University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 Specialization in Small-Scale Societies: The Organization of Pottery Production at Kolomoki (9ER1), Early County, Georgia Travis Laforge University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Laforge, Travis, "Specialization in Small-Scale Societies: The Organization of Pottery Production at Kolomoki (9ER1), Early County, Georgia" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4115 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Specialization in Small-Scale Societies: The Organization of Pottery Production at Kolomoki (9ER1), Early County, Georgia by Travis B. LaForge A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Ph.D. Brent R. Weisman, Ph.D. E. Christian Wells, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 21, 2012 Keywords: Standardization, Archaeology, Woodland Period, Weeden Island, Ceramics, Three-dimensional Laser Scanner Copyright © 2012, Travis B. LaForge Dedication I dedicate this thesis to all the people who helped support me throughout my academic career, including family, friends, and professors. In particular, I thank my parents for all of their support and encouragement. Above all, I thank Jana for her tremendous support. Her advice, motivation, and inspiration were invaluable. Table of Contents List of Tables......................................................................................................................iii List of Figures .....................................................................................................................v Abstract ..............................................................................................................................vi Chapter One: Introduction...................................................................................................1 Organization of the Thesis.......................................................................................7 Chapter Two: Describing the Organization of Specialized Production ..............................9 Defining Specialization .........................................................................................10 The Organization of Specialized Production.........................................................13 Context ......................................................................................................14 Concentration ............................................................................................14 Scale ..........................................................................................................15 Intensity .....................................................................................................15 Specific Types of Specialist Production................................................................16 Individual Specialization...........................................................................17 Dispersed Workshop .................................................................................17 Community Specialization ........................................................................17 Nucleated Workshops................................................................................17 Dispersed Corvée.......................................................................................18 Individual Retainers...................................................................................18 Nucleated Corvée ......................................................................................18 Retainer Workshops ..................................................................................18 Identifying Specialization......................................................................................18 Standardization..........................................................................................20 Theoretical Perspectives........................................................................................22 Political Economy .....................................................................................23 Ritual Economy.........................................................................................25 Chapter Three: An Introduction to the Kolomoki Site......................................................32 Physiographic Setting............................................................................................32 Previous Archaeological Work..............................................................................33 Temporal Context..................................................................................................37 Interpreting Cultural Complexity ..........................................................................38 Ceramic Assemblages ...........................................................................................41 Kolomoki and Specialized Pottery ........................................................................43 i Chapter Four: Methods......................................................................................................47 Sampling................................................................................................................47 3-D Digital Scanning.............................................................................................48 Measuring the Attributes .......................................................................................51 Analyzing the Data................................................................................................54 Chapter Five: Results ........................................................................................................58 Descriptive Statistics .............................................................................................60 Formal Pottery Type..................................................................................67 Functional Category ..................................................................................70 Provenience ...............................................................................................71 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficients........................................................................72 Complete Sample.......................................................................................73 Carrabelle Incised......................................................................................73 Carrabelle Punctated..................................................................................74 Indian Pass Incised ....................................................................................74 Keith Incised..............................................................................................74 Weeden Island Incised...............................................................................75 Weeden Island Punctated ..........................................................................76 Mercier Red on Buff..................................................................................76 Effigy and Excised Pottery........................................................................77 Sacred and Prestige Pottery.......................................................................77 Utilitarian Pottery ......................................................................................78 Mound Contexts ........................................................................................79 Off-Mound Contexts .................................................................................80 Chapter Six: Discussion ....................................................................................................82 Standardization and Formal Pottery Type.............................................................83 Standardization and Functional Category .............................................................88 Standardization and Provenience ..........................................................................90 The Organization of Pottery Production................................................................91 Analyzing Attribute Standardization...................................................................101 Chapter Seven: Conclusion .............................................................................................104 The Broader Applications of Creating Digital Pottery........................................106 References Cited..............................................................................................................115 Appendix A: Descriptive Statistics .................................................................................126 ii List of Tables Table 5.1: Breakdown of the Sample ................................................................................59 Table 5.2: Coefficients of Variation for Formal Pottery Types ........................................69