Ceramic Seriation Research Articles

Seriating Trincheras Bichrome Pottery and Understanding Nearly a Millennium of Regional Ceramic Production

Nearly a century ago, pioneering investigations in northern Sonora led to the first discussion of Trincheras tradition ceramics. Since then, only cursory attempts have been made to understand the temporal and spatial variability of Trincheras bichrome pottery. A recent detailed attribute analysis of pottery from sites across Sonora and southern Arizona has resulted in the region’s first ceramic seriation and a revised decorated ceramic typology. In this paper, I synthesize the results of this study, highlight key technological differences which occurred over nearly a millennium, and argue that the Trincheras tradition was one of the earliest producers of bichrome ceramics in the Southwest/Northwest. A revision of Trincheras ceramic typologies has been much needed and is invaluable for archaeologists working in both Sonora and Arizona.

Medieval mortuary millet: Micro and macrobotanical evidence from an early Turkic burial in the Altai

While early Turkic populations of northern Central Asia are traditionally thought to have been specialized nomads, over the past few years archaeological studies have shown that at least some of these peoples were engaged in farming, especially low-investment millet cultivation. The Turkic populations that spread across West Asia are thought to have originated in northern Central Asia. Despite the importance of these regions for understanding cultural developments, we have a dearth of data relating to the role of cultivated plants in their life, and scholars generally assume that people in this region lived on a diet of meat and dairy. In this article, we present micro and macrobotanical evidence of millet from a ceramic vessel recovered in a burial in the Kurai Valley of the Altai Mountains in Russia. Ceramic seriation and AMS dating, place the burial in the early Turkic period of the seventh century A.D., providing unique evidence for agricultural goods in medieval northwest Asia. Given the ritual context of the vessel, these data do not elucidate the role of millet in the economy, but we can convincingly demonstrate its presence among people thought to be the ancestors of later Turkic speakers in the Altai mountains. We note that millet cultivation could have been integrated into the economy as part of the seasonal migration cycle of the early Turkic semi-nomads, or they might have acquired the grains from farming communities in the adjacent Altai foothills.

Rethinking the Iroquoian Occupation of Northern New York

Recent Bayesian modeling of new high-precision AMS dates has caused a revision of the Iroquoian chronology of northern New York. The Iroquoian occupation is now estimated to date between AD 1425–1520, with no good evidence for developmental precursors in the region. The more than 50 village components in the region must now fit into almost half the temporal span as previously believed. All the settlement clusters now seem to have been contemporary and dual village settlement for some of the clusters now seems likely. For the ceramic seriation to remain true, one of the cluster sequences must be chronologically reversed, having significant implications for its culture history. Finally, while their dispersal from northern New York remains complex, it must be rethought considering the new chronology.

A Bayesian approach to regional ceramic seriation and political history in the Southern Appalachian region (Northern Georgia) of the Southeastern United States

In this paper, I explore multiple methods of ceramic seriation, including correspondence analysis and frequency seriation, to revise the regional ceramic sequence for the Mississippian period of northern Georgia in the Southeastern United States, a period defined by the emergence of complex sociopolitical organization and marked socioeconomic inequality. I present a Bayesian radiocarbon framework for interpreting these seriations and situating them in absolute time. As the acquisition of new data and new analyses continuously demand reevaluations of any ceramic chronology, the analytical framework outlined here offers an avenue for future ceramic and radiocarbon datasets to be formally integrated with extant datasets to quantitatively reevaluate archaeological sequences. Because changes to materials and material attributes continue to be employed to construct culture-historical narratives and timelines across the world, especially for the purpose of highlighting and defining critical social, political, economic, and cultural transitions, the methodological approach presented here provides opportunities to formally explore, assess, and re-evaluate temporalities of cultural change.

Reassessing the chronology of the Mississippian Central Illinois River Valley using Bayesian analysis

ABSTRACTChronology building has long served as a major focus of archaeological interest in the Central Illinois River valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. Previous methods have relied primarily upon relative dating techniques (e.g., ceramic seriation) as a means of sorting out temporal relationships between sites. This study represents the first investigation into the utility of Bayesian techniques (which consider radiocarbon dates in context with archaeological information) in the CIRV. We present the results of a detailed ceramic seriation of the region, data that we use as a priori information in our Bayesian models. We then offer contiguous, overlapping, and sequential models of site occupations in the Mississippian CIRV, review the output and appropriateness of each model, and consider their implications for the pace of sociopolitical change in the region.

Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past

Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past

It's about Time? Testing the Dawson Ceramic Seriation Using Luminescence Dating, Southern Nasca Region, Peru

The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal changes in the prehispanic south coast of Peru. We test this assumption by directly dating a sample of sherds using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). Our results suggest that while some phases of the seriation are valid chronological markers, others appear to be the result of factors other than time. We discuss the implications of these results and call for additional studies of ceramics using luminescence dating

Refining correspondence analysis-based ceramic seriation of regional data sets

Ceramic seriation is one of the primary tools used by archaeologists to create chronologies, especially for surface survey data. In this article, we outline a bootstrapped approach to correspondence analysis-based seriation designed to help assess and improve the stability of relative orderings produced through such analyses. This procedure systematically identifies and removes small samples and sites with unusual samples, such as those with multiple components, which are not handled well by seriation and require secondary interpretation. Our approach combines data from multiple projects in the Zuni region of the American Southwest in order to gauge the effects of intraregional variation in ceramic distributions and reexamine prior interpretations of demographic change based on individual projects. This analysis highlights two previously unknown regional trends, including variation in the distribution of multicomponent sites and potential short-term depopulation of a significant part of the region. Based on this example, we further suggest that our method may be particularly useful in situations where little prior chronological information is available.

THE OBSIDIAN AND CERAMICS OF THE PUUC REGION: CHRONOLOGY, LITHIC PROCUREMENT, AND PRODUCTION AT XKIPCHE, YUCATAN, MEXICO

AbstractArchaeologists working in the northern Maya lowlands have faced persistent problems in establishing chronological precision and accuracy. In particular, it has proven difficult to create multi-phase chronologies for the Late and Terminal Classic periods. Investigators at Xkipche, a small Puuc site southwest of Uxmal, have employed both seriation and the typological approach to ceramic chronology. The results of the ceramic seriation suggest great persistence from the second century untila.d.1100, a continuity that is not supported by the Type-Variety approach to chronology. This report begins by reviewing the ceramic data, and then turns to another archaeological material, obsidian. Procurement patterns and production technology are discussed for the 182 obsidian artifacts collected during the first five seasons of the Projekt Xkipche. These data are compared with similar information gleaned from other sites in the northern Maya lowlands. Results of this obsidian analysis conflict with the absolute chronology proposed for the Xkipche ceramic sequence. Finally, a compromise ceramic chronology is proposed, one that is consistent with both obsidian and architectural data. This proposed chronology divides the seemingly monolithic Cehpech ceramic complex into three phases: Early Cehpech (a.d.550–700); Late Cehpech (a.d.700–900/950); and, Terminal Cehpech/Sotuta (a.d.900/950–950/1000).

Chronological Signification of Lbk Waste Assemblages: the Contribution of Anthracological, Typological and Stratigraphic Data from Three Lbk Sites in the Hesbaye (Liège Province, Belgium)

Considerations on the chronological signification of Linearbandkeramik (LBK) waste assemblages are presented in this study based on data from anthracology, ceramic seriation and vertical distribution of pottery in pits. Interesting evidence concerning the occupation chronology is provided and a more complex vision of LBK refuse disposal is proposed than that generally accepted. In particular, it is argued that pits, as they appear today to archaeologists, represent no more than a few years of use. It is likely that refuse was first dumped in surface middens, and gradually displaced afterwards to the pits we excavate today.

Radiocarbon Dates and Technological Change in Salt Production at the Site of Zhongba in the Three Gorges, China

The prehistoric chronology of the Three Gorges region along the Yangzi River in China has only become the focus of significant archaeological research in the last decade. The site of Zhongba is one of the most significant sites among those recently studied. Thirty-two radiocarbon dates produced by the C-14 laboratory at Peking University, and five additional dates from the Beta Analytic laboratory in the United States show a clear chronological profile of the activity periods at the site of Zhongba. This radiocarbon profile clarifies two very important issues related to the prehistory of the Three Gorges region. The dates anchor an emerging ceramic-based relative chronology in a series of stratigraphically associated absolute dates. This article discusses these results and suggests explanations for several anomalous dates. The sequence demonstrates the need to reassess radiocarbon sequences by means of ceramic seriation. The dates also demonstrate that three different vessel classes, which dominate the ceramic assemblage at Zhongba and which are believed to have been used in salt production at the site, date to three chronologically distinct phases of activity. The differences among the three types suggest that they represent a sequence of technological changes in the process of salt production at the site.

Seriation Proposed by Kleinschmidt (1982: Table 19) of Allen Phase and Frankston Phase Sites in the Upper Neches River

Kleinschmidt reviewed sherd and vessel collections from a number of Frankston phase (ca. A.D. 1400-1650) and Allen phase (ca. A.D. 1650-1800+) sites in the upper Neches River basin (Anderson, Cherokee, Henderson, and Smith counties) and developed a ceramic frequency seriation of those sites more than 25 years ago. That seriation is still useful today, or at least I find it so, because it does seem to provide a good measure of temporal changes in the kinds of decorated ceramic vessels used by these Caddo peoples, as well as a good measure of the direction of changes in ceramic decorative styles.

On Chronology-Building for Central Thailand Through an Attribute-Based Ceramic Seriation

This paper seeks to build a chronology for the prehistoric period and the early historic period of central Thailand. Sixteen ceramic assemblages from 14 prehistoric and early historic archaeological sites in the Pa Sak River valley (of central Thailand) were examined using an attribute-based seriation method. Body sherds were included in the study and the attributes selected for this study are those of surfacetreatment attributes. Correspondence analysis was used to seriate the 16 ceramic assemblages. Findings from this study suggest that surface-treatment attributes are temporally sensitive. The proposed chronology is thus based primarily on results of correspondence analysis of surface treatment. The final arrangement of the ceramic, asian perspectives, spring, assemblages corresponds closely to broad archaeological periods proposed previously by Southeast Asian archaeologists. The results of correspondence analysis, however, provide a finer-scaled chronology for the study area. This research thus contributes to a better understanding of chronological development in the Central Plain of Thailand in general and in the Pa Sak River valley in particular. The research shows the significance and efficacy of attribute-based seriation and correspondence analysis as an exploratory multivariate method in the chronological placement of archaeological assemblages in Thailand and, by extension, in Southeast Asia.

Ceramic Seriation, Sites Chronology, and Old Oyo Factor in Northcentral Yorubaland, Nigeria

This study is an attempt to provide a chronological seriation of pottery from Igbomina in northcentral Yorubaland. The ceramic sequence is developed using multivariate statistical analysis. From the K-means cluster analysis, ceramic collections that are roughly contemporaneous were grouped together; next the collections were seriated with multidimensional scaling to reveal whether they form a pattern that may be chronologically significant. Evaluation of the results of the pottery analysis from the Igbomina sites was based on the chronological division of Old Oyo pottery as well as on radiocarbon dating of associated material from excavated sites in the region. Pottery types from Old Oyo became known in Igbomina probably as early as the thirteenth century AD, and continued to occur in some areas until the late eighteenth century. The presence of Oyo pottery in Igbomina has important implications for the understanding of Oyo's relations with the northern Yoruba group and the frontier position of Igbomina during the Old Oyo Empire. Cette etude cherche a fournir une seriation chronologique de la ceramique provenant de Igbomina situe dans la partie centrale du nord de Yorubaland. La sequene de ceramique a ete elaboree en utilisant une analyse statistique multidimensionnelle. Les collections de ceramique plus ou moins contemporaines ont ete groupees en se servant de la moyenne du facteur K de la classification ascendante hierarchique, elles ont ensuite ete ordonnees au moyen d'une analyse des proximites pour voir si elles formaient un schema chronologique significatif. L'evaluation des resultats de l'analyse ceramique des sites Iglomina est fondee sur les divisions chronologiques de la ceramique Oyo ancienne ainsi que sur des dates radiocarbones obtenues sur du materiel en association provenant de sites fouilles dans la region. Les types de ceramique de l'Oyo ancien sont probablement arrives a Igbomina des le 13eme siecle et ont continue a apparaitre dans certains endroits jusqu'a la fin du 18eme siecle. La presence de la ceramique Oyo a Igbomina comporte des implications importantes pour nos connaissances sur les relations des Oyo avec les groupes Yoruba du nord et sur la position de la frontiere de Igbomina pendant l'empire Oyo ancien.

Radiocarbon Dates from Halfiah Gibli (Abadiyeh), a Predynastic Settlement in Upper Egypt

In 1989 and 1991, wood charcoal samples were excavated at a Predynastic settlement in Upper Egypt, Halfiah Gibli (HG). A second site, Semaineh (SH), was also investigated, but as the ceramics there were mostly from the Old Kingdom, excavations were concentrated at HG. Wood charcoal was obtained in undisturbed contexts, in association with Nagada culture potsherds and lithics, ranging in date from about 3700 BC to 3200/3100 BC. These new radiocarbon dates provide more data for the relative phases of the Nagada culture, formulated mainly from ceramic seriation.

The Excavations at Corozal, Venezuela: Stratigraphy and Ceramic Seriation. Anna C. Roosevelt. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 83. Department of Anthropology and the Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, 1997. xiv + 393 pp., 26 figures, 90 tables, 13 plates. $25.00 (paper).

The Excavations at Corozal, Venezuela: Stratigraphy and Ceramic Seriation. Anna C. Roosevelt. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 83. Department of Anthropology and the Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, 1997. xiv + 393 pp., 26 figures, 90 tables, 13 plates. $25.00 (paper). - Volume 9 Issue 3

Integration of Archaeological Phase Information and Radiocarbon Results from the Jama River Valley, Ecuador: A Bayesian Approach

Archaeological syntheses of western Ecuadorian prehistory have been hampered by a lack of reliable absolute chronologies and detailed cultural sequences for many key areas, one of which is northern Manabí Province, known principally as the territory of the Jama-Coaque cultural tradition. This study presents a seven-phase cultural sequence for the Jama River valley of northern Manabí that spans over 3,600 calendar years. A statistical model relating the successive archaeological phases is established, based on prior knowledge of the stratigraphy and ceramic seriation from key archaeological sites throughout the valley. A Bayesian statistical approach is then employed to calibrate 37 radiocarbon determinations for the purpose of estimating calendar dates for the limits of these phases. Apart from its contribution to the prehistory of a poorly studied area, the analysis illustrates the value of a probabilistic Bayesian approach to radiocarbon calibration, especially when the determinations relate to archaeologically predefined phases. It also demonstrates the dangers of uncritically applying generalized periodization schemes to specific sequences of historical development and highlights the need for reassessing Ecuadorian chronology through more precise interregional correlations.

A Revised Chronology for Mississippi River Subdeltas

Radiocarbon measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry relating to three of the four late Holocene Mississippi River subdeltas yielded consistent results and were found to differ by up to 2000 carbon-14 years from previously inferred ages. These geological data are in agreement with archaeological carbon-14 data and stratigraphic ages based on ceramic seriation and were used to develop a revised chronologic framework, which has implications for prehistoric human settlement patterns, coastal evolution and wetland loss, and sequence-stratigraphic interpretations.

Ceramic Seriation and Site Reoccupation in Lowland South America

A long-standing debate in Amazonian archaeology is whether large sites represent contemporaneous communities or palimpsests accrued through multiple reoccupations. Quantitative ceramic seriation has been used to support the latter view. This argument is evaluated in terms of its statistical basis and its assumptions about sources of ceramic variability. On the basis of this evaluation, we conclude that the case for reoccupation, based on seriation, is unconvincing.

Late Postclassic Chronology in Western Morelos, Mexico

Chronology building is an integral part of the archaeological research process, and changing research questions often require the refinement of existing chronologies. This view is illustrated with a description of the derivation, refinement, and confirmation of a ceramic sequence for the Postclassic period in Morelos, Mexico. The joint application of stratigraphy and quantitative ceramic seriation produced a five-phase Postclassic chronology. To deal with problems in distinguishing the stylistically similar ceramics of the final three phases, discriminant-function analysis was employed, resulting in the confident phasing of nearly all excavated contexts at the sites of Capilco and Cuexcomate. Calendar years are assigned to the phases by radiocarbon dating, and the implications of the dated sequence are explored briefly.