AN ANbLYSIS OF CERAM ICS F3.0:1
:"ISTO IC C:iBROKEE TO~mS
by
Brian John Egloff
A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the r equirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology
Chapel Hill
1967
Approved by;
Adviser BilAN JOHN EGL OP? ~n ~nal ysis of Ccra=~c: Jro~ ~ist o r ic Ch"rokee ';;01".'1'1S . (Un
tribution of vz.rious cera::ic tY3les \[i-,; ::1:, -;;~_'" :)r.e:,:-o:l:ee a rea
Ge orgia . Sa~ p l es of po~tery were obtz.~n~d fr .J ~hirteen
historic Cherokee to\-;nc and analy c.~d ~'.:' t;-. -;;._ ,- :. .• ~l)r.t of dis-
c erni ~f.) t he Sit. il2. ~ !.tics or c.lff~r2ncc~ -·r .::'..'::: .. ..;8.~': \.. '~\"<' ~ nc
historic c c r~mlcs of the ;:vc r c~ :o nz o~ ~ . ~ ,~ ~ ~~~ area . . .. . T~c an31y~is o! cerarnic~ i:"_i...lc8. t c s ..... _.' - ...... 1:ri;.~rtite
div' sion of -;; ae Cherokees i n~ o Lowe r, ~id~:e ~~d Overhill
TOl·ms us maj or "'phe l"' cs of sccial inte ract:!..o::': ::'5 f u:-ther re -
fl ect e~ i n ~h c :~ ~~:fe r ing cera ~i c trad:tio~s . O e ra ~ ~cs
from the Valiey and Out Towns are similar ~o a~~ sho~ l d be
':::e Lo~';er ':'G~jr. s at the fringes of ~ he Blue Ridge
~o un t& ~ns ~av6 been s~ ron gl y in~lu e nced by ~: _ 3 ?ie t~ont COID -
plica~ed sta . ped trad:.tion . The Overh:'ll To ~ns in the Gr eat
Valley of TenneSSEe ~ave been doc inatcd by a ~ississip pia n
s hell t ~~p~ r e d tradition . ':'::e :,:iddle To\ms ;:ave r.ad C.e ir
c e ramic tradition mar:
tradition which developed :'1'1 central Ge orgi& . To SO~E degree
t he di ~fe r ence ~as casked during historic ti~es by ~he : ama ~
s tyle ~ o ri son wh1c is manifested in t he Qualla Series . --
TABLE OF CONTENT S
Chapt er Page
TA BLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS iii
I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. PHYSIOGRAPHY 3 III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND . 20 IV . CERAHIC ANA LYSIS 27 .,. V, SU MJ.1ARY. 68 BI BLI OGRAPHY . 76 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1 Profile of Ditch at Nununyi 15 Figure 2 Rim Profiles . 47 Figure 3 Regional Distribution of Cerami cs 69
Map 1 The Cherokee A r e ~ . 4 l'iap 2 Ki tuhl-ra - Surface Collection .A reas 17 Map 3 Kitc hin 'ap of Cherokee Towns .. 21
Plate I Ceramics from the Lower Towns 53 Plate II Ceramics from the Lower Towns 55 Plate III Ceramics from the Lower and Middle Towns. 57 Plate IV Ceramics from t he 1iddle Towns . 59 Plate V Ceramics from the Middle Towns . 61 Plate VI Ceramics from t he Middle Towns . 63 Plate VII Ceramics from the Vall ey and Out Towns . 65 Pl ate VIII Cer am ics from the Overhill Towns . . 67
Table 1 Distribution of Ceram ics Lower Towns...... · 28 Table 2 Distribution of Cer amics Middle, Valley and Ov erhill Towns . · . . 29 Table 3 Distribution of Ceramics Out TOI-ms...... · . . 30 Tabl e 4 Distribution of Ceramic s Complicated Stamped Des i gns . 33 Table 5 Distr ibution of Rim Profiles 48 Table 6 Distribution of Rim Profiles by Ce ramic Series 49
L -_.. __ . -. _... ----..
CHAPTER I
INT:lODUC ION
The position , size and importance of the Cherokee
Indi an in the eighteenth century is a well known story and
t he subse~uent attrition and destruction of this nation, in
broad outline , is e~ually well known . Under the rele ntless
pr e s sure of an energetic and land- hungry pioneer population
t he Cherokee Here pushed from their mountain domain . The
Cherokee Hho struggled for nationalism and survival were an
Ind i an t r ibe sustained by a strong cul tural tradit ion .
Alth ough t he history and ethnology a r e reasonably well docu
mented , Che r okee protohistory and prehistory have heretofore
r emained negl ected and the Cherokee culture has not been
placed in t he greater picture of Southeastern cultural .. de v e lo pment .
The purpose of t his Hork is to present a description
of Cherokee c eramics, all of which were collected from known
his t oric sites upon the major trade routes . A comparison
of ceramic s from the major regions of the Cherokee iation
will serve as a basis upon which the direct historical
approa c h may be applied i n studies deal ing with prehistoric Cherokee cer amics .
Historic Cherokee ceramics have been placed in a vagu e
hor i zon c a t egory which has been applied to a wide varie,y of 2
com p l exe~ in the Southeast . This paper offe~s a departure
from what has been accept ed as standard terminology . Tne
prodig ious "Lamaroid" classification into Hhich Che rokee
c eramic s have been lumped is abandoned . In its place t .e
Qualla Series has been developed and described to offer a meaningful category for historic Cherokee ceramics .
Although this pape r deals primarily with historic
Che r okee ceramics, dept h is given to t he study by t he in c l usion of prehistoric sherds . The Co nnest ee , EtoHah,
Pigeon and Pisgah Series are represent ed in t he ceramics a n alyzed .
In conclusion I wish to t hank Dr . Joffre L. Coe who has made available the facilities of the Research Laboratories of Anthropology , without Hhich this pape r Houl d n ot have been possible . This work is part of a at ional Science Foundat ion pr o ject which is devoted to studying the cultural and ecological base of t he Cherokee Nat ion .
." .'
CRA PTER II PHYSIOGRAPHY
The Cherokee were divided into distinct settlements which reflected historical factors as Hell as the physio graphy of the Southern Appalachian Highlands . The LOlfer TOHns were found at the foot of the Blue Ridge escarpment along t he major rivers which floH sout heast into the ktlantic Ocean . The Middle TOlfns vlere located along the headwaters and tributaries of the Little Tennessee River . The Valley TOlffiS He r e a western division of the Middle TOHns and Here grouped along the Valley, Nottely and HiHassee Rivers . The Out To;rns lay to the north of the Middle TOHns along the banks of the Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee Rivers . The Over hill To;rns, sometimes referred to as t he Upper To;rns, we r e founu in the Appalachian Great Valley Province . These divisions were used by the British Colonial government as a basis for establishing and controlling trade. The geographical location of the Cherokee peoples would not appear to be conducive to the fostering of a large and prosperous population. A. L. Kroeber points out that in many instances mountains acted as boundaries between abori ginal Americans. A mountainous area is especially limiting to cultural development when the mainstay of the culture is agriculture (Kroeber, 1963 : 95)~ The Cherokee culture is
•
5 peculia r in that t developed, flourished and continue s to day in a mountainous area . The lush mountain valleys whose soil was enriched yearly by floods were the dominant element in determining Cherokee settlement patterns .
LO WER TOyTNS The three Lower Towns with wh ich this study i s con cerned are located on the Tu~aloo River. He r e the \-T ide river bottoms provided adequate rich s oil for agriculture. The valley narrows considerably as one proceeds upstream from Chauga to Estatoe, "There it is 2,000 feet wide . The sides of the valley are border ed by large mountains whic h provide a local relief of approximately 600 feet .
CHA UGA Chauga lies at the confluence of the Tugaloo and Chauga Rivers . It is situated on a low eminence on t he no rth bank of the Tu galoo River 1,200 f eet upstream from the mouth of the Chauga River (Ke lly and Neitzel , 1961 : 2) . Th e mound at this location was at l east twelve f eet high and had a basal dimension of over 100 fe et square, prior to r eduction during historic times . The mound and the associated village area underwent excavation by a Unive rsity of Georgia field party as a part of the Hartl,ell Basin salvage operation ( Kelly and Neit zel, 1961) . Excavation of the mo und revealed t en stages of mound construct ion. The initial stages ar e assoc iated Hit h Etol,ah c eramic s and t he final ones with Qualla ceramics . The mound displays a continuum of r ebuilding that can be clearly assp- 6 ciated with t he Cherokee (Ke lly and Neitzel , 1961 : 59 - 60 ) . In contr ast \,ith Tugalo and Estatoe, Chauga did not appear . \ to have a prolonged occupation during historic times (Kelly and Ne itze l, 1961: iii) . The pr ecise location of square 560- 70 E90- 100, which provided the c er amics f or this study is given in The Chauga Site in Oconee County, South Carolina (Kelly and Neitzel, 1960 : Pl ate 12 ). The t en foot square unit 560- 70 E90- 100 has a numbe r of intrusive elements, the l ar gest of whic h is a portion of Burial 59 . The r emainder of the intrusions appear to be post holes. The unit wa s excavated in four a rbitrary l evels . No stratigr aphie in formation is availabl e r egarding the nature of deposit .
TUGALO Tugalo is six mi l es dOlinstream from Estatoe . Specific information regarding the excavation is delayed pending pre paration of t he r eport . The site is to a gr eat extent coeval with Chauga, but Tu galo eVidences a prolonged and intensive occupation during historic times . Material analyzed came from excavations in the village midden and from a deeply filled ditch . The ditch was an eros ional f eature wh ich a t one time served a s a pathl, ay from the village to the r iver (Kelly, 1965) . This d itch filled with accumulat ed village debris l a te in t he occupation of Tuga10 . The precise loca tion of Unit 15 and Un it 17 in t he village is unknolfn .
ESTATOE Estatoe is located upon t he we st bank of t he Tugaloo River and is contained by a large bend in t he river . The 7 slight ridge upon which the mound was built is the result of river scouring across the neck of the me ander. The mound has undergone excavation by a number of individuals. Joseph R. Caldwell limited his excavations to t ests into the south slope of the mound . Oarl Miller made a number of excavations into the mound which revealed a series of building levels - ( Mi ller , 1959) . A. R. Kelly supervised the removal of the bacKfill from Miller's excavation and restudied the super imposed flo ors (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960 : 5) . The excavation which yielded the material for this study was conducted by Clemens de Baillou under the direction of A. R. Kelly in 1959 and 1960 (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960 : 3- 29) . The summa ry report of the excavation indicates the presence of Levell as the initial phase of building. Levels 2 , 3 , 4b and 4a represent the floors of superimposed structures . Leve l 4a was covered by a mantle of river stones which was in turn capped by clay. Upon the clay mound cap the final structure was built ( Ke lly and de Baillou, 1960: 8) . Structures 1, 2 and 3 consisted of an exterior wall constructed of a double row of posts . Four large posts supported the s t ructur e at each corner . Four posts were intermediate to t he large corner posts. Each structure had a large central fire basin.
Structure 4 was exc avated in tl'lO levels; Level 4b and Level 4a . Apparently Level 4b and Le vel 4a represent two floors telescoped together (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960: 8- 14) . The large interior posts are be lieved to have been placed in t he same post ho l es in t he construction of Structures 1, 2 , 8
3 and 4 . These posts were approximately twenty- five fe et apart. Structure 4 was mantled by a layer of river boulders . This mant le of rocks is similar to that found in other Chero kee mounds (Setzler and Jennings , 1941: Figure 7). The rock mantle was covered by a layer of clay upon which one or more structures "ere built . The material chosen for analysis is from Structure 4 , because suffic ient quantities of sherds from Structures I, 2 and 3 could not be located. The relationship of the units from Structure 4 is difficult to ascertain since the catalogue of excavated materials gave no reference as to their exact vertical or horizontal location . QUite probably t hese va ried units should be regarded as a single unit . Defining floors during the excavation was difficult and the separat e levels of Structure 4 could well have been mingled during con struction of the rock mantle and by later intrusions . The mound construction at Estatoe is believed to be contemporary wit h the final periods of construction at Tugalo and Chauga
(Kelly .n~ ag Dal11oy, 1~60; 26) , ~bl§ would plac§ th~ mound at Estatoe within t he protohis~£ ric and prehistoric periods .
MIDDLE TOI'iNS At the head\faters of t he Littl e Tennessee River the Cherokee Mi ddle Towns prospered . This valley was described in the journal t hat vli lliam Ba rtram kept as he traveled through the area in 1776 . Following t he main trading path dOl-m the valley near the Coweet'a Creek Mound to Nequasee and COl-Tee , he described the valley near t he COI,eeta Creek t4 0und 9 as "expansive, lucid, green, floHery fields, expanding be t\,een retiring hills and tufty eminences , the rapid Tanase glidinG throuBh, as a vast serpent rushing after his prey" (Bartram, 1940 ; 283) • The lUddle Tovlns are approximately thirty miles north of Estatoe, Chauga and Tugalo . They are separated froD the LOvler To\ms by a series of small mountains which form a drainage divide betHeen the north flo'.-iing Little Tennessee Ri ver and the head\va ters of the Tugaloo River. The Middle To\ms lie in the large valley of the Little Tennessee River 1"lhich is bounded on the Hest by the Nantahala Mountains and on t he north and east by the Co\Vee Mountains.
COWEETA CREEK MOUND The Cowe et a Creek Mound is 1,750 feet north of the conf l uence of Coweeta Creek and the Little Tennessee River. No kno"Jn Cherokee to\m can be associated Hi th this site. The Kitchin Map (see Map 3 ) indicates that t he Cherokee town of Newuteah was l ocat ed in t he general v1cinity of the Coweeta
Creek Mound. The Kitch1n Map is of interest in that 1t wa s drawn by a Cherokee Indian and although it is not accurate in its geographical details, it does provide us Hith an indication of the Cherokee TO vlns vlhich existed about 1760 . William Bartram did not record a to\m in this area when he traveled dOvln the valley on his \'Iay to Echoe (Bartram , 1940 ) . Surface collections yielded trade beads, an iron musket spring, a brass musket thimble and kaolin trade pipe fragments . Excavation of the mound has revealed a number of 10 f eatures \-Ihich are simil ar to those fotmd lYi thin other historic Cherokee motmds . The motmd contained a serie s of building levels and superimposed hearths \-lhich resembled t hose fotmd at Estatoe (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960) . Remnants of a r o ck retaining \-Iall \-I hich mantled t he south- eastern slope o f the motmd lYere similar to rock f eatures fO\ll1d at Estatoe and at the Peachtree mO\ll1d (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960; Setzler and Jennings, 1941). The upper portion of the mO\ll1d "Tas trtmca ted by ploviing
and this material vias present in the form of considerable
debris at the edges of t he motmd. The uppermost structure lYhich \-Ias fO\ll1d to be undisturbed by the plO"T vias protected
by a l ayer of daub from its collapsed \-Ta lls. The remnants of a sand floor from an overlying structure lay on top of
the daub debris. This partially destroyed sand floor yielded trade b eads and a felY- tmidentifiable iron objects. Under the partial sand floor and the daub debris vlere the remains of a large "tolYn house". The structure \Vas square \-l i th rO\ll1ded corners and contained a puddled clay fireplace
'-Th ich vras built upon a hard-packed clay floor. Refuse on the floor yielde d trade beads, kaolin pipe fragments and Qualla Check Stamped pottery. This structure \Vas about mid-
vlay in the series of superimposed structures. Building levels lying belo\-; the burned "tovm h ouse" remain to be excavated.
NEQUASEE Nequasee is on the south bank of the Little Tennessee River one half mile below the confluence of the Cullasaja and
I• 11
Little Tennessee Rivers . The mound is very well preserved .
The village area associated with the mound has been covered by the construction of a number of service stations and super markets. Prior to the construction of a service station directly to the north of the mound a limited excavation I·las conducted by the personnel of the Re search Laboratories of
Anthropology .
The excavation was limited to a five foot square . This area was excavated in six inch leve ls to a depth of e i ghteen inches I,here sterile soil was encountered . The excavation penetrated a rich midden which yielded considerable quantities of animal bone and other village debris, with some human skeletal material . Daub, bone, awls, discoidals and clay pipes were also recovered from the exc avation. This material was augmented by surface c ollections for the .' analysis.
JOREE
Joree is believed to be north of the forks of rotla
Creek approximately one and one half miles upstream from the confluence of rotla Cre ek and the Little Tennessee River .
This site is not marked by a mound, nor is there any his torical information regarding the precise location of Joree .
The village was apparently located u pon and at the base of the slopes of a large knoll vlhich dominates this portion of t he valley.
Sherds, projectile points and flint chips were con centrated upon the slopes of t he knoll and the bo ttoms to the east of the knoll. The area to the south and west of the ~------~.~- '-" .. ~~-.,. " -~~~--
12 knoll was in pasture and the extent of t he site in these dir ections has not been deter mined. A concentration of c harcoal and daub indicates the presence of a burned structure adjacent to a small tributary of Iotla Creek . Ceramics studied we r e collected upon t he slopes of t he knoll and at its base .
CO VTEE
Co wee is in a ~arge bend of t he Little Tennessee River approximately seven miles north of NeQuasee. The mound is situat e d on a large knoll above the ext ens ive bo ttom lands which border the river . Activities of an ama t eur collector ravaged the center of the mound . Ceramics for this study were gathered from the backfill of a deep pit in t he mound's summit. A sample of village material was gathere d from a small tobacco and corn patch to t he north and wes t of the mound . Efforts by a pr evious owner of t he propertr' to bUild a series of levees had disturbed the deposits buried by flood silts and pe r mitted a large surface collection to be made .
VALLEY TOWNS Along the Hiwassee , Nottely and Valley Rivers in west ern North Carolina are the Valley Towns. The area is rela
tively isolated by mountain ranges. The Nantahala Xou.tains " lie to the east and the Smoky Mountains are found to t he north and west . The tHO sites from wh ich ceramics were analyzed are on the banks of the Hiwassee River .
PEAOHTREE MOUND AND VILLAGE SITE
Th ~ Peachtree Mound and Village Site is in a large 13 valley at the mouth of Peachtree Creek . The mound and village were extensively excavated in 1934 and 1935. The report indicates that t he site was occupied during the his toric and prehistoric periods (Setzler and Jennings , 1941) . The mound "as approximately e leven feet high at the time of its excavation . It contained a number of superimposed .- structures and a rock mantle similar to that found at Estatoe . Ceramics for the study came from a sample of the material excavated in 1934- 1935 and from a recent surface collection .
T Olv~ SEND SITE The Townsend Site is located on the west bank of the Hiwassee River three miles east of the Peachtree Mound . The site i s one of a series in the extensive Mission bottoms . This area derives its name from t he Bap t ist Mi ssion which '. was establi shed in 1820 to serve t he Cherokee . The mission was construc ted on the site of an old Natc hez town (Mooney, 1900 : 107) . The abandoned ruins of t his mission are one mile north of t he Townsend Site . The site is littered wit h burned daub and charcoal indicating t he presenc e of a number of burned structures . One of the structures was excavated i n the summer of 1964 by a field party of the University of North Carolina ' s Research Laboratories of Anthropology . The patte rn of the burned logs and daub gave indications of a log cabin . A skeleton was found crushed under one of t he walls . Nume rous broken vessels and burned f ood made it quit e evident that t he structure was occupied at t he t~m e of its destruction . Iron axes, trade beads and other objects of Eu ropean origin dated 14 the structure in t he later half of the e i ghteenth century . Ceramics from a surface collection and from the plowed soil of the excavation we r e analyzed .
OUT TOI'INS The Out Towns nestle on the southeastern slopes of the Smoky Mountains along the Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee Rivers. The t e rrain is extreme ly rugged , with narrow, steep- sided river valleys . The present- day Cherokee r eserva tion is located in this area . The Qualla Boundary consists of 56 ,572 acres , of which 46 ,582 acres are forest land, 4,053 acres are a gricultural and the rema ining acres are fallow or in pasture (Kupferer, 1966 : 233).
NUNUNYI Nununyi is located upon the eastern bank of t he Oconaluftee River in t he Ye llow Hill co mmunity of t he Cherokee Re s ervation . A large mound do minates the extensive village site . A portion of t he site was destroyed during t he construction of a large amusement park . Surface col l e ctions we r e obtained from a small garden plot on t he north ern slopes of t he mound . Stratigraphic information and additional materials were obtained by profiling a drainage ditch which trave rsed the village area . The ditch wa s pro filed at intervals and exhibited a thick midden, post ho l es , pits and other evidence of a prolonged and intensive occupa tion (see Figure 1) . 15
.- )... c: ~ 53 tI :l < ; < ~ • ; .! • c: ~ 1 • ~ :l 0 ,• ; ~ • o ..0 ~ Z ~ , 0 g- ~ N '. 0 .--i ~-.. - (l) ..s= H ~ V bO .- .,; 0- ""
~ . ~ ~ : '+- ~ ~ ·2 • " • 0 .!• · ~ Q) .- '+- 0 a...~
0- 16
KIT UH,iA Kituhwa is approximately e i ght mi les sout hwest of Nununyi on the north bank of t he Tuckasegee River . The " site is located in one of t he largest bottoms in t he Out Towns area. Surface collections were limited t o those a r eas of the site unde r go ing cultivation. The a r ea has experienced considerable erosion and deposition by the flooding river . Map 2 is a sc hematic map of the subdivisions of the site . The village area is extensive and stretches out from all sides of t he mound , The subdivisions serve as a c on .. venient means of detecting changes in t he occupation of the site t hrough the associated shift in ceramics . The areas are as follows : Area A is a gently sloping ridge of sandy loam . The portion of it adjacent to the mound is extremely rich in c eramics. Ar ea B is a swal e between t he swe lls of Area A and Area C. The heavy distribution of sherds i s continuous through all three a r eas . Ar eas C and D are loca t ed on t he first s i gnificant terrace above the Tuckasegee Rive r . This area has undergone both eros ion and de position by the river. The division be tween Ar eas C and D is a slight wash across the terrace . The port i on of Area D wh ich is adjacent to Area C was quite productive in terms of sherds collected . Areas E and H consist of a gently sloping terrain whic h - yielded ceramics only from Are~ E . Areas F and G a re fringe s of the r ed clay hills wh ich 17
J
cultivated
KITUHWA Surface Collection Areas Map 2 18 border the river bottom . Specimens were very sparse in Area F and no ceramics were found in Area G. Area I is a low lying area immediately adjacent to t he r i ver . Alt hough sherds \fere found on the slopes of Ar eas C and D, only a few specimens came from the flat area next to the rive r .
Area J has received considerable deposition of sand by t he r iver . Steatite sherds, quartzite chips and early cera mic s att est t o an occupation during the Ar chaic and Early
Hoo dl and \~hich appear s to have been concentrated in this area .
OVERH ILL TO'iTNS The Overhill Towns lie in the Appalachian Great Vall ey Province . Settac co and Great Tellico are cl ose to the wester n escarpment of the Blue Ri dge Province which is formed by the Chilhowee Mountains . Other Ove r hill To wns not r epresented in this s tudy a r e further to the west along t he Little Tennessee , Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers .
SETTACCO Setta cco is sit uated northwes t of t he confluence of Citico Creek and the Li t tle Tennessee River. Cyrus Thomas reports the presence of a number of large mounds at t his site, t he l argest of which he says had been excavated (Thomas, 1894) . The s ite has undergone systematic destr uction by local col l ect ors in t heir search f or relics . Surface collect ions from the mound and the areas imm e - dia t e l y east and south of t he mound provided the material , wh ich was studi ed for t hi s paper. The s ur f ace of this area 19
had a thick concentrat ion of sherds , bone and mussel s hells . Much of this ma t e rial has been turned up by the amateur relic collectors ' efforts to enrich their colle ctions from this productive site . Evidence from the activities of these collectors substantiates t he claims that t his location is the historic village of Settacco (Lewis, 1960 ; Myers, 1964 ).
GREAT TELLICO Great Tellico is on t he east side of t he Tellico River just south of the mouth of Smoky Run. The mound and village are on a terrace above the extensive bottoms which are parti ally encircled by a large bend in the Tellico River. The rive r has scoured a flood channe l directly to the west of the mound . The mound has been rounded and e roded by culti vation. Ceramics for this study were collected from the mound and the a rea immediately east and south . This portion of t he s ite has not been buried with river silts or scoured by t he flooding river . Pottery. flint chips, daub and refuse from the village midden are brought to the surface by eac h plowing . Distribution of the mat e rial indicates the pr e sence of subsurface pits and house floors.
\ CHA PTER III HISTORICAL BA CKGRO UN D
The early years of t he eighteenth century saw the Cherokee engaged in a number of conflicts with their neigh bors and with the European colonists . War with neighboring Indian tribes was continual . The Cherokee myths speak of an a l most constant series of raids and wars with the Shawano, Tuscarora, Catawba , Delaware and I roquois . Territorial a ggr ession and acquisition accounted for many of t he wa rs. These same motives served t o arouse the Cherokee against t he settlers as they found the fringes of t heir l and being occupied . Wa r became more letha l with the introduction of fire arms . Indians who survived the battles often fell victim to the Tavages of starvation or disease . Slowly and relent lessly t he Cherokee we r e crowded into an increasingly smaller terri tory until t heir r em oval to t he west . A brief c hronicle of the significant events of t his period wi ll reveal t he forces which l ed to t he eventua l disintegration of the l argest t r ibe in Southeastern North Ame rica . As early as 1679 the Che rokee , Yuc hi and Creek had allied t hems elve s with the English and attacked the Spanish missions in what is now coastal Georgia ( Swanton, 1922 : 90 ) . The Cherokee a gain allied themse lve s with t he English during t he Tuscarora War in 1711 t o 1713 . The age- old enemies of 21 22 the Cherokee were dealt a crushing defeat and ceased to be a powerful tribe . During the Yamasee War of 1715- 1716 t he Cherokee j oined in an alliance which emb r ac ed tribes from Cape Fear to the '. Chattaho ochee (rt,ooney , 1900 : 33 ) . The Cherokee never ent e r ed the wa r completely but vacillated in their allegi ance . Following a confer ence at Tugalo in December of 1715, the Cherokee j oined the English against t heir old enemi es , the Creek . The colonists barely escaped total destruction ear l y in the war but eventually defeated the Creek and their allies. Following t he Yamasee 'ffar the English embarked upon a program to organize and systematically exploit the Cherokee trade . Trading r egulations we r e e stablishe d and administra tors were appointe d. Cherokee towns were linked by trading paths to the colonial settlement s in South Ca rolina (Mooney, 1900 : Plat e 7) . Trade flourished and both parties benefitted from the exchange . European products gradually supplanted Cherokee crafts until the Cherokee became dependent upon the trade for their very existence . The Engli sh secured the frontiers by t he er ection of Fort Prince George and Fort London. Prolonged contact wit h the colonists a lso brought devastating smallpox epidemics (Mooney, 1900: 36) . The French and Indian \'far found t he Cherokee wavering in their allegiance to t he English . The Cherokee, like many othe r t ribe s, found the French to be more s uitabl e partners because the French want e d t r ade but not land, wh ile the English wanted both . Following a series of events which ant agonized the Cherokee, they besieged Fort London and Fort Prince George . 23 In June of 1760 Colonel Montgomery raised the siege of Fort Prince George and marched through Rabun Gap into the Middle TOlins . He was met by a large force of Cherokee south of _- Echoe and defeated . Montgome ry retired and Fort Loudon abandoned all hope of aid and surrendered. The captured soldiers were massacred during the march to Great Tellico. Colonel Grant formed an expedition the following year and marched t hrough Rabun Gap and defeated a large force of Cherokee two miles south of the previous year's battlefield (Mooney, 1900 : 44) . He then destroyed fifteen of the Middle TOlins including Nequasee, Joree and Cowee . Smallpox struck -•. the Cherokee with renewed vigor, reducing the population by half before the end of hostilities . After the French and Indian War the Cherokee were forced with increasing frequency to cede large tracts of their land (Royce, 1887). Shortly before the Revolutionary War Chauga, Tugalo and Estatoe had ceased to be maj or settle ments . Colonists continued to encroach upon Cherokee lands and friction increased . The outbreak of the Revolutionary War found English agents arousing the Indian tribes which bordered the rebelling colonies . The Cherokee, aided by the English, began raiding neighboring settlements. Four armies were raised by the Americans wh ich attacked the Cherokee in forc e f r om four directions. In Au gust of 1776 Griffith Rutherford led an expedition from North Carolina to burn towns along the Tuckasegee, Oconaluftee, Hiwassee and upper Little Tennessee Rivers. Nununyi and Kituhwa were des- troyed during this raid . In September the South Carolina army
.1 '1 24
burned the Lo wer Tmms and aided Rutherford with the des - truction of t he Middle To,ms . Colonel Samuel Jack burned towns at the heads of the Chattahoochee and Tugaloo Rivers . The Virginia force burned the Overhill TOlm s on the lowe r Little Tennessee River.
The Americans destroyed everything of value to t he .' Indians . The four - pronged attack, which conSisted of at l east six thousand men , all but destroyed the Cherokee settl e - me nts. Sporadic r a ids and resultant r eprisals occurred until the Treaty of Paris in 1782 . The Cherokee we r e f orced to cede additional land and a smallpox epidemic broke out the following year . By this time the maj ority of t he tO vms mentioned earlier in this paper we r e showing signs of dis- integration. The population began t o shift toward t he south- • I-Iestern section of their t erritory into northern Alabama, northwestern Georgia and the far wes tern part of North Carolina . A number of Cherokee mi gr ated to the Indian Territ ory west of t he Mi ssissippi River . Some of the towns He r e inhabited by small bands of Cherokee ; however , many towns had ceased to function as socio- political units . The Cherokee provided vla rriors who contributed to the defeat of the Oreek at Horseshoe Be nd in 1814 . Their maj or role in the decisive battle brought them promises of con tinued friends hip with the Federal eovernment , but they we r e given scant reward for the ir efforts . The following years brought incr eased pressures from Wa shington and the ceSSion of Cherokee tribal lands . During t his period the government , did aid the Che rokee by providing them with plol,s , looms, and 25 farming impl ements . By 1800 the population of the Overhill Towns , including Great Tellico and Settacco had moved in bands across the Miss issippi Rive r. A few Cherokee remained in this area until the cession of the l and in 1819 . In 1838 and 1839 the final removal of the Cherokee to the Indian Territory took place. The hunting, imprisonment, and deportation of t he Cherokee is certainly one of the cruelest and blackest events in Ame rican history . Four thousand Cherokee died as a r esult of the removal (Mooney , 1900: 130). A r emnant hid in the mountains and formed the Eastern band of t he Oherokee. Thus war, smallpox and l and '. cession debilitated the Che rokee peoples . Archaeological evidence of contact with Europeans is present on all of the sites studied for this paper . Iron impleme nts, kaolin pipe fragme nts, glass beads and t he re mains of burned structures are frequently encount er ed on the surface of these sites . The gradual casting off of native crafts and the increasing dependence upon European goods is reflected in t he shoddy workmanship exhibited on contemporary native products. The disintegration of the Cherokee Na tion is marked by the gradual depopulation of t he settlements and their subse quent abandonment . The Lower Towns were t he first Cherokee s ettlements to be weakened in the trend which r esulted in a population shift to the west beginning about 1732 . Chauga , Tugalo and Estatoe had a small population by the close of t he Revolutionary \va r. The Overhill TOlvns were the next r egion to be co mp letely abandoned . Bet~een 1780 and 1790 Great J 26 Tellico and Settacco had be en depopulated. Remnants of t he population remained until the Hiwassee Purchase of 1819. Cowee , Joree and Nequasee were occupied in part until the removal of 1838 . A few of the Out and Valley Towns continued as small Cherokee homesteads following the removal . The Kitchin map which was drafted in 1760 for the London Ma gazine documents the existence of most of the Che rokee towns considered in this paper. Coweeta Creek Mound, Peachtree Mound and Village Site and the Townsend Site are not found on this map . They have not been associated with any known historic Cherokee towns. Co weeta Creek Mound is located almost exactly where Newuteah is indicated on the map and they could well be the same. European trade goods found on the surface of these sites indicate that the omission was not due to their lack of habitation during this period .
\ CHAPT ER IV CERAMIC ANALYSIS
The distribution and quantities of the 9 , 990 sherds studied a r e pr esent ed in Tables 1 , 2 and 3 . The Quall a Series is the only formal type description presented in this paper. Initial definition of t he series wa s the result of an ana lysis by J offre Coe of extensive surface collections from western No rth Carolina and northern Georgia . Three historic Cherokee Middle Towns have recently been partially excavated by t he University of North Carolina's Research Laborator i es of Anthropology and the precise definit ion of the Qualla Series hinges upon the analysis of the ce ramics from t hese sites . Early Cord-Marked and Ea r ly Fabri c - Marked pottery occurred as a minority in all five of the maj or Cherokee regions . This ma t erial falls within the descriptive cate gories provided by Patricia Holden (1966) . No furt he r defini t ion of t hese early ceramics has been attempted since t hey are represent ed by a small sample that does not suppl y any new i nforma tion . The Pigeon Series and t he Connestee Series as defined by Holden (1966) constitute a small scattering of sherds which were found primarily in the Middle , Valley and Out Towns . Pi ge on Plain and Pigeon Chec k Stamped were a minority ware in t he collections from the village area of Kituhwa and t he 28
! l!1i ~ J O lYlOl ~ rll H+++'H~-H-l~ H+++t-H H++1+f1 I--R". +- ~++1+H .•Q ______p ~ 'p~ W ·p~O;)-C ____ (1"1" . p~d .. ~lf ~,.\P I ,~"o·p~~'oo ... " • ______. ~'~'~._" :b _'~.~"~._- :' :.':'~.~O~·~· ~I
511 ~3~ 1Ylot , " . - I-m ~]Q .~ .I " tullllpun \I) P ~ II ~u I V P~."W'P'o:) .- p~ d .~ I S .~~Q:I E r~Q'lu,n\l 0 \I) 1I1'li "- C p~ua'l!"o, Q) , ~ "o·p~'1'oo •• ~ p.6 ... l S P~ "~lld"0:l u
s ]lns l YlOl ..... " .2 rl 'I q ,",, n lu" I, pun 0 "- "n] II P'QI,'Oi rl" Q) .0 C .. ! -; : -; ~-; ... -;-: >_ ~~:: .. _ ~:::~:O:~ ~ ~ ~ - > ~~ ... ~ ~ ::::=:::~ oo ~ 0 00 <> ... o=o-:o~oo .U w w, w, ...... _w"' .... ww ,., ., ...... o ...... ~ w.ww C ' CIDC_"C .... _ _ c __ CCU ... ID .. O ...... c ., II » ., C cc: j W~W_ .. N...... W •• ~ __ ... ~~ ... o~.~.~.~ww .. _ .. ' ... . "" ...... Uwwu .. _ ...... ,., 0 ...... " ...... , .. , .... > __ .. __ .... 0 """ .. o~:> ...... '" " ... " .. ... cc .. cew ...... o ... w .. _"o ... .. C .. w ...... _ ... _ ... ."o~:> ... "':> ...... o __ ...... 0_ ...... _<>-:> .... "< "< "< ~ ~ 5 29 0 ~ ~ , ~ 0 ~ :- . " . ~ . . . ~ - · . ~ ~ - . ~ - · - - - - · - ~1 Q"'1'l ,,'IIUllll pun - - - - ~ - ~ - · ~ "~ ~ - CI) ".., -----'-'-'""I d · - C !ill 11 lIS AO 1 " ~O~ ! ~ ·• * t q ""'1 nlu J lS J pun ~ - CI) .2 .-u - oE:2 ... paU"'1'no.l ... Q) Q) > · UO ~ 0-0 C\J Q) c .-l ,• c .0 · o < u - · ..a.-... - .--CI) o -Q) ·~ -0 .e-----i uJ"fd -0.- ~ ., ., . . o o - • ~ ~ .- " ·o • 0 -,. .o .o o · .. - !: , . o ~ • •o • o • : e .. ·o · • ~ ~ "0 ';; ~!"i: ';; ... ;" 0' ~" : ~~;~ .. =.. § 11 ~l'l J O 1 'fiDl •- 0-- -- t ~lq·1J'···1)Un ,,- !- - - - ::~.!:!~'"' , p .,'O,;- 'pq l ,. "l ' .~ , p."."_P'o~ ~ P .3 -' '\q .~II"tul1 ' 1 pun p"p · "- P JO~ " '" \ d 1 = 1 ~ 1 - 1 1 1~ III I I I III I I J I IIII I II ~ _ , , SiIUS JO 'Y.101 - 0- - - : 0 0 - I, q l UI I .. lulll, pu n - , , ~ N ~ : 1' .1 ,,.,, - -- - - · . - - 0 . - PI,,",do,! qO' UJ0:l - p·~J·W- P J °:l , , , - ' 0 podOl"S 'P"li:! , 0 -- .. ... - .- P'\I'llIl"l , - II, 'U '- , , ," E pI.,a'llno. 0 - o , , ~ lIA O-p_",OO". o· " : :::"':: ~ O- N pld.'1S pIH'll dOlo:l 0 "" . 0 . "' - : - - ~ ... - ,... . Q) V) ' I Q'f41lntUllf l pu n U c:: pld •• ,S " HII::! ~~ 11,, \ d o 0 ('"\ ",d ... 1t '1'0 1'1 ""11 III111 111 11 11 11 11 11 III c::..... ~ · p''I,n" I- · P"P ' W- p,o :) ._o -::J ~ · "'"ii B III 11 1111 1111111111 III 1- '50 pod.ns '1" 11:) ..0 ." III 111 11 1 11111 11 111 1 II I I klt l 111,1-1M .- .- ...... · .. o 0-.. .. · ! 0 .! -0 ! 0 ! 0 0- - 0- ... O! . ~ • .~ co ... .: .- .- .- . . 0 . .,. ". . . , - .' ~! :. ~ ! ~ : ~! ~! : .. -; · .... ·, " . · "-.. · , 31 Towns end Site . Connestee Plain , Connestee Cord-Marked and Connestee Brushed had their highest frequency of occurrence in Level 2 of the Nequasee t est pit and the collections from Kituhwa, the Peachtree site and the Townsend site. The six rims encountered were straight and slightly everted, or in one instance greatly everted (see Table 6) . Past e character istics and surface finish on t he sampl e were identical to t hose previously described by Holden . The Pisgah Series was also described by Holden (1966) and is undergoing further research by Joffre Coe . Pisgah Complicated Stamped , Pisgah Plain and Pisgah Check Stamped ' were present in the material analyzed. The Middle TOlffiS , Vall ey Towns and Kituhwa had a small percentage of this series present in their collections. Three rim profiles were found exclusively upon Pisgah sherds . Figure 2 and Table 5 illustrate the occurrence of the everted rim with a notched concave lip, t he heavy L-shaped rim with one or more rows '" of trail and jab decoration on the l ip and the collared rim with wedge - shaped punctations, The marked attributes of the Pisgah Series , particularly the decorated collared rim, have been found associated with the earlier occupational levels on historic Cherokee sites (Kelly and Ne itzel , 1961: Illustration VI; Se t zler and Jennings , 1941: Plate 43), Pisgah sherds constitute a minorit y of the ceramics studied and furthe r elaboration of t he type description is not at- t emp t ed in this paper . Four ceramic types of the Etowah Series were distinguished , in the collections; Etowah Burnished, Etowah Complicated 32 Stamped , Etowah P lain and Etowah Polished Black . inety- s e v en percent of this series came from the Low e r Towns of Chauga , Estatoe and Tugalo . The remaining three percent were present in the collections from the Middle and Valley towns. No Etovlah c e r am ics were present in the material fr om the Out and Ov e rhill TO\'Tns . The type descriptions and the c hronolog ical significance of the various comp licated stamped motifs which Wi lliam Sears (19 58) d esc ribed can be applied to the material studied for this paper . For purposes of ana lysis Eto\'Tah Complicated Stamped was s eparate d into t hree cate ~ories ; complicated stampe d, smoothed- ove r comp licated stamped and roughened. The combination of the se three cate gories , which are held as separate type s in othe r studies , rests in their being produc e d primarily by variations in the application of t he paddl e stamp and the firing of t he v essel . In a number of instances roughene d sherds demonstrated a complicated stamped motif \'Thich was obscured by the cra cking of the surface during firing . . The filfot cross , l ine block, one - bar diamond, two- bar diamond, t \,o-bar oval , and three - bar diamond are t he designs present in Etowah Complicated Stamped . Table 4 presents the distribution of comp licated stamped designs . A large portion of the stamps were poorly applied and ove rstamp ing furthe r hindered the exact definition of t he motif . This would i mp ly t hat the majority of the Etowah Co mp licated Stamped sherds were produced during Et owah Periods III and IV. A small number of r e d filmed and polishe d black sherds were present in t he ma t erial analyzed. The polished black rlSCAl. nOIolAH OU ALLA : · 0 ·0 ·• " ·0 • • ~ •0 ·•0 •0 .0 - ·• •0 •0 • • • 0 ~ ~ ~ : - 0 0 ! > ~ ·0 .; ; ; •· ·0 •· " ~ 0 - ~ • " " " " · • • > · •· • ~ •, · ·• •· •· •· •· • ·• ·• · > · ~ ~ • • • . · - - - · · · > - ·· LOIol !R TOIol NS Ch.\,IIA Viii.,,, 0 "- 6" I I 6"-12" 1= 1 I 12"· I e" 1 Tu,.lo VUh,. Un t t 0"-6" ~ • I Un I t "11 0" -6" I I Tu,.l o Ditch 6" - t 2" 1= , 12"-18" I , 18"-24" 1= , , 2'''-)0'' , !Itillto" Moulul louthw.lt floo r of Structu~" 4i11 1=L- PUDDL! TOIol"S Cow""t. Cr""k Hound Iurfillc. , lI.quill,,,,, l\,Irtlc. " • t.lt pit tivil I • I.v.l 2 Jor ... .ur(.c. , ) 10 , , Cow •• BOllnd pit hillckflll ) 'IIrflc. VALUY TOWIIS ia P •• ehtr •• MOlind .nd Vill.,A exeillYilltlon ,"~pl. lurtle. TowI".nd Sit" lurE.c •• nd plow loll §I I: I t I I I I I 'I, I: I iI '1"1 OUT TOWNS Nununyi Bound lurflc. , 39 ' -'8' .ntlre protl1" r= plow .011 I 92'-110' .ntlr. profile ~ top \ of midden l ltuhw. Bound .urt.e. ~ I I vitl.,e .r •• A .\,Irf.ell It •• I .urf.e. ~ I Ir •• C .urf.e" ar •• t .urf.e" L-~ OYIRH I !.L TOWI'tS Cr •• t T.111co .urf.e. CJ I I I I I I I 141 111 I 11 11 ------Distribution of Ceramics Complicated Stamped Designs \jJ Table 4 \jJ ------_._ - ---_._------. 34 sherds, ' tvlO of which '"ere found in the Cowee mound pit back fill , r esembled Ltowah Polished Black. Ho wever, no other Etowah ceramics were found at COVlee and these two sherds and t he remaining tViO polished black sherds from the Co>veeta Creek Mound were regarded as unclassifiable . The red filmed sherds are similar to Hiwassee Island Red Filmed (Lewis and Kneberg, 1946 : 103) . Four sherds were encounter ed of which t wo were from the Peachtree excavation sample and one each came from the plow soil of the Nequasee test pit and from the surface of the mound at Great Tellico . The small sample and the ir lack of diagnostic features did not allow for their • placement within the established type categories , t hus they Vlere regarded as unclassifiable . The Qualla Series is marked by a number of diagnostic features which clearly separate it from c er amics of an earlier date. The series possesses the basic attributes of t he Lamar style horizon: folded finger impressed rim fillets ; .. l arge, sloppy, carved stamps, and bold 1ncis1ng. The comp11- cated stamped motifs illustra ting Lamar Complicated Stamped ex ibit a gr eater degree of r egularity and symmetrical design than"is found on Qualla Complicated Stamped (Jennings and Fairbanks, 1939) . The same holds true with the incised cazue la bowls, though to a lesser degree . Incising accom panied by reed punctations , which is common upon Lamar Bold Incised vessels, was absent in the material analyzed . These differences are very striking and have l ed to the definition of the Qualla Series as a distinctive ceramic complex. Surface finish was the prime indicator of a sherds' 35 category in this analysis . The distinctive qualities of the Qualla paste aided considerably in the classification of this series. The moderate to abundant quantities of grit coupled with a partial burnishing of the vessel's interior make Qualla sherds distinctive even when the exterior surface finish is oblite rated . It was r egrettable that mu ch of the pottery was acquired by surface collections and tended to be highly fragmente d . This made t he association of the rim form, surface finish and vessel s hape very difficult, if not impossible , in many instances . Only a few rim sherds were large enough to deter- mine the specific surface finish . This was a particular handicap during the attempt to correlate the individual stamp motlfs of Qualla Compl icated Stamped wit h the ,rim profiles . Qualla Complicated Stamped sherds were often difficult to identify owing to t he frequent overs tamping, the smoothing of the vessel ' s surface after stamping, and the small size of the sherds in relation to the large areas covered by a single mot i f . Tables 1, 2 and 3 indicate that Qualla Complicated • Stamped sherds constituted the bulk of Qualla ceramics at the sites studied . The line blook motif i8 the only design that Qualla ceramics have ln Common with the Pisgah and Etowah Serles . Less care is glven in thelr rendltlon and appllcation during Qualla tlmes . There is a ma r ked dlfference between the symmet rlcal Etowah bar dlamond and the wavy lines , zlg ~a g 11nes and concentric clrcles of the Qualla stamps . Slx deslgns a r e found on Qualla sherds and not on Etowah or Pisgah sherds (see Table 4) . Concentric loops and concentric circles we r e the most frequently encounter ed motifs while the concentric squares, wavy lines and zig- zag lines were weakly r epresent ed . The surface collection from Ki tuh"a yielded the only sherd stamped wit h the dumbbell design . Six surface treatments we r e present on Qualla c eramics: plain, burnished, check stamped , cord-ma r ked and corncob impressed follow the complicated stamped in popularity . ~ine corncob impressed sherds were distinguished in the mate ria l ana lyzed. They came from the Coweeta Creek Mound, Peachtree Mound and Village Site , Towns end Sit e and from Nununyi. Qualla Corncob Impressed sherds we r e absent in t he Lo we r and Overhill Towns . This ceramic type corresponds with corncob im pre s sed sherds from histori c site s on the piedmont of North Carolina (Co e and Lewis , 1952) . Qualla Cord- Marked was absent from t he Overhill Towns and pr esent in all of the other regions . It constitute d one percent of the collections from Chauga, Tu galo village , Nununyi and Kituhwa . Qualla Cord- Ma rked had no specific distribution in the levels at Chauga, Tu galo or Nununyi . The emphasis placed upon c he ck stamping as an indicator of lat e Cherokee c eramics would a ppear from t his analysis to be in er r or (Kelly and Ne itzel, 1961: 40) . Qualla Check Stamped never constituted more than five percent of t he sherds from any site . There is no evidenc e t hat this type was emp loyed only after 1700 a s is stated by Sear s (1961: 42 ). ~ Check stamped pottery does not ~onstitut, e a maj ority in any l eve l at Chauga (Kelly and Neitzel, 1961: Plate 11), Estatoe • . 37 (Kelly and de Baillou, 1960 : Table 1) or at t he Peac htree Mound and Village Site (S et zler and Jennings , 1941: Table 2) . Quall a Burnished had its hi ghe st frequency of occurrence at Ne quasee, where it constituted six percent of t he ce ramics from Levell. It was absent in the Overhill Towns and was 'present in minor quantities at sites in the rema ining four Cherokee regions . Qualla Plain sherds were found in all of the major Cherokee regions and have a frequency of occurrence within the Qua lla Series which is second only to Qualla Complicated Stamped. The preponderance of Qualla Com plicated Stamped is easily seen when its frequency is compared with that of Qualla Plain, wh ich never reached more than seventeen pe r cent of the Qualla ceramics in any unit analyzed . The majority of Qualla rim sherds were everted with a finger impressed fillet, while an incised cazuela bowl was second in popularity (see Figure 2 and Table 5). Nineteen different rim profiles were distinguished in the Qualla Series (see Table 5) . Qualla rims which l acked the finge r impre ssed fillet but had a flare identical to the fillet variety were present in the material as a strong minority . A number of techniques other than the fillet were used to t hicken and reinforce the rim. The L-sh~p ed rim is shared with the Etowah Series where it is present as a minority. Qualla shallow bowl forms were identical to those found in the Etowah Series and had a similar frequency of occurrence . It is not difficult to se~ that the Qualla Series re presents a unified who l e which has in common a constellation of diagnostic attributes . These attributes reoccur in combinations which facilitate the categorizing of Cherokee ceramics . The gritty paste, sloppy stamp designs, finger impressed fillet on an everted rim, incised cazuela bowls and the partially burnished interior finish are characteris tic of the Qualla Series . QUALLA COI'IPLICATED STAMPED Paste : Temper : Sand or crushed grit is used in moderate to abundant quantities . Texture : Coarse and gritty with laminations present in many sherds. Hardness: Generally r anges from 2 . 5 to 3.0. Color: The majority of sherds are light brown to darker shades of brown, with a number of buff to reddish sherds also occurring . Surface finish: Exterior is smo othed prior to the appli cation of the complicated stamp. Interior is smoothed to roughly burnished with the area adjacent to the rim undergoing a greater degree of burnishing . Stamping with a carved paddl e and ove rstamping are diagnostic of this type . The design motifs are primarily curvilinear , rectilinear or combinations of these two elements . The primary motifs found were concentric squares, concentric circle s, concentric loops, wavy lines , zig-zag lines, dumbbell and line block. A maj or variety of this type is the smoothed- over complicated stamped. All attributes are similar to the complicated stamped sherds except for 39 smoothing of the stamp impression subsequent to its impr ession. Decora tion: Bold incising occurs upon the rims of cazuela bowls . Scroll and angular elements are the dominant incised motifs. Form: -- Rim: Figure 2 and Tables 5- 6 give a graphic illustration of the forms and their distribution. Qualla rims are marked by flaring and in most instances by the addition of an impressed fillet. Body: Small bOl,ls, cazue la bowls and globular jars with rounded bottoms are t he main forms. Geographical range : western North Carolina, western South ' .. Carolina, northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee compr ise t he normal limits of its distribution. Chronological position: The type apparently became popular circa 1500 and degenerated with the disintegration of the Cherokee Nation in the late eighteenth century. Probable relationships: The type deve lops out of the Swift Creek style of curvilinear stamped motifs blending wit h t he angular motifs in Woodstock Complica t ed Stamped . The blending of these design motifs with t he development and e laboration of the folded or added rim fillet con stitutes the Lamar s tyle horizon . Qualla ceramics, a variety of the ba sic Lama r style horizon, was centered in the Cherokee Middle Towns during historic time s. \ 40 QUALLA PLAIN Paste : As Qualla Complicated Stamped . Surface finish: Ex t e rior has good to indifferent smoothing with some sherds having a thin film of fine clay particles floated to the surface by smoothing with an excess of water . The interior is smoothed to burnished. Decoration : Bold incising occurs upon the rims of cazuela 'bowls in scroll or angular motifs. Form : As Qualla Complicated Stamped . Geographical range : As Qualla Complicated Stamped; howeve r, it occurs wit h considerably less frequency . Chronological position: As Qualla Complicated Stamped . Probable relationships: Similar to other plain wares of the Southeast during t he historic period . QUALLA BURNISHED Paste: Temper : Fine sand or pulverized grit in small to moderate amounts . Texture : Fine, well compacted. Ha rdness : Generally ranges from 2 . 5 to 3 . 0 . Color: Buff to solid black. Surface finish: The exterior is burnished, though some tool marks a re present . The interior has a varying degree of burnishing with circular tool marks frequently occurring. Decoration : Slashes occur occasionally on the rim as well as incised motifs on the cazuela bowls . Form: \ Rim: The entire sample contained only two rims. One was __ z: s . w z:e s 41 slightly flaring with a folded and pinched rim. The other rim sherd "as from a small bowl. Body : Small bowls, jars and cazuela bowls were the only forms identified in this minority type . Generally vessels of this type exhibit finer workmanship and prepar ation of materials t han is present in the remainder of t he Qualla Series . Geographical range: As Qualla Complicated Stamped . Chrono logical position : There is some indication that this type might have been popular during the earlier and medial pe riods of the Qualla t emp oral span . Probable r elationships : Re lated to a wide variety of .' burnished wa r es which we r e emp loyed in t he Southeast . during historic time . QUALLA CHECK STAHPED Paste : As Qualla Complicated St amped . Surface finish : Stamped with a carved wooden paddle . The design ca rved upon t he paddle consists of a shallow to deep grid design. The size of the grid varies considerably from vessel to vessel . The gr id may consist of squar es or rectangles with a dominant linear element. Considerable overs t amping and smoothing is present . Form : Rim : Straight to s lightly flaring r ims occur with or without t he folded f illet . Body: Small globular jars and boyils we re the only f orms disce r nibl e . " Ge ographical r ange : As Qualla Complicated Stamped but with 42 a lowe r frequency of occurrence . Chronological position: As Qualla Complicated Stamped ·,rith a similar degenera tion in t e chnique and design in t he late eighteenth century . Probable relationships : Check stamping has a span of em ployment in the Cherokee area from Deptford times until the close of t he eighteenth c entury . QUALLA CORD - ¥lARKED Paste : As Qualla Complicated Stamped . Surface finish : Smoothed exte rior and interior before stamping . Occasionally a partial attempt has been made to burnish t he interior. Stamped Hith a cord wrapped paddl e . The cord is well twisted and relat i vely thin . Form : Rim : The only rim sherd present in the sampl e "ras plain and slightly everted . Body : The limited number of Qualla Cord- Harked sherds does not afford any indication of vessel · size or shape. Geographical range : This type constitutes a minority and its complete dist ribution is unknown . Chronological position: Ex cavations at the Townsend Site indicate that this type yras in use during the later half of the eighteenth century . Probabl e r e l ationships : Similar to the cord- ma r ked shell tempe red po tter y from t he Overhill Towns and apparently a return to earlier methods employed in t he Early Woodland . It is not known if there \,as a c ontinual emp loyment of 43 cord-marking in the Cherokee region or if there was a ' .. period when it fell into disuse as a surface finish. QUALLA CORN CO B U1PRESSED Paste: As Qualla Complicated Stamped. Surface finish: Smoothed exterior with a well smoothed or partially burnished interior. A corncob was impressed into the surface of the vessel prior to firing . Form : Only a few sherds exhibiting this surface finish were found and no indication was present as to rim or body form. Geographical range : This type constitutes a minority and its complete distribution is unknown. Chronological position: This type of surface finish was employed in the Southeast during historic times. Probable r elationships: This type of surface finish is similar to the Dan River Corncob impressed of the Virginia North Carolina piedmont (Coe and Lewis, 1952) . She ll t empered pottery lias .lumped into one major category. The majority of t he shell tempered pottery analyzed was plain or burnished with only a few sherds being corncob impressed , or cord-marked. In the collection from Tugalo village there were three shell tempered sherds . A smoothed- over Qualla stamped sherd, a smoothed-over Etowah stamped sherd and a c he ck stamped sherd we r e the only shell tempe r ed ceramics which had been stamped with a carved paddle . Further, t his was t he only shell tempered pottery. found in the LOVier Towns . Shell tempered pottery constituted eighty-one percent 44 of the collection from Great Tellico and ninety- three percent of the collection from Settacco . The surface collections rrom the Overhill To~~s accounted for almostmnety- t hree per c ent of the shell tempered pottery analyzed. The distribution of shell tempered pott ery shows the marked influence of the Mississippian ceramic tradition upon the Overhill Towns . Apparently t he Appalachian Mountains acted as a barrier and limited the diffusion of this trait to the lUddle and Lower To ~rns . The rim profiles found on shell tempered ceramics correspond closely with the forms found in the Qualla Series . The noded bowl profile is the only form unique to the shell tempered material . The finger impressed rim fillet on shell t empered rims is identical ~Iith the Qualla rims that have fillets . The cazuela bOl SHELL TENPERED Paste: Temper : Fine to me dium particles of crushed shell occurring in moderate to heavy amounts . Texture: Varies considerably depending upon the Quantity and particle size of the shell temper present. Medium to coarse with distinct laminations when shell t emp~r is heavy . Only rarely is a sherd encountered with a minor amount of shell tempe r and a fine hard paste . Hardness : Predominately 2 .5 with a few fine textured sherds having a hardness of 3.0 . Color : The majority of sherds range from brown to brick red with dense black and pale buff occurring occasionally. Surface finish: ..~ . Exterior: 1. Plain : Ranges from poorly smoothed ''lith obvious tool ma rks to well sm oothed . 2 . Burnished : Exterior is burnished Vlith marks left by the burnishing tool being readily apparent . The Plain well- smoothed variety merges to some extent \fith the poorly Burnished variety. 3 . Cord-1 4. Corncob impresse d: A minority of sherds were deeply impre ssed with a corncob . Interior: Smoothed to roughly burnished interiors with a floated surface . The degree of burnishing ofte n increases closer to the rim of the vessel. Decoration: Design : Slashed and incised mo tifs occurred on cazuela ", rims with the occasional occurrenc e of reed punctations or notched applique fillet on the rim . Form : Rim : The variety of rim forms and the exact distribution are. best expressed by regarding Figure 2 and Tabl'e s 5- 6. The appliqued fillet which has been finger pinched or notched is common . Body: Cazue la bowls , shallow bowls and jars were the body forms indicated by a small number of larger sherds . Vessel bases we r e rounded or s lightly flattened . Appendages : Strap handles occur on plain pottery and only one loop handle was encounte r ed . One rim adorno was found . Occasionally nodes were affixed to v essels, Twenty- seven rim profiles were observed in the pottery being studied. The profiles are shown with the ir code numbe r s in Figure 2 . A number of the profil es are represent e d by only a s i ngle sherd . No minimum numbe r of rim sherds was necessary to constitute a class. Rims that appeared to be attempts at the same form but, as a result of the workman's failure, varied in their shape have been placed' in the same category. It is conc e ivable that rim sherds from the same v essel could have been 47 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Rim Profiles Figure 2 48 • -~:;: ...... ~"'u ,OIl'''·P·ft ~ "lll'''Pon " "1J1·U ,Uft " , ...... , II'~' " , ...... II'.' " '11ub ·nub 'Il'''~ 'lIU II :! ,uUn, 1\'.' • ,.,.d• • , 11'.' n ·l1· /l po,.,... 1['~' •• , •• uuo~ p ...... , Il'qo I • ~ Z · · 1~ 0 - ::;;: ! - 49 Rim Profile PIG EON CONNESTEE PISGAH ETOWAH QUA LLA SHE LL TEMPERE D 501 n 4X 51 2 331 4n 81 241 3 171 221 31 21 4 1001 a 41 5 2X 41 51 6 31 131 7 111 31 8 241 16t 9 61 10 631 11 31 3t 12 2X 11 13 21 a 14 31 15 51 16 11 51 17 231 131 18 11 19 20 2 1 18t 4t 21 22 2X 23 24 25 26 131 27 251 Sherd Tota l 1 6 8 60 409 63 Distribut ion of Rim Profiles By Ceramic Series Table 6 50 plac ed in s eparat e categories. I have observed t hat as Cherokee cerami c t ec hniques be came sloppy the rim form on some vess els varied considerably on the same vessel . Rim sher ds too small to have the ir form asc ertained we r e placed in an unclassifiable category . Table 5 presents the di stribution of the various rim f orms . The pe rcentage distributi on of rim forms by ceramic s e r ies i s presented in Table 6 . Profile 1 . straight with a rounded lip 2 . slightly everted with a rounded lip 3 . greatly everted with a rounded lip 4 . L- shaped 5 . L is s lightly below lip 6 . L is 8- 10 mm below lip 7. finge r impressed fillet on a straight rim 8 . finger impressed fillet on a s lightly everted r im 9 . finge r impressed fille t on a grea tly evert ed rim 10 . everted rim with a notched concave lip 11 . thickened l i p which may be plain or slashe d vertica lly 12. thickene d and rounded lip 13. heavily re inforced L- shaped rim with incised chevrons or par all el lines on lip 14 . t hickened lip with a s light fold 15. notched bead affixed to rim 16. cazuel a form with a notched L-shaped rim 17 . cazue l a form with a rounded lip 18 . cazuela form with an a tta ched flat fillet 19 . cazue la form wit h a thickened lip 51 20 . cazuela form with a medial flange 21 . plain shallow bowl form 22 . noded shallow bowl "form 23. rows of punctations above ridge on an inverted rim 24 . everted rim with mamiform protrusions 25 . everted rim with castellation and node 26 . heavy L-shaped rim with one or more rows of trail and jab decoration on lip 27 . collared rim with wedge - shaped punctations O. unclassified Three rim profiles could not be associated with any of the major ceramic series. Rim profile 23 occurred only once and the surface treatment was obliterated (see Pl ate II). Rim profiles 24 and 25 (see Plate VII) are similar to rim forms found in eastern Tennessee (Webb , 1938 : Pl ate 79; Webb, 1939: Pl at e 66 ) . Seven vessel handles were present in the collections from the Middle, Out and Overhill Towns . One loop handle from a shell tempe red vessel was found at Great Tellico. Three shell t empered strap handles were present in the material from Settacco . The Peachtree Mound and Village Site had t~IO grit tempered strap handles (see Plate VII ) in the sample from the excavation and there was a grit t empe r ed strap handle from the surface of Ne quasee . The grit tempered strap handles could not be positively associated with any of the major ceramic series . The handles from Great Tellico and Settacco were clas ~if ied with the shell t empe red pottery . 52 -.-0 . PLATE I Ceramics Frcm the Lcwer Towns first rOlf: Woodstock Complicated Stamped Estatoe floor of Structure 4a Etowah Complicated St amped tvTo - bar oval Chauga Village s60- 70, E90- 100; 12"-18" second row: Etowah Complicated Stamped line block Chauga Village s60- 70, E90-100 ; 12" -18 " Etowah Complicated Stamped two - bar diamond Chauga Village S60- 70, E90-100; 12"-18" t hird row: Etowah Complicated Stamped filfot cross Estatoe south and west floor of Structure 4a Qualla Check Stamped Tugalo Ditch R17 , 16 1/ 2 , 18 1/6; 18" - 24" I \ 53 o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 i O II 12 13 14 E3 E3 E3 E---=I I F---=-J c e n tim6 t e rs I 54 PLATE II '.-. Ceramics From the Lower TOlo/n s firs t r ow: Qualla Co mp licated Stamped L -shaped rim Tugalo Ditch R17, 16 1/ 2 , 18 1/ 6; 24" - 30" s e cond row: Qua lla Complicated Stamped smoothed- over finger impressed fillet Estatoe floor of Structure 4a Qualla Complicated St amp ed finge r im pressed fillet on a gr eatly everted rim Tugalo Ditch R17, 16 1/2 , 18 1/ 6 ; 24"-30" third row : Qualla Complicated Stampe d finger im pr essed fillet on a slightly everted rim Tugalo Ditch R17 , 16 1/2 , 18 1/2 ; 12" - 18" unclassified rows of punctations above ridge on an inverted rim Chauga Village S60- 70, E90- 100 ; 6" - 12" \ 55 o I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 i O II 12 13 14 E""""3 E3 E3 E3 1"----=3 I F"d c 6ntime t e rs 56 ," PLAT E III Ceramics From the Lower and Middle To wns first row: Qualla incised cazue la f or m with a rounded lip ',. Estatoe floor of Structure 4a Qualla incised c azue l a form with a rounded l i p Tugalo Ditch R17 , 16 1/2 , 18 1/6; 30"-36 " second row: Qualla incised cazue la form with a rounded lip Coweeta Cre ek Mound surfac e Qualla incised cazue la form with a rounded lip Coweeta Cre ek Mound surface third row: Qualla incised ca zuela form with a rounded lip Coweeta Creek Mound surface Qualla incised ca zue la form with a medial flange Peachtree Mound and Village fourth rOI,: Qualla incised cazuela f orm with a rounded lip Nequasee surfac e Qualla i ncised cazuela f orm with a rounded lip Nequasee surfac e 57 o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 i O II 12 13 14 E""""3 E-"3 E-"3 E""=3 F=3 F=3 =t==l-==-_ --l c 6ntimefers ' ...... r ....___ • • • "\ ...... _ . , ...... l _ _ __...... __...... ;a; .... __ !1 __...... _::t::Ol _ ...... •. •• ...... " ~ _. ' . ... '"'----'_~ 58 PLATE IV Ce r amics From the Middle Towns first row: comp licated stamue d Swift Creek motif Ne quasee surface Etowah Complica t ed Stamped two- bar diamond Cowee ta Creek Hound surface second row : Pisgah Complicated Stamped line block Nequasee Level 1 Pigeon Plain Coweeta Creek Mound surface third row: Connestee Pl a i n Coweeta Creek Mound surface Connestee Brushed Ne quase e surface Oonnestee Simple Stamped Ne quasee Level 2 59 o I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I I 12 13 14 E"3 E-"3 E-"3 E3 E="3 :=Fd C6 n f imede rs 60 PLATE V Ceramics From t he Midd le Towns " " first rO\o/: red-filmed Coweeta Creek Mound surface Quall a Complicated Stamped zig- zag lines Co wee ta Creek Mound surface second ro',; : Qualla Complicated Stamped concentric Cowee Village surface squares Qualla Complicated Stamped concentric .•.. : Ooweeta Creek Mound surfac e squares third r O\"f : Qualla Check Stamped Joree surface Qualla Corncob Impressed Cowee Village surface Qualla Cord- Ma rked Nequasee surface 61 14 c entime t e rs 62 PLATE VI Ceramics From t he Middle TOvffiS first row: Qualla Check Stamped finge r i mpressed fillet on a slightly everted rim Nequasee surface Qualla Co~plicat e d Stamped Smoothed-over greatly everted rim with a rounded lip Nequasee Level 2 second r OH: Qualla Complicated Stamped smoothed-over finger im pressed fillet on a greatly everted rim Coweeta Creek Moun d surface Qualla Complicated Stamped concentric circles finge r impressed fillet on a greatly everted rim Nequasee surface third row: Qualla Complicated Stampe d conc entric loops f~ng@r lmpreBaea !:11l~t on a grBatly @vertBa rim Coweeta Creek Mound surface 63 o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 i O II 12 13 14 E3 E3 E-3 E3 F=3 Ed c 6 n t imeters 64 PLATE VII Cer amics From t he Valley and Out Towns first rOI. : strap handl e Peachtr ee Mound and Village unclassified everted rim with castell ation and node Peachtree Mound and Village second row: unclassified everted rim with mamiform protrusions Peachtree Mound and Village Qualla Complicate d Stamped dumbbe ll Kituhwa Mound surface third rOI>': Pi ge on Check Stamped Townsend Site surface shell temper ed corncob i mpre ssed Townsend Site surface 65 o I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 E-3 E"""3 E"""3 E""3 E"""3 F=3 centimete rs 0:$ 66 PLATE VIII Oeramics From t he Overhill Towns first ro,/: shell t empered plain everted rim with flange Great Tellico surface shell tempered plain greatly everted rim Great Tellico surface second row: shell tempered plain notched bead affixed to rim Great Tellico surface Qualla finger impressed fillet on a slightly everted rim Great Tellico surface third row: Qualla Oheck Stamped Great Tellico surface Qualla Oomplicated Stamped concentric circles Great Tellico surface Qualla Oomp l icated Stamped concentric circles Great Tellico surface \ 67 o 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 E"3 F---=t c ent imaters SU MMAR Y The purpose of this paper was twofold . Of primary impor tance was the analysis of ceramics collected from thirteen historic Cherokee towns in western North Carolina, northern Geo rgia and east ern Tenne ssee. The definition of t he Qualla Series i s crucial to t he development of a concept of historic Cherokee c er am ics . Of secondary importance, only be cause t he sampl e of 9.990 sherds cannot be consider ed as indicative of ~he entire unive rse of Cherokee ceramics, i s the r egional distribution of the major ce rami c types . M Particular importance was placed upon the phys iogr aphic barriers wh ich limi t ed conta ct between the five major regions . The c er amics analyzed provide a valuabl e r esidue of non-historic sherds which indicate the participation of t he Cherokee regi on within the greater Southeastern c eramic tradition. Figur e 3 is designed to illustrate the pronounced ~egi on al distribution of ceramic types within the Che rokee area . Spatial distribution is the concern of t he figure and no t empora l sequence is i mplied . The Early Fabric-Marked , Early Cord- Ma r ked, Pigeon, Connest ee and Pisgah Series we r e poorly represented in t he collections from historic Cherokee towns. The nature of their distribution is limited to the information obtained from t he ceramics analyzed and no doubt they have a higher frequency of \occurrence upon sites which 69 I.Q1.'[R TCMiS I"I DDLf TOWNS VALlEt TO\.'!IS 0111' TO\if(S OVEllHILL TO\IlIIS P IGEON Pldn Check St..ped SlBpla Staaped COIiNEST EE Pldn Cord-Mar kold Brual'Uod PISG AH COllp l1cated Staaped a-oothed-oyer Plain Clwtek Stuped ETOWAH COIlpHeat.ed Stuped • aaCIothed-O"lIf Platn - Burnbhed -• Pol1ahed Black I QUAW COllpl1cated Stupid •• • roughened I I f'ldn • -I -• - B\II"nhhed - Cot'd-Marked Corncob hpreued Inched I SHELL TDf'DtlD Eto .... h slKIOthed-o... r plain burnhbed - corncob i.apTtlued d ashed Inched Ea rl, r .brle-I".ar ked 25!!% Regional Distribution of Ceramics Figure 3 ,------~---- .- 70 have primarily pr ehistoric ce r am ic components . Early Cord-Mar ke d and Early Fabric-Marke d potte r y appear to be t he earliest ceramics in the Che roke e area. Dunlap Fabric-Marked (Griffin and Sears, 1950 ) of north Georg ia and Candy Creek Cord-Marked (Le wis and Kneber g , 1946 : 102- 103) of eas t ern Tenne s see offer corre lations in adjac ent areas . Ceramics of this type a re found scatter ed in small quantities on a f ew of the site s studied. The ir s pec i fic distribution has little significance due to t he inadequate sample and the lack of large sherds. This type of pottery is consider ed by investigator s in northern Ge orgia to have been produced from the close of the Archaic Pe riod until ._ a pproxima t e ly 400 B. C. (Caldwe ll, 1958: Figures 7-8 ). No concrete dates are available for its initiation or t e r mina- tion in the Southern Blue Ridge. The carved paddle stamp tradition, I,hich continue s until historic Cherokee times , has its inception in the simp le stamped and check stamped pottery of the Pige on Se rie s. Pi ge on ceramics are marked by t etrapod f eet and have c l ose similarities to many of the check stamped pottery t ypes which ~ have t heir base in t he Deptford complex and continue t hrough out the Southeast until historic times (Griffin and Sears, 1950). Ceramics of the Pigeon Series are limited in t he material analyzed to the Valley and Out Torins. Conne stee potte ry has small vestigial f e et ",hich would indicate that it was manufactured at a time wh en this type of appendage was declining in populari, ty (Holden, 1966) . However, the types of surface finish found upon the markedly 71 t hin, sand t empe r ed tetrapod vessel s portray a closer relationship with the Early Cord- Ma rked and Early Fabric- Marked ceramics . The Connestee Se ries was poorly r epresented in t he Midd l e , Valley and Out Towns . I t was absent in the collections from the Lower Towns . The Pi sgah Series is widely distributed , being l abeled Co bb Island in east ern Tennessee (Polhemus and Polhemus , 1966 : 13-24) and psuedo- Iroquoian in northern Georgia . No Pisgah material was encounte r ed in the collections from t he Lower and Overhill Towns although it has be en report ed in t hose areas (Polhemus and Polhemus, 1966 ; Kelly and Neit zel, 1961 ) . Pisgah cerami c s a ppear to have their highest frequency of occurrence along the French Broad , Little Pi ge on, Nolichucky, Holston and Clinch Rivers. All of these r i vers lie outside of t he ar ea with wh ich t his paper has its i mme diate concern. The line block stamp motif which is present on both Etowah and Pisgah ceramics would appear to have its antecedents in t he angular stamping of t he Napier and Woodstock designs . This pottery dates f rom s hortly before the historic period , The Etowah Series is r estricted primar ily to the Lower Towns . This phenomenon i llustrates t he strong influence of the piedmont complicated stamped t radition upon t he Lower Towns at a prehistoric date . The s eries is poorly re presented in t he Middle Towns and a bsent in the Ove r hill Towns . At Chauga and at Estatoe no marked change existed in mound construction or village activity as Etowah ceramics were supplanted by Qualla ceramic s ( Ke lly and de Ba illou, 1960 : , 21 ; Ke lly and Ne itzel, 1961: 59). 72 Excavations at Hiwassee Island r evealed a ceramic com- ponent which is clearly related to the Etowah Series (Lewis and Kneberg, 1946: Plate 51) . The Etowah Series and the ?!hTassee Island component are attributed by Sears (1958 : 182) to have their base in the Mature Miss issippi Period. Thus we see the Etowah- Hiwassee Island ceramic horizon to the northl'lest and south of the Middle TO~lns . Howeve r, there is a marked dirth of this ceramic style in the Middle, Valley and Out Towns . A cursory examination of the ceramics recently excavated at the Coweeta Creek Mound has revealed the presence of a small quantity of Etowah sherds. The EtO I-lah ceramics from Nequasee and t he Peachtree Mound appear for the most part to be from trade vessels. The hiatus that exists in the distribution of t he Etowah-Hiwassee Island ceramic horizon will no doubt shed some light upon the spatial and temporal .. distribution of the prehistoric Cherokee . Qualla cerami cs provided the bulk of the material ana- lyzed from the historic Cherokee towns . Seventy- five percent of the Qualla sherds were complicated stamped, smoothed- over complicated stamped , or roughened . The remaining five sur-face treatments found in the Qualla Series were present in the following quantities : Qualla Plain, five percent; Qualla Check Stamped, three pe rcent; Qualla Burnished, one percent ; Qualla Cord- Marked, one percent; and Qualla Corncob Impressed was less than one percent. Three percent of the sherds were incised. The incised sherds ~le re, small, primarily from cazuela bowls and gave no indication of the vesse l's surface -- 73 finish . Flared rims with or without a finger impressed fillet were the dominant rim profiles. Cazuela bowl rims were frequently encounte red. A variety of rim profiles resulted from the thickening of the vessel's lip . An L-shaped rim, a slightly folded rim and a rounded lip on an everted rim were present on a minority of t he Qualla vessel sherds . • Globular jars, cazuela bowls and small shallow bowls were the vesse l forms distinguished . Qualla ceramics had a marked pattern to their distri- bution within the five major Cherokee r egions . Eighty- seven percent of the Qualla ceramics came from the Mi ddle, Valley and Out Towns . The collections from the Lower and Overhill Towns had only thirteen percent of the Qualla ceramics . The lack of temporal data weakens any hypothesis regarding duration and intens ity of the Qualla Series within any spec ific Cherokee region. It has been adequately demonstrated that Qualla ceramics r epresent the historic Cherokee ceramic industry within the Middle Towns' greater sphere of influence . The decreased frequency of Qualla ceramics present in the Low er Towns could conceivably be attributed to the shorter historic occupation of this area. Shell tempered pottery was poorly distributed in the Lower Towns and Middl e Towns while heavily concentrated in the Overhill Towns . The ma j ority of the shell tempered pottery was plain or burnished and possessed f ew diagnostic qualities . The corncob impressed, and cord- marked sherds resembled the surface treatments on Qualla ceramics. The 74 hypothesis that sheLl t empe r ed pottery is a product of the Upper Creeks as advanc ed by Lewis and Kneberg (1946 : 17) would indicate that Settacco and Great Tellico did not undergo a sustained occupation by the Cherokee. It must be held in mind that shell tempered pottery is diagnostic of Mississippian influenc e and has a consider able ge ogr aphical and t emporal span . It is difficult to use shell t empered po ttery as an indicator of a society ' s ethnic identity in this instance. A sample of 730 sherds from these two Overhill Towns had only ninety- three Qualla sherds . Only five of these were found in the surface collection from Settacco . Great Tellico and Settacco were known to be prosperous towns on the main trading path during historic times. Rim form and vessel shape on many of the shell t empered sherds are identical to those found on Qualla pottery . It is important to note that no complicated stamped shell tempered sherds were encounter ed i n the collections from the Overhill Towns . The analys is of ceramics from thirteen historic Chero- kee towns indicates that the tripartite division of the Cherokee into Lower, Middle and Overhill Towns as major spheres of social interaction is further reflected in their differing ceramic traditions . Ceramics from the Valley and Out Towns are similar to and should be included in the greater sphere of the Middle Towns . We then have three basic ceramic spheres of influence which indicate a difference in degree and not kind with cross fertilization being present . The Lowe r Towns at t he fringes of the Blue Ridge Mountains have been strongly influenced by the piedmont 75 complicated stamped tradition. The Overhill Towns in the Great Valley of Tennessee have been dominated by a Mississippian shell tempered tradition. The Midd le To wns have had their ceramic tradition markedly affected by the complicated stamp tradition which developed in central Georgia. To some degree the difference between the areas was masked during historic times by the Lamar style horizon which is manifest ed in the Qualla Series . \ .. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartram, William . 1940. The Travels of William Bartram . Ed ited by Mark Van Doren . Facsimil e Library, New York . Caldwell , Joseph R. 1958 . "Trend and Trad ition in t he Pr ehistory of the Eastern Un ite d Stat es . " Ame r i can Ant hropologica l Association Memoir Number 88 . Co e, Joffre L. 1961. "Cherokee Archaeology ." Bureau of American ~thnology Bulletin 180 . Edit ed by William N. ..~ Fenton and John Gulick. ifashington . " Co e, Joffre L. , and Lewis, Ernest . 1952 . "Dan River Se ries St at ement ." Prehistoric -::P-20~t'-itneC':rC\'y~o=,f~t.::.h"'Te~E;::a::;;s,=,t"e:.:r:-::n~U,-,n=.:i,,-t.::.e::..d=--:::.S .:::t;::a.:::t.:::e~s . 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