8222
Accession Number
30572
Author
Stoltman, James B.
Author Affiliation
University of Wisconsin. Department of Anthropology
Title Of Article Chaper
A quantitative approach to the petrographic analysis of ceramic thin sections
Title Of Journal Book
American antiquity: a quarterly review of American archaeology
Volume
54
Issue
1
Pages
147-160
Reference Bibliography
refs.
ISSN
0002-7316
Language Of Text
English
Language Of Summary
English
Literature Type
Serial
Literature Level
Analytic
Abstract
Introduces a new technique for the quantitative analysis of ceramic thin sections through petrography. The technique is a version of point counting that estimates with considerable precision the amounts of human additives (temper) and natural inclusions (silt and sand) in ceramic pastes. In concert with traditional qualititative identification of mineral inclusions, this technique expands the capacity of petrography to shed meaningful light on such topics in ceramic analysis as technology, production, trade, and classification. To demonstrate the utility of the technique it is used to reassess the taxonomic status of the type Spring Hollow Incised. The results conclusively show that Spring Hollow Incised is much more closely related to a newly defined Early Woodland ceramic assemblage in the Upper Mississippi Valley region than to the Middle Woodland Linn ware to which it originally was assigned.
Keywords
quantitative analysis;ceramics;petrography;counting;precision; additives; temper;inclusion;paste;minerals;classification
pub_id
8222