Ceramic attribute analysis and ethnic group composition: an example from southeastern Louisiana (ceramics, Indians)
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Description
The proposition is discussed that ethnicity or ethnic group behavior is perceptible in the structure of variability exhibited by archaelogical remains. The ceramic industries excavated from two Louisiana sites, Sims (16SC2) and Bayou Goula (16IV11), are compared to examine the relationships between ethnic group behavior and ceramic attribute variability. It was assumed that the ceramic remains from 16IV11 represented the occupation of several different Indian groups over the brief period of two decades. If this assumption had been correct, the stylistic and functional attributes evident in the ceramic objects from Bayou Goula would be expected to exhibit high degrees of heterogeneity or variability. The Sims site was assumed to represent the remains of a single, related group. A comparison of the degree of variability between Sims and Bayou Goul's ceramic industries was expected to reveal the ethnic nature of Sims occupants through the study of its ceramic variabilities The first computation of the variability in ceramic attributes was conduced employing principal component analysis. The factors extracted from the combined samples indicated that the Bayou Goula ceramics were highly homogenous while the Sims and the Plaquemine component from Bayou Goula exhibited higher levels of ceramic attribute variability Since the initial statistical results did not support the research hypothesis, additional data was gathered to provide better explanations of the observed and measured ceramic variability. Cartographic, ethnohistorical and additional archaeological data indicated that the site of 16IV11 was most likely the French concession of M. Paris and not the polyethnic, melting pot of Indian tribes discovered by Iberville and excavated during the WPA programs by Quimby. It is likely that the polyethnic village is located either in the area of Donaldsonville, or further west of IV11 In concluding, the dissertation presents new information on the Bayou Petre component from Sims, previously unreported. Secondly, the initial manipulations of the attribute frequencies through multivariate analysis provide an indication that the original hypothesis was incorrect. Additional data gathered from early maps, travel accounts and more recent excavations in the area of Bayou Goula supplement earlier studies in identifying IV11 as the French concession of M. Paris. Microlevel analysis on ceramic attribute and structure is a valuable approach to goal oriented research in archaeology. This is particularly true when the direct historical approach is combined with setting research objectives and statistical analysis of attribute variability