Anth. 473L/ 573L: Archaeological Measurement and Laboratory Analysis

Spring 2003

 

Exercise 7A: Ceramic Analysis, Seriation and Chronology

Due April 28th

 10 points

 

NOTE: Be sure to read the Introduction to Exercise 7 before starting this lab.

Data sheets will be provided in lab.

 

There are three goals to Exercise 7A. First, you will identify the culture historic types present in your sample. Second, you will use this information and the San Marcos midden seriation provided in class to infer which middens your samples were collected from. Third, you will consider what this suggests about when the middens were used. By completing this lab, you will increase your familiarity with archaeological ceramics and with seriation as a chronological tool.

 

 

Procedural Steps

 

First, separate your sherds by provenience units. The color codes (dots) will allow you to do this. (Check the key included in the Introduction to Exercise 7 for an explanation of how to identify provenience units.) List the color codes and the sherd numbers (written on the dots) on your data sheet. Using the typological descriptions, identify the culture historic type of each sherd. As you identify the types, weigh each sherd, test the hardness using the Mohs hardness kit and identify the vessel form represented by each sherd. Record this information. When assessing sherd hardness, be sure to scratch the cross-section of the sherd, not the surface. The location of decoration and sherd shape will help you to identify vessel forms. Please check with Scott if you are unsure about this assignment.

 

 

Analysis

 

Enter your observations into a spreadsheet (Excel) and save the sheet as you will use it again for the other parts of this lab. Based on these initial observations, you are to create summary tables that describe the variation in your sample.

  1. First, you need know what types are present in your sample and in what frequencies. Describe through tables, charts and discussion the frequencies across the entire sample. Then, consider the provenience units separately. If only three provenience units are present on your tray then they are from different middens. If four or more provenience units are present on your tray, there are still three middens present – there may be sherds on your tray from more than one provenience unit in some middens. For analysis, if more than one provenience unit is present from a midden, combine the frequencies of the units from that midden. Describe through tables, charts and discussion the frequencies of culture historic types in each midden.
  2. Analyze your sample relative to the frequency seriations of weight and counts of sherds in the different middens at San Marcos. In order to do this, you need to understand how seriations work. Remember that in these frequency seriations, the row frequencies are the sum of all frequencies from the different provenience units in that midden. Here we want you determine where in the seriation your samples from the three middens would likely fall. Because your sample sizes are small, it might be that your samples match the frequencies of more than one midden, or they may not quite fit any midden. Again, this is because you are working with small samples and not all of the sherds collected from any midden. Try to find the closest match (or matches).

 

 

Write up

 

Your write up should emphasize both decorative style and time.

 

First, you should describe your sample (descriptions will mostly be in your data section).

Ø      What types are represented in your sample and in what frequencies?

Ø      What types are represented in your samples from different middens and in what frequencies?

Ø      What is the average weight of sherds? Do sherd weights vary by type? Do they vary by midden?

Ø      How does hardness vary across the sample? Are some types harder than others?  (In other words, calculate the average hardness by type and then compare across types.)

Ø      How many bowls versus jars are present in your sample? Could you always assign the jar rim fragments to a particular type? If you could not, then could you construct another unit structure that addresses jar sherds? This unit structure could reflect either morphology or decoration or both.

Ø      In your analysis section, be sure to discuss the patterns you observe.

 

Second, we want you to discuss your placement of the samples into the seriation.

Ø      What middens do you think are the sources of your sherd samples?  How much time is represented in each of your middens? In the whole sample? Why do you think this is the case?

Ø      Do you think your samples and the culture historic types are valid chronological tools? Why or why not?

 

Finally, regarding seriation in general:

Ø      How do you infer time or chronology from the seriations?

Ø      What makes this simple methodological procedure useful for building chronologies?

Ø      How do you know when you have "captured" time in a seriation?

Ø      What might you suggest about the relative ages of your samples?