Situating the Pot and Potter: Ceramic Production and Use at the Silvercreek Sites, Two Early-Late Woodland Sites in Elgin County, Ontario
This study examines the pottery from two archaeological sites that date to the beginning of the early Late Woodland period. In order to understand the production and use of ceramic vessels at the sites, a wide range of ceramic attributes are recorded and analyzed. A second component of the research is to understand the settlement patterns at the site, in order to determine how space was organized at the sites. Through these analyses, I situate these sites within the wider context of southwestern Ontario in the 11th century A.D. I adopt a ‘communities of practice’ approach, and conclude that the similarities in ceramics throughout the Great Lakes during this time period can be seen as indicating high levels of social interaction, as well as overlapping communities of practice, in which potters may have moved across the landscape and continued their craft traditions in new communities.
Early Late Woodland Period, Western Basin, Princess Point, ceramic analysis, spatial analysis, communities of practice
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