Pottery Sample Descriptions

Each pottery specimen analyzed was selected on the basis of its potential to reveal information about taxonomic relationships, in addition to providing samples for chemical and mineral analyses. Preference was given to larger sherds with distinct temper and surface treatment characteristics. Table A.1 describes the provenience of the 70 samples. Table A.2 includes the paste and temper characteristics, and Table A. 3 lists the surface treatment characteristics. Assignment of sherds to typological classes followed regional precedents (Herbert 2003; Herbert et al. 2002). Each sherd was cut into three sections with a dremel tool fitted with a carborundum disk. Although not measured or recorded, sherds presented very different degrees of stubbornness in yielding to the saw, the difficulty being positively related to hardness (possibly a useful measure in future studies). One section was submitted for NAA, a second section was submitted to a commercial firm for the preparation of thin sections for petrographic analysis, and a third section was reserved for comparative purposes. Two different thin-sectioning firms were used, and the quality of results varied significantly. Pottery samples JMH001–JMH050 were embedded in epoxy blocks, and the quality of thin sections prepared from these samples was excellent. Pottery samples JMH051–JMH070 were vacuum impregnated with epoxy but not embedded in blocks. The quality of these thin sections left a great deal to be desired. Photomicrographs were made of the flat sections of pucks from which thin sections were cut, thereby providing remarkably distinct images of sherd cross sections (Figures A.1–A.7). Photographs were made with a 35 mm SLR camera body mounted on an Olympus SE40 binocular microscope with incident light provided by Fostec EKE fiber-optics, using Fuji T-64 slide film, subsequently scanned at 600 dpi. Puck surfaces were wetted before photographing, greatly enhancing color and contrast definition, but in some cases dried so quickly that portions of the images appear washed out. Degrees of absorption were also influenced by epoxy impregnation, which partially penetrated the ceramic sample preventing absorption. Some specimens with partial epoxy impregnation appear to have a dark horizontal band across their centers (the absorbent portion) approximately where one might expect to see a reduced core, but this color and contrast difference has nothing to do with firing temperature or atmosphere.