Identity in the Late Woodland Northeast: interpreting communities of practice from paste composition at the Thomas/Luckey and the Losey 3 sites

<p>Thomas/Luckey’s 13th -15th and Losey 3’s 14th-17th century occupations in the Late Woodland Northeast contain assemblages with incongruous regional pottery types; Kelso Corded and an assumed non-local Shenks Ferry. I argue the presence of Shenks Ferry vessels at these two sites indicates the movement of people who reproduced their natal designs upon arrival, rather than trade. The question of whether identity and communities of practice can be discerned from pottery decorations and paste was answered by analyzing sherds with pXRF. While pottery types are based on visual attributes, pXRF looks at elemental composition. Decoration is mimicable, but paste is not; paste accurately illustrates a vessel’s origin. Cultural groups are not static entities, and internal development or outgroup interaction indicates change. Communities of practice recreate themselves in a new environment and in relation to others. The results of this analysis add new depth to conceptions of group movement and identity construction.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Year

2020

Authors dc:creator

• Riethmuller, Douglas S.
• <p>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7162-596X</p>

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Nina M. Versaggi
• Dr. Laurie E. Miroff

• Iroquois
• XRF
• Pottery
• Identity
• Late Woodland
• Northeast
• Shenks Ferry
• Kelso
• Clay
• Paste
• Archaeological Anthropology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/120

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:orb.binghamton.edu:dissertation_and_theses-1125