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Following A Glittering Trail: Geo-Chemical and PetrographicCharacterization of Micaceous Sherds Recovered from Dismal RiverSites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sarah Trabert ,
Sunday Eiselt ,
David V. Hill ,
Jeffrey Ferguson  and
Margaret Beck
Sarah Trabert*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 455 West Lindsey, Dale Hall Tower 521, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019
Sunday Eiselt
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department, Heroy Hall 450, P.O. Box 750336, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0336 (seiselt@mail.smu.edu)
David V. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, P.O. Box 173362, Campus Box 28; Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO 80217-3362 (dhill51@msudenver.edu)
Jeffrey Ferguson
Affiliation:
Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Missouri Research Reactor, 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO 65211 (fergusonje@missouri.edu)
Margaret Beck
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 114 Macbride Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (margaret-beck@uiowa.edu)
*
strabert@ou.edu
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Abstract

Protohistoric Ancestral Apache Dismal River groups (A.D. 1600–1750)participated in large exchange networks linking them to other peoples on thePlains and U.S. Southwest. Ceramic vessels made from micaceous materialsappear at many Dismal River sites, and micaceous pottery recovered from theCentral High Plains is typically seen as evidence for interaction withnorthern Rio Grande pueblos. However, few mineral or chemicalcharacterization analyses have been conducted on these ceramics, and theterm “micaceous” has been applied to a broad range of vessel typesregardless of the form, size, or amount of mica in their pastes. Our recentanalyses, including macroscopic evaluation combined with petrography andneutron activation analyses (NAA), indicate that only a small subset ofDismal River sherds are derived from New Mexico clays. The rest were likelymanufactured using materials from Colorado and Wyoming. Seasonal mobilitypatterns may have given Dismal River potters the opportunity to collect micaraw materials as they traveled between the Central Plains and Front Range,and this has implications for the importance of internal Plains socialnetworks during the Protohistoric and Historic periods.

Los grupos protohistóricos del Río Dismal (antiguos Apaches; 1600–1750)participaron de un extenso intercambio que los conectó con otras comunidadesde las planicies y del sureste de los Estados Unidos. Las vasijas decerámica hechas de materiales micáceos aparecen en muchos sitios del RíoDismal. Los primeros investigadores han considerado a las cerámicas de pastamicácea recuperadas en estos sitios de las altas planicies centrales comoevidencia de la interacción con los pueblos del norte del Río Grande yasumieron que la mayoría de estas cerámicas encontradas en los sitios delRío Dismal no eran de la región. Sin embargo, se han realizado escasosanálisis minerales o caracterizaciones químicas a estas cerámicas y eltérmino micáceo (micaceous) ha sido aplicado a un amplio rango de cerámicassin importar el tipo, tamaño o cantidad de mica en sus pastas. Nuestrosanálisis recientes, incluyendo la evaluación macroscópica combinada conpetrografía y el análisis por activación neutrónica (NAA), indican quesolamente un pequeño grupo de tiestos son derivados de la arcilla de NuevoMéxico. Las cerámicas restantes fueron probablemente hechas de materialesdisponibles en Colorado y Wyoming. Los patrones de movilidad estacionalpudieron haberle dado a estos grupos del Río Dismal la oportunidad derecoger mica y material bruto para sus vasijas de cerámica mientras viajabanentre las planicies centrales y la cordillera frontal. La distribución deestas vasijas destaca la importancia de las redes sociales internas en lasplanicies durante los períodos Protohistórico e Histórico.

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Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 364 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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