Type definition

Adapted from Suhm and Jelks (1962:1-3, Plates 1 and 2).

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE

Coiled

PASTE

Temper

Usually finely pulverized shell. Otherwise fine clay-grit or no tempering material recognizable.

Texture

Fine compact except when shell particles have leached away leaving paste soft and full of very small cavities

Color

Commonly covered with bright, hard red film made of powdered red ochre. Otherwise shades of brown and gray from medium to dark and nearly black. Just under the red film most usual surface color is buff, which shows in design lines cut through film. Cores gray to brown.

Surface finish

From poorly to fairly well polished.

FORM

Wall thickness

Three to five millimeters

Lip

Rounded and flush with rim or turned outward slightly.

Base

Slightly convex to flat but no thicker than side walls

Vessel shape and size

Most common is compound bowl with low, conical bottom, large rounded shoulder area turned inward, and high rim curving outward. Mouth diameter generally greater than that at shoulder. Many of these are magnificent vessels, diameters ranging from 10 to 40 cm and perhaps more. Compound bowl with vertical rim unusual. Very deep, nearly cylindrical bowls with sides slightly convex or with rims gently curving outward are also common and range from six to 20 cm or more in height. Bottles are also fairly common. Other forms include small jars, squat bowls with out-flaring rims, and carinated bowls with convex rim standing vertically. Small strap handles may occur.

DECORATION

Treatment

Engraving

Designs

Center around semicircular motifs usually repeated four times around vessel. Each unit may consist of several concentric semicircles, all plain lines, plain lines alternating with ticked lines, narrow bands with large spurs jutting from one edge, cross hatched bands with spurs, and various combinations. A common dividing element between these units consists of two vertical lines between which a reversed S-shaped line is drawn, with short lines pointing toward its ends from the flanking lines. Straight lines and stepfrets may be combined with curved lines. Spirals, whorls, scrolls, circles, and negative disks outlined by crosshatched areas are all combined in a wide variety of pleasing designs. Rims of compound bowls usually bear simple horizontal lines widely spaced but may be plain or more elaborately decorated. The very deep bowls may have rim designs like those described or completely angular motifs repeated many times around vessel; these are regarded as a distinct variety within the type. Red pigment may occasionally appear in lines of dark vessels, and in at least one case, white pigment provides contrast on a red-filmed vessel. Usually, however, the red film provides a strong contrast with the light buff-colored clay exposed by engraving.

CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS

Very common in McCurtain Focus, with many vessels having both red film and shell temper. Also a Texarkana Focus type but relatively less frequent there and neither shell temper nor red film used as much as in McCurtain Focus components; moreover, some red vessels have clay-grit or no temper, and some shell-tempered vessels lack red film. A few vessels occur in Titus Focus components where they apear to be trade pieces from either the McCurtain or Texarkana Focus, or both. In one case this type appears to be associated with European trade material; otherwise it is pre-European but probably relatively late within the Fulton Aspect.

ESTIMATED AGE

CE 1400-1700, perhaps beginning earlier or surviving later.