Abstract
- Fifteen pottery sherds were submitted for absorbed pottery residue analysis from 12D29, a Fort Ancient/Mississippian site in Ohio. Pottery was sent from both Fort Ancient and Mississippian features, to determine if pottery usage varied between the feature types. Of the fifteen samples, one definitely contained maize, three contained sufficient C4 contribution to sitosterol and/or fatty acids that it seemed likely that they contained maize, and two contained a small amount of C4 contribution that might have derived from maize. The remaining nine samples did not have a measurable C4 contribution to their residues, and were interpreted as not containing maize. In addition, conifer biomarkers were present in ten of the fifteen residues in varying amounts. One sherd contained large amounts of residue that seem to have been exposed to high heat—it may represent a pot used for some sort of oil-cooking or frying, or a sherd that was accidentally burned at some point in its history.