Distinct Chemical Patterns in Late Mississippian Caborn-Welborn Ceramics of the Lower Ohio River Valley

Abstract

Trace element analysis was conducted on ceramics from Mississippian Caborn-Welborn sites located in the lower Ohio River Valley. Elemental concentrations were measured for each sherd using both neutron activation analysis (NAA) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). By using principal components analysis and posterior discriminant analysis, it was possible to compositionally distinguish lower Ohio Valley ceramics from ceramic samples collected from archaeological sites located in the southeastern part of the United States. Similar statistical analyses applied to an examination of the elemental composition of Caborn-Welborn ceramics and their distribution within the Caborn-Welborn region documented minimal variation between the samples based on either site location or ceramic type. Ceramics classified as Caborn-Welborn as well as central Mississippi Valley types and Oneota-like sherds recovered from Caborn-Welborn sites appear to have been locally produced from similar clays. However, the clays used to produce ceramic vessels differed from those used as daub on house walls.