The Manufacture and Use of Negative Painted Pottery at the Angel Site
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Sherri Hilgeman's (1985, 1991, 2000) extensive study of Negative Painted Pottery from the Angel Site (12VG1) near Evansville, Indiana, will be summarized and her interpretations on the method of manufacture and use will be tested, using advanced analytical methods (e.g., residue analysis, X-ray Fluorescence). In Hilgeman’s (2000) culminating publication, Pottery and Chronology at Angel, she presented a refined typology and seriation of Negative Painted Pottery and utilized spatial data, experimental archaeology, and ethnohistorical research to determine their fabrication and cultural function. Her conclusions argued that Negative Painted Pottery was created from a clay resist and sooting application and that they were primarily ritual plates made specifically for the annual “new fire rite” or “green corn ceremony” to consume black drink, feasting, and/or returning home with new embers from the sacred fire. Preliminary results from recent research provides a more detailed picture of manufacture and use that expands on and partially supports Hilgeman's interpretations.
