Redmond, Brian G. (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University)
A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF YANKEETOWN PHASE CERAMICS FROM THE
YANKEETOWN SITE (12 w 1), WARRICK COUNTY, INDIANA
The Yankeetown site (12 W 1) is a large village site located in the floodplain
of the Ohio River in Warrick County Indiana. The Yankeetown site is the "type-site"
for the Yankeetown Phase, an Emergent Mississippian cultural manifestation dating
between A.D. 700 and 1000. Over the years, surface collections and limited test
excavations at the site have produced a wealth of archaeological material, consisting
primarily of plain and decorated grog-tempered ceramics. Preliminary ceramics
analysis by Emily Blasingham in the 1950s resulted in the classification of this
material into four basic types: Yankeetown Plain, Cordmarked, Incised, and Fillet.
However, recent investigations of Yankeetown Phase settlement structure and patterns
of social interaction have pointed out the need for a more complete understanding
of the stylistic attributes of Yankeetown pottery.
The sample of Yankeetown pottery used for the current analysis was made up of
200 rim sherds randomly selected from a large collection of pottery recovered
during the 1965 excavatons at the site. The stylistic variables used for the analysis
were exterior, interior, and lip decoration. The various decorative techniques
observed for all variables were recorded for each rim sherd and then encoded as
numeric values in a data base. SPSSX system software was used to produce frequency
distributions and measures of association between variables. SPSSX procedure CLUSTER
was used to isolate homogenous groups of decorative attributes that could in turn
be used to isolate patterns of stylistic behavior for the Yankeetown site assemblage.
The results of this analysis showed that the most common form of decoration consisted
of a horizontal row of stamped impressions on the interior surfaces of bowls and
on the exterior of jars. On some jars, this motif was commonly placed along the
bottom edge of a rim fold and above an incised or fillet neck decoration. These
neck decorations commonly took the form of open and filled zones of incised lines
Or fillets, and only rarely did these decorative techniques appear alone on jar
exteriors.
Additional analyses of ceramic assemblages from two other sites in the study area--the
Duffy site (11 Ga 9) and site 12 Po 50--have demonstrated the same patterns of
ceramic decoration as that noted for the Yankeetown site. In fact it now appears
that the failure of past ceramic studies to note this same co-occurence of stamped
and incised or fillet decorative elements on ceramic vessels from the Duffy site
of southeastern Illinois was the primary factor in the erroneous designation of
the Duffy Complex as a distinct cultural-historical unit.
The homogenous patterning of stylistic behavior demonstrated by this analysis
is convincing evidence of the participation of Yankeetown Phase populations in
a common network of social identities. This network may have determined not only
the limits of ceramic decorative behavior but also the intensity and complexity
of intercommunity social integration. [return to 1988 abstracts menu][continue to next]