements visible.
SURFACE DECORATION: Cord marking covers the entire exterior surface of the vessel from the lip to the base. The cord marking is typically vertical to the rim, but can run at an oblique angle from the rim as in the above example. One sherd of this pottery was recovered and illustrated by C.B. Moore at the Mandarin Pt. mound in Jacksonville, Florida and was illustrated by Goggin. The cord markings on that sherd were random.
VESSEL FORM: Vessel forms are cylindrical with slight shoulders and round or conoidal bases and simple bowl forms. The rims of cylindrical vessels are straight to slightly flared. Some vessels have podal supports.
CHRONOLOGY: Deptford Cord Marked pottery appears during in a Middle Woodland context in Deptford phases I and II. Associated points might include spike forms, Woodland Triangular, Baker’s Creek, Yadkin, Copena, Camp Creek, Greenville, and Swan Lake points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: The distribution of this type ranges from the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida well into South Carolina.
Hamp’s Landing pottery from the North Carolina coast, Herbert
RESEARCH: David Phelps reported his findings on this pottery type at a symposium on The Archaeology of the North Carolina Coast and Coastal Plain: Problems and Hypotheses in 1983.
TEMPER: This is limestone (marl)-tempered pottery. Limestone fragments amount to approximately 20 percent of the paste mixture. The particles are usually about 1mm in diameter and are coarse to very coarse in texture.
SURFACE TREATMENT: The surface of this type was completely stamped with a cord-wrapped paddle. At the Ridgewood site, paddle stamping was done in both vertical and horizontal directions and all were over-stamped. All samples were of a z-twist pattern.
VESSEL FORM: Vessel forms included deep bowls.
CHRONOLOGY: Hamp’s Landing pottery belongs to the Early to Middle Woodland periods dating between 2200 and 400 BC. One radiocarbon date from Topsail Island dated the type to 1945 BC. This type is found with Copena Triangular, Greenville, Woodland Triangular, Savannah River and Badin Crude points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Hamp’s Landing pottery is found in Early to Middle Woodland period sites along North Carolina’s Southern Coastal Plain.
Hanover pottery from the Papanow site on the Cape Fear River in the Southern Coastal region of North Carolina
RESEARCH: Stanley A. South originally defined Hanover pottery in a report entitled An Archaeological Survey of Southeastern North Carolina as part of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology notebook 8 at the University of North Carolina in 1976. This type found at the Onslow and Carteret sites were called the Carteret series, but have now been lumped together under the Hannover name.
TEMPER: Hanover pottery is clay (grog) tempered. It is difficult to distinguish raw dry clay that is crushed into particles from grog (discarded pots that have been crushed to use as temper).
SURFACE TREATMENT: Vessel surfaces were finished with cord-wrapped paddles. The entire surface was stamped.
VESSEL FORM: Vessel forms included simple bowls.
CHRONOLOGY: Hanover pottery belongs to the Middle Woodland period dating between 400 B.C and A.D. 800. This type can be found with Greenville and Woodland Triangular points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Hanover pottery is found throughout the Southern Coastal region and along the inland swamps and the rivers and estuaries that drain into sounds of North Carolina and the northern coast of South Carolina.
(Left) Wayne Porch collection, (Right) Private collection (Bottom) Suggested vessel forms
RESEARCH: This type was named by Joseph Caldwell in 1950.[ii] The type was named for Kellogg Creek in Cherokee County. Caldwell did his research as part of the Lake Allatoona survey.
TEMPER: This is a grit-tempered pottery type.
SURFACE DECORATION: Decoration on this type consists of cord markings applied individually with a cord-wrapped down. The markings are done diagonally from the lip to the base and are overlapping.
VESSEL FORMS: Known vessel forms are deep bowls and cylindrical jars with flaring rims and conical bottoms.
CHRONOLOGY: This pottery belongs to the Early Woodland period and may be ancestral to the Saltillo Fabric Marked type of the Middle Woodland, Miller II phase of northern Alabama. Associated point types might include Coosa, Yadkin, Greenville, Swan Lake and Swannanoa points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: This type appears in northwestern Georgia, extreme western South Carolina, northeastern Alabama and southeastern Tennessee.
RESEARCH: Jefferson Reid investigated the Pee Dee culture at the Town Creek site and reported his findings in his Master’s thesis as a student at the University of North Carolina in 1967.
TEMPER: Large quantities of fine quartz sand were mixed with the paste as temper. This gave the pottery a fine sugary appearance.
SURFACE TREATMENT: The surface of some small vessels was stamped with a cord-wrapped paddle. The cord markings covered the entire exterior of the vessel.
VESSEL FORM: Earlier vessel forms were primarily hemispherical bowls and jars. Cazuela bowls were developed later in the culture.
CHRONOLOGY: The Pee Dee culture is better viewed as a regional center of the South Appalachian Mississippian people that was scattered from the coastal plain of Georgia and South Carolina to the mountains of western North Carolina. The Pee Dee culture at the Town Creek site dates between 1150 and 1400 AD. Coe dated the culture at the Doerschuk site between A.D. 1550 and 1650. Related points are Pee Dee points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Pee Dee pottery is found among the Middle and Late Mississippian sites of the Southern Piedmont region of North Carolina and eastern South Carolina.
(Left) University of Georgia collections, (Right) Private collection from central Georgia
RESEARCH: This type was defined by Joseph Caldwell and Antonio Waring in 1939 from the excavations at the Irene site.[iii] The type is named for the Savannah River and the city of Savannah.
TEMPER: This type is most often tempered with grit; however clay-tempered sherds do appear at many coastal sites. Grit-tempered sherds have a sandy texture while clay-tempered sherds are lumpy. Exterior surface paste colors range from light buff to light gray and are usually just a lighter shade of the same core paste color.
SURFACE DECORATION: Cord markings on this type are fine and clear. The paddle stamping appears as a basket impression on the bottom of vessels. Cross-stamping occurs in high frequency. The rims are usually finished with a series of vertical cord impressions. The bottoms of the vessels are finished with narrow impressions of the side of the paddle. The rim is often beveled with the paddle as well.
VESSEL FORMS: Vessel forms are usually a globular or an elongated shape with a round or conical base. Rims are straight to flaring, sometimes everted. Excess rim clay is often flattened by the application of the paddle.
CHRONOLOGY: This type belongs to the Middle Mississippian, Savannah period. Related point types include Mississippian Triangular and Guntersville points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: The type is found from southern Georgia into the Piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina and perhaps southern North Carolina.
Keel 1976 Pl.50
RESEARCH: Originally named the “Early” series by Patricia Holden, this was renamed as the Swannanoa series by Keel in 1976 based on his work in Cherokee related sites in North and South Carolina.[iv] The type is named after the Swannanoa River.
TEMPER: This type is tempered with large pieces of crushed quartz (56%) or with coarse sand. The tempering material in either case accounts for nearly half of the paste material. The exterior color of the fired paste is red to reddish-brown or light brown.
SURFACE DECORATION: The entire exterior surface of the vessel was stamped with a cord-wrapped paddle. The stamped strands of cord usually run vertical to the rim at the top of the vessel, but rotated to a diagonal orientation toward the base. Cord size ranges from medium to as heavy as 3.5mm in diameter. Most stamped impressions are closely wrapped, but some are spread as far as 5mm apart. The interior surface feels gritty to the touch.
VESSEL FORMS: Known vessel forms include large to medium sized conoidal jars and hemispherical bowls. The rims are vertical or slightly inverted and the lips are rounded or flattened, with a very small percentage notched or cord-marked. The bases are conical, some with a nipple-like protrusion; or are jars and are rounded to slightly flattened on bowls.
CHRONOLOGY: This is the earliest Woodland pottery series in western North Carolina, dating to the Early to Middle Woodland period. Related points are Badin Crude Triangular, Coosa, Swannanoa, Swan Lake, Camp Creek, Copena, Yadkin, and Greenville points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: This type is found in western North Carolina, western South Carolina and, perhaps, extreme northeastern Georgia.
RESEARCH: This type was named by Eugene G. Waddell in 1963.[v] Waddell’s research encompassed most of South Carolina.
TEMPER: Generous portions of fine sand were generally used as temper in this type with some rare examples of grit-tempering. Some examples of apparently temperless paste are also known. External colors range from tan to brown-orange to darker shades of brown. Core colors are usually tan to dark gray to black.
SURFACE DECORATION: The surface of this type varies from smoothed to polished depending on the tempering material being used. The interior surface was in most cases smoothed after decoration to remove any unevenness from punctations. Punctations were made in a wide variety of sizes and shapes using bone, wood, stone and shell. Dowel or reed punctations were most often done using a split tool with the split portion facing the surface of the vessel. Punctations of this type were sometimes used in a poke-and-drag or linear fashion. Patterns of punctation often resemble Stallings patterns or may be random. Coastal examples may have punctations made by periwinkle or cockleshell impressions. Punctations usually ran in rows parallel to the lip (above left) and cover the entire upper and middle portion of the vessel. Some larger vessels may have only a few rows of punctation adjacent to the lip with the remainder of the vessel left plain.
VESSEL FORMS: Known forms are hemispherical and globular bowls and jars with rounded, pointed or flattened lips and rims that were straight or slightly incurving, but rarely flaring. No appendages are known.
CHRONOLOGY: This type is considered a Late Archaic to Early Woodland type, underlying the Deptford pottery, but above Stallings pottery. Related points are Savannah River, Allendale and Thelma points.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: This type is known within south and central South Carolina, but is rare south of the Savannah River into Georgia.
RESEARCH: “Wando” is a name given to limestone or marl tempered pottery found in the Charleston Harbor drainage system. People were aware of it for years, but no one gave it a name until Adams and Trinkley identified the check stamped and cord marked types in 1993. Later fabric impressed, brushed, incised, punctate and simple stamped variants were identified (Poplin 2005).
TEMPER: limestone or marl tempered pottery found in the Charleston Harbor drainage system.
SURFACE DECORATION: check stamped and cord marked types in 1993. Later fabric impressed, brushed, incised, punctate and simple stamped variants were identified (Poplin 2005). Interiors are occasionally shell scraped.
VESSEL FORM: Vessel walls are 6-8mm thick (thicker than Hamps Landing) and vessels include straight sided bowls and jars.
CHRONOLOGY: Though decorations are comparable to Deptford / Wilmington, which he calls “Middle Woodland” he cites five carbon dates that range from 615-1140AD (intercept, calibrated by Poplin). He looked at over a hundred assemblages in the area, and found Wando associated with “Middle” and Late Woodland” assemblages regularly, but a seriation chart shows they tend to occur in the upper levels, above Deptford. He suggests that cord and fabric marked decorations occur early, and check and simple stamped later.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: With only a single exception all ceramics identified as Wando have been found in the Charleston area.
[i] Goggin, John M. Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. Johns Archaeology, Florida, Yale University Press, 1952, p.106
[ii] Caldwell, Joseph, 1950 A Preliminary Report on Excavations in the Allatoona Reservoir. Early Georgia 1(1):5-22.
[iii] Williams, Stephen, The Waring Papers, The Collected Works of Antonio J. Waring, Jr., Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Vol. 58, 1977
[iv] Keel, Bennie C., Cherokee Archaeology, A Study of the Appalachian Summit, The University of Tennessee Press, 1976, p. 260
[v] Waddell, Eugene G., Tom’s Creek Punctate, Southeastern Archaeological Conference Newsletter Vol.9, No.2, 1963
