Courtesy Photo | A Marion thick-ware pottery piece is shown in the ground during a past archaeological...... read more read more
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Archaeologists with Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands have recovered many pieces of prehistoric (or pre-contact) ceramics, referred to as sherds, at numerous sites throughout Fort McCoy.
The oldest of these come from a vessel style that has been dubbed Marion thick in Wisconsin and other parts of the Upper Midwest.
Marion thick-ware pottery represent a distinct type of pot which is recognized as being about 2,500 years old. The vessel style gets its name, in part, from the thick walls of the pot, which are typically about 8 to 12 millimeters (mm) thick.
For comparison, the average dinner plate at a restaurant is about 7.5 mm thick, and a generic paper plate is about 0.5 mm thick. Other distinctive characteristics of Marion thick vessels include relatively straight walls and cord-marking.
Vessels from this time were most likely produced using a strategy similar to basketry. A potter would make a ribbon of clay by rolling it back and forth between both hands and then stacking coils upward for the general shape of the pot, pinching the coil seams to create a continuous surface, and often using a paddle-shaped stick wrapped with cordage to smooth and shape the surface.
The clay needed to be infused with tempering agents, such as crushed rock, sand, shell, fragments of other pots, or plant fibers to avoid cracking or outright failure during the firing process.
Pre-contact ceramics are an important indicator of the time period an archaeological site was in use, much like different styles of spear points, arrowheads, and radiocarbon dates are.
Ceramics first appear in the archaeological record during the Woodland Tradition and continue through the Oneota and Mississippian Traditions cultural periods. North American archaeologists use the term “tradition” in archaeological contexts to recognize the connections of widely dispersed prehistoric peoples through their shared use of specific technologies and cultural practices.
A good example of this is the introduction of prehistoric ceramics in the Woodland period. Other advancements from this time period include the transitions to horticulture and agriculture, as well as a less mobile, more sedentary lifestyle.
All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was sponsored by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB).
Visitors and employees are reminded they should not collect artifacts on Fort McCoy or other government lands and leave the digging to the professionals.
Any person who excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or defaces any historic or prehistoric site, artifact, or object of antiquity on Fort McCoy is in violation of federal law.
The discovery of any archaeological artifact should be reported to the NRB at 608-388-8214.
(Article prepared by the Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands.)
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2018 12:06 |
| Story ID: | 303204 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 408 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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