Pottery Identification

[thehunter123]

Hey y’all! I have recently come across a new site where I’m finding some pottery shards. Does anyone have or know of some resources I could use to identify time period/culture of the pottery based on location, material, design etc? My recent finds have come from the NC Piedmont near the South Yadkin River.

Thanks in advance!

 

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[lairmo]

I know nothing..but I'm sure someone will...hang in there...

 

[arrow86]

Posting some pics of them may help ID them as well

 

[Philvis]

Hey y’all! I have recently come across a new site where I’m finding some pottery shards. Does anyone have or know of some resources I could use to identify time period/culture of the pottery based on location, material, design etc? My recent finds have come from the NC Piedmont near the South Yadkin River.

Thanks in advance!

Can you provide a close city to where you found the pottery shards? You could be looking at Pee-Dee, Yadkin, Saponi, or other cultures. The pottery may not be distinguishable on it's own, so a more narrowed area would help. You'll probably have net impressed, cord, incised, etc. types of pottery as far as how they are decorated.

 

[thehunter123]

Location is Northern Iredell Co. Here are some pics w/ front and back of each piece. Material appears to be a mixture of clay and sand.

 

[ptsofnc]

NCPeaches who often posts finds (NC finds) could probably help. I think she is pretty knowledgeable about pottery.

 

[Philvis]

It's probably Catawba culture pottery. Check out the book Woodland Potters and Archaeological Ceramics of the North Carolina Coast on Amazon. That should be a good guide for you. When I was an archaeologist, my specialty was more with the Saponi culture in the norther part of the state.

The second photo looks to be net impressed pottery. If you are searching by rivers, definitely look for natural bluffs above the river banks...ones that can withstand the river flooding. That is where you will find remnants of villages and their middens. Be careful though, with middens, you often find burials if the soil conditions are right (sandy, no clay).

If you do run into more than just shards, you may want contact an archaeologist. It's tough finding good sites and there is still much to learn. My buddy/former professor is one of the leading prehistoric Indian archaeologists in the region, so just let me know if you ever want me to hook you up with him.

Phil

 

[tomclark]

Sherds.

 

[Mrtodd]

 

[Mrtodd]

 

[RGINN]

Minor point but tomclark is right, sherds. State archaeologist corrected me on that one time. Rim shards help a lot in pottery ID, thehunter123, so keep your eyes open for them.

 

[thehunter123]

Thanks so much for the info everyone! This is by far the best forum around! I’ll be sure to post more finds as they come.

 

[Tnmountains]

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