Breaking the mold: Compositional insights into the organization of Mississippian (ca. AD 1050–1550) pottery production in southeastern North America

Abstract

This paper disseminates results of recent compositional analyses highlighting fundamental changes to the organization of pottery production in precontact southeastern North America. Previous research has indicated that changes to a given potting network alter the pacing and tempo of interactions between experts and apprentices, effectively restructuring intergenerational relationships within a community. For this reason, experienced potters may intentionally resist new technologies to keep active the social bonds that depend on a specific organization of production. This study combines technofunctional, petrographic, and chemical analyses to investigate the social implications of shifting from coiled to molded pottery production during the Mississippian (ca. AD 1050) transition in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. The primary empirical observations of this research are: 1) certain optical patterns in thin section identify a form of pottery production predicated on the use of concave molds, and 2) the lack of variation in vessel form was related to the shift to molding, and 3) the presence of chromium-enriched clays in domestic pottery after AD 1050 signaled increasing reliance on a restricted range of clay resources. We ultimately argue that molding developed as an expedient technique that broadened participation in domestic potting and eliminated steps in the socialization process as population flourished in Tampa Bay during the Mississippian transition.