This project arises from the observation that Wendat oral traditions about where the Wendat come from do not accord well with archaeological hypotheses about Wendat origins. Traditional archaeological explanations were based in part on pottery decoration. In this project we approached pottery analysis using the idea of communities of practice – groups of people who learn from one another. We asked if there were shared communities of practice across the study region, which included the southern Ontario and locations in the St. Lawrence Valley.
We used microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA ICP MS), and petrography to investigate how Wendat potters constructed high-collared pottery in the study region. Wyandot potter, Richard Zane Smith, used clays from Ontario and the proposed methods to recreate pots and determine if the methods suggested by archaeological analysis can be used to successfully make a pot. Our results are summarized in an exhibit produced by students in the Science Communication program at Laurentian University and are now on display at the Huron-Wendat Museum.
Team
- Greg Braun, AECOM
- Alicia Hawkins, UTM Anthropology
- Louis Lesage
- Joseph Petrus, Elemental Scientific Lasers
- Richard Zane Smith, Wyandot, Oklahoma
- Amy St. John
- Melanie Vincent, Wendat Nation
Publications
Hawkins, Alicia L., Gates St-Pierre, Christian, and Louis Lesage (editors). 2021 Special volume on New Approaches to Iroquoian Archaeology, Canadian Journal of Archaeology. 45(2).
Gates-St. Pierre, Christian, Alicia L. Hawkins, and Louis Lesage. 2021 Introduction to the special volume on New Approaches to Iroquoian Archaeology. Canadian Journal of Archaeology. 45(2): 109-120.
Hawkins, Alicia L., Gregory V. Braun, Amy St. John, and Louis Lesage. 2021 What Lies Beneath the Surface: A Ceramic Technology Approach to Iroquoian Pottery. Canadian Journal of Archaeology [special volume]. 45(2): 202-229.
Hawkins, Alicia, and Louis Lesage. 2018 Huron-Wendat Archaeological Heritage: Building Relationships Towards Collaboration. História: Questões & Debates, 66(2):111–138. [special volume]
Braun, Gregory V., Amy St. John, Alicia Hawkins, Louis Lesage, and Joseph Petrus. In preparation Working title: Integrating Analytical Techniques in the Study of Ceramic Manufacturing Technology: A Case Study from Late Woodland Ontario and Québec.
Micro-CT scan of a High Collared Rim Sherd from the Ellery Site
This scan shows the internal structure of the pot fragment, including the clay, temper and voids (air pockets). The location and orientation of the voids allow us to suggest how the pot was built. Each time a new piece of clay was added, there were small voids between the two pieces of clay. In this case, the rim was formed by adding rings of clay, and smoothing them together. At the end, two layers or clay were added on the exterior of the pot. The scan and colour coding are by Amy St. John.
Images
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