Inverted Rim Engraved Vessels in Protohistoric and Early Historic Caddo Sites in Parts of Northeast Texas

Abstract

A distinctive vessel form makes its appearance in protohistoric and early historic Caddo sites in the upper Sabine and Sulphur river basins, and on the middle reaches of the Red River basin. This form is an inverted rim bowl and carinated bowl with engraved decorations, and these vessels arc frequently red-slipped or have red pigment smeared in the engraved lines. The best known of these inverted rim engraved vessels is Womack Engraved. Womack Engraved vessels are decomted on the rim with a variety of engraved motifs, including cross-hatched pendant triangles and for our purposes here negative meandering scrolls. These negative meandering scrolls have a line running through the middle of the scroll, sometimes with tick marks, but not always. The scrolls are bordered by crosshatched triangular-shaped areas or scroll dividers on either side of the engraved line running longitudinally along the scroll. This central engraved scroll line is either a continuous line as from the Womack site, or is comprised of repeated tight scrolls that have two arms hooked together towards one another, but not actually touching.