A ceramic vessel function analysis and foodways approach to the Late Woodland/ Mississippian interface in Kershaw County, South Carolina .

摘要

The Late Woodland/Mississippian interface in central South Carolina was a time of dynamic interaction between relatively egalitarian and socially ranked peoples. The goals of this thesis were to see how Late Woodland and Mississippian social settings are reflected in pre-Columbian foodways practices and to define a Belmont Neck phase ceramic assemblage. I propose consumption practices at Mississippian villages will approximate those from Late Woodland villages in central South Carolina. I also propose that because mound precincts represent sacred space where some elites reside and engage in competitive feasting, foodways evidence recovered from Mississippian elite contexts will differ from that recovered from the Mississippian commoners' villages and Late Woodland villages. As evidence for foodways practices, I completed a vessel function analysis for ceramic sherds recovered from the Belmont Neck site's mound and village precincts as well as from the Concrete Block, V. Green, and Richardson Late Woodland villages. In defining a Belmont Neck phase ceramic assemblage, I build on Depratter and Judge's (1990) description. Although similar, my definition for the Belmont Neck phase treats ceramic sherds recovered from the mound and village differently, taking into consideration differences in foodways practices between Mississippian elite and commoner contexts.