Measuring Tradition and Variation

This thesis presents a detailed analysis of a St. Johns II (A.D. 900-1250) ceramic assemblage recovered from the Shields site in extreme northeastern Florida. The ceramic assemblage was recovered from activity areas immediately north and northwest of the Shields burial mound (8DU12). The study collection is comprised of two pottery types: the St. Johns and Ocmulgee III series. St. Johns ceramics represent the local tradition and Ocmulgee pottery was originally produced in south-central Georgia near the confluences of the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Altamaha rivers. This mixed assemblage offers the opportunity to explore the maintenance of pottery traditions (i.e., paste construction, formal and stylistic characteristics). The study also examines the possible roles of pottery at this ritual/ceremonial site as well as the roles of St. Johns and Ocmulgee women potters who, through the steadfast recreation of traditional pottery vessels, reinforced and reproduced cultural identity while engaging in long distance and long-term interaction. The construction of traditional vessels was not a fragile concept to the women of this area, for, through 350 years of exchange, trade, probable intermarriage, and alliance, distinct pottery traditions persisted.