Ancestral Caddo Ceramic Vessels from Sites in the Upper Neches Ancestral Caddo Ceramic Vessels from Sites in the Upper Neches River Basin in Anderson and Cherokee Counties, Texas River Basin in Anderson and Cherokee Counties, Texas

Cite this Record Perttula, Timothy K. and Sitters, Julian A. (2017) "Ancestral Caddo Ceramic Vessels from Sites in the Upper Neches River Basin in Anderson and Cherokee Counties, Texas," Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State: Vol. 2017 , Article 27. https://doi.org/10.21112/ ita.2017.1.27 ISSN: 2475-9333 Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2017/iss1/27


Introduction
Late Caddo period sites belonging to the Frankston phase (ca.A.D. 1400-1680) and the Historic Caddo Allen phase (ca.A.D. 1680-1800) are common in the upper Neches River basin in East Texas (Figure 1), including habitation sites as well as associated and unassociated cemeteries.As is well known, ancestral Caddo cemeteries have burial features with associated funerary offerings, most commonly ceramic vessels (see Perttula et al. 2011:403-433).In this article, we document 34 ancestral Caddo ceramic vessels in the collections of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL) from six different sites in the upper Neches River basin, including the Ballard Estates (41AN53, n=4 vessels), O. L. Ellis (41AN54, n=15), Lee Ellis (41AN56, n=1), Dabbs Estate (41AN57, n=3), A. H. Reagor (41CE15, n=3), and John Bragg (41CE23, n=8 vessels) sites.sites in order to better understand the history of Caddo settlement in the upper Neches River basin, including the history of burial interments at these sites.
The second purpose is much broader, and is part of an effort to establish an East Texas Caddo ceramic vessel database that can be employed for a variety of research purposes.The synthesis of the stylistically diverse Caddo ceramic wares in different recognized ancestral communities across the Caddo area, including the upper Neches River basin occupied by a Hasinai Caddo group, would seem to be tailor-made for studies of ancestral Caddo social networks and social identities that rely on large regional ceramic datasets (see Collar et al. 2015;Mills et al. 2015;Hart 2016).The formal and statistical assessment of the regional variation in Caddo ceramic assemblages is currently being assembled in a Geographic Information System by Robert Z. Selden, Jr. (Stephen F. Austin State University), and the assemblages include the vessels from the six sites discussed herein.This is based on the delineation of temporal and spatial divisions in the character of Caddo ceramics (i.e., principally data on decorative sites and other parts of the Caddo area, and then constructing networks of similarities between ceramic assemblages from these sites (cf.Peeples and Roberts 2013:3003-3004) that can be used to assess the strength of cultural and social relationships among Caddo communities in the region through time and the underlying reasons for the existence of such relationships, including factors such as the frequency of interaction and direct contact between communities, the trade and exchange of ceramic vessels, population movement, and similarities in the organization of ceramic vessel production.In conjunction with a database on 2D/3D-scanned Caddo ceramic vessels from East Texas sites, the East Texas Caddo ceramic vessel database is made part of a digital database where comprehensive mathematical and quantitative analyses of morphological attributes and decorative elements on vessels can be conducted (e.g., Smith et al. 2014).Queries to such a combined database of vessels and sherds should lead to better understandings of regional Caddo ceramic stylistic and technological attributes and their spatial and temporal underpinnings.
The results of past and current instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and petrographic analysis of Caddo Area ceramics, including East Texas (where there is a robust INAA database) can also be explored as a means to corroborate production locales (cf.Selden et al. 2014), and establish the ages.These in turn allow the evaluation of the possible movement of ceramic vessels between different Caddo communities in East Texas and the broader Caddo world.

Ballard Estates Site (41AN53)
from a Late Caddo period, Frankston phase, context.They include one carinated bottle and three globular carinated bowls.These vessels were obtained from two burials excavated by University of Texas (UT) archaeologists in 1935.Associated with the burials were four generally contemporaneous habitation areas from ca. 130-470 m distance from the burial area.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Location of Caddo sites in East Texas discussed in this article.
SITE NAME OR SITE NUMBER: Ballard Estates VESSEL NO.: 1 VESSEL FORM: Carinated bottle NON-PLASTICS AND PASTE: grog RIM AND LIP FORM: Direct rim, but broken lip INTERIOR SURFACE COLOR: yellowish-brown WALL THICKNESS (IN MM): neck, 6.3 mm INTERIOR SURFACE TREATMENT: none EXTERIOR SURFACE TREATMENT: burnished HEIGHT (IN CM): 14.3+ ORIFICE DIAMETER (IN CM): 16.1 (on the body) DIAMETER AT BOTTOM OF RIM OR NECK (IN CM): 6.6 ESTIMATED VOLUME (IN LITERS): 0.41+ DECORATION (INCLUDING MOTIF AND ELEMENTS WHEN APPARENT): The upper body panel sections that have negative petal-and oval-shaped elements outlined by diagonal hatched or crosshatched areas (Figure 2a).Three of the sections have four-leafed petals, and the other has a seven-leafed petal-shaped element.The lower vessel body also has and lower horizontal engraved lines.The panel is divided by seven diagonal and diagonal opposed hatched lines (Figure 2b).These decorative elements are consistent Engraved, var.Hood carinated bowls (Perttula 2011:Figure 6-64e).PIGMENT USE AND LOCATION ON VESSEL: none TYPE AND VARIETY (IF KNOWN): Poynor Engraved, var.
are 15 ancestral Caddo ceramic vessels in the O. L. Ellis site collections at TARL.They and jars (n=5, 33.3 percent).These vessels were obtained by UT excavations in 1935 (from two burials) and from two burials dug by local residents in 1934; the vessels from that work were purchased by UT. A. T. Jackson noted in 1935 that there was a large Caddo habitation area about 90 m south of the cemetery.SITE NAME OR SITE NUMBER: O. L. Ellis (41AN54) VESSEL NO.: 1 VESSEL FORM: globular carinated bowl NON-PLASTICS AND PASTE: grog RIM AND LIP FORM: Direct rim and rounded lip CORE COLOR: Unknown WALL THICKNESS (IN MM): rim, 6.4 mm INTERIOR SURFACE TREATMENT: burnished on the rim; smoothed on the MOTIF AND ELEMENTS WHEN APPARENT): The rim is divided into PIGMENT USE AND LOCATION ON VESSEL: none TYPE AND VARIETY (IF KNOWN): Poynor Engraved, var.Hood