WEEDEN ISLAND POTTERY PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE AT THE PALMETTO MOUND, 8LV2 Erin Harris-Parks1, Ann S. Cordell2, Neill J. Wallis2 1ExxonMobil Development Company, Spring, Texas 77389 2Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 Introduction Background The Palmetto Mound (8LV2), located on the Gulf coast Weeden Island is a socio-religious complex represented of North Florida (Figure 1) and the focus of this paper, is by the adoption of similar mortuary practices at sites across the an example of a Weeden Island period mortuary mound Florida Gulf coast and beyond from ca. A.D. 200-900. This in which mortuary, prestige, and utilitarian categories of tradition seems to have tied together disparate communities Weeden Island pottery are present in abundance. For the along the Gulf Coast of Florida and into North Florida, present study, we assess the manufacturing origins of Alabama, and Georgia. Whereas populations across this area Weeden Island pottery at Palmetto Mound. Gross paste are locally distinct in their material culture, settlement, and characterization was completed for 175 vessels representing subsistence patterns at habitation sites, burial mound practices primarily “prestige” and “utilitarian” categories of Weeden are notably uniform. The most conspicuous commonality Island pottery. Of this sample, petrographic thin sections among burial mound sites is pottery. The pottery deposited in were made and point counted for 25 vessels (Harris-Parks burial mounds during this period is diverse and elaborate in 2012). The results indicate that a majority of prestige vessel form and surface decoration, whereas pottery in village wares at the site were made nonlocally. The fabric of middens tends to be dominated by simple forms with simple or most nonlocal wares is consistent with production in the plain surface treatments (Milanich et al. 1997; Pluckhahn and northwest Florida panhandle or southwest Georgia (e.g., Cordell 2011; Willey 1949). Weeden Island pottery traditionally Kolomoki). Most utilitarian pottery in the sample was has been dichotomized in terms of two components: “sacred,” made locally but a few samples have fabrics that indicate also referred to variously as ceremonial, cult, prestige or elite the same nonlocal manufacturing origins as the prestige pottery and “secular,” or utilitarian pottery (Sears 1973; also types. These results support the hypothesis that at least see Moore 1902:352-353). The former occurs most often in some of the most ornate types of Weeden Island pottery mortuary mound contexts and the latter occurs in both mound were produced in a limited number of locations using and midden contexts. Cultural historical types that were more specific paste recipes and clay resources. typical in “sacred” mortuary contexts include classic Weeden Figure 1. Location of Palmetto Mound, 8LV2 and other sites. Vol. 70 (1-2) The Florida Anthropologist March-June 2017 10 The Florida Anthropologist 2017 70 (1-2) Island Series incised, punctated, and red slipped or painted more “mundane” or utilitarian styles (Russo et al. 2014). The wares, especially effigy forms (Figure 2) (Milanich et al. 1997; only category of Weeden Island pottery that exhibits a strict Sears 1973; Willey 1949). Secular pottery, most common in sacred-secular contextual dichotomy consists of effigy vessel middens but also deposited in mounds, included undecorated, forms. These vessels appear to be restricted to mortuary, ritual check stamped, complicated stamped, and simple incised and contexts, although fragments of effigy forms have been found punctated wares (Figure 3). in a few midden contexts (Russo et al. 2014:130). In the decades since the recognition of a sacred-secular Consequently, many Weeden Island researchers now dichotomy in pottery use and deposition, many sites show that support a tripartite division developed by Knight (in Milanich a strict dichotomy does not hold up across the region (Russo et et al. 1997) in which Weeden Island pottery is separated into al. 2014). It remains generally true that a mound context may sacred, mortuary, or cult wares, prestige or elite wares, and contain a much higher relative percentage of certain highly utilitarian wares, with the latter two categories existing on a decorated wares than contemporaneous associated village continuum in terms of manufacturing technology (Milanich contexts, especially in peninsular Florida. C.B. Moore (1901, et al. 1997:166). The mortuary category refers specifically 1902, 1903a, 1903b, 1905, 1907, 1918) noted the repeated to effigy vessels with zoomorphic appliques/appendages association of the effigy and incised and punctated forms, that and eccentric forms (Sears 1956:22-23), in a variety of we now recognize as Weeden Island, with mortuary mounds. Weeden Island decorative modes. The criteria for the prestige But many mound contexts also contain an abundance of category were developed from work with midden and mound “utilitarian” plain and stamped and less elaborate incised assemblages at the McKeithen site (8CO17), a multi-mound and punctated wares, some of which may have wide ranging complex in north Florida (Cordell 1984; Kohler 1978; Milanich manufacturing origins. For example, particularly on the et al. 1997). At McKeithen, prestige wares were characterized peninsular Gulf coast, there are certainly burial mounds with by high frequencies of non-local pastes and greater elaboration a higher percentage of Swift Creek Complicated Stamped and/or standardization in vessel forms, surface treatments, pottery than contemporaneous habitation sites (e.g., Hughes and other aspects of manufacturing technology. The cultural Island Mound (8DI45), Safford Mound (8PI3). In addition, historical types represented include Weeden Island Zoned the prominence of elaborate Weeden Island pottery in Moore’s Red, Weeden Island Red, Weeden Island Incised, Weeden collections may actually represent a collection bias against Island Punctated (Kohler 1978; Milanich et al. 1997:69), Figure 2. Examples of Weeden Island mortuary and prestige pottery; a) Weeden Island Incised effigy (FLMNH ANT 10931 [EHP-078, [8LV2-461]); b) Weeden Island Red mammal effigy (FLMNH ANT 9850 [8LV2-399]); c) Weeden Island Incised (FLMNH ANT 10949 [EHP-121], [8LV2-288]); d) Weeden Island Punctated (FLMNH ANT 10823 [EHP-172], [8LV2-449]); e) Weeden Island Punctated (FLMNH ANT 10891[EHP-151], [8LV2-289]). Harris-Parks et al. Weeden Island Pottery Production and Exchange at the Palmetto Mound, 8LV2 11 Figure 3. Examples of Weeden Island utilitarian pottery; a) Carrabelle Punctated (FLMNH ANT 11127 [8LV2-336]); b) Carrabelle Incised (FLMNH ANT 88-11-129 [8LV2-129]); c) Keith Incised (FLMNH ANT 10966 [8LV2-319]); d) Swift Creek Complicated Stamped (FLMNH ANT 10282 [EHP-065], [8LV2-379]); e) Wakulla Check stamped (FLMNH ANT 88-11-207 [8LV2-207]). and Papys Bayou Punctated and Indian Pass Incised (Cordell specialists at a centralized location such as Kolomoki. Lacking 1984; Milanich et al. 1997:138). To this roster, Pluckhahn and pottery provenance data, Sears (1973:39) based his inference Cordell (2011: 292) added the type Mercier Red on Buff based on his perception of Kolomoki as a state-level society, where on its similarity to Weeden Island Zoned Red in decoration craft specialists are endemic, as well as the purported religious and distribution at Kolomoki. At McKeithen, the utilitarian themes of the vessels that could have associated them with wares, based on manufacturing technology criteria, included priests. More recently, Pluckhahn and Cordell (2011) used Weeden Island Plain, Carrabelle Punctated, Carrabelle Incised, petrographic analysis to determine that a large majority of Keith Incised, Wakulla Check Stamped, Swift Creek and other prestige wares from McKeithen and other northern Florida complicated stamped types, and others (Cordell 1984). sites could be sourced to clays found in the vicinity of the Some mound sites contain examples of all three categories Kolomoki site in Southwest Georgia. This revealed that of Weeden Island pottery. For example, mortuary, prestige, Kolomoki could have been a major production center for and utilitarian categories are present at the McKeithen site in pottery vessels at McKeithen and other sites, though likely Mound C (burial mound) and Mound B (platform mound), not the only one. In addition to centralization, Pluckhahn although the proportions of each category vary widely. and Cordell (2011) also concluded that these data served Mound C contained 47 percent mortuary vessels versus only as evidence of specialized production of some kind, but the 7 percent at Mound B (Milanich et al. 1997:161 [Table 7.4]). precise mode of specialization—independent specialists, craft Mound A, another platform mound, contained no examples of specialists as ritual and political leaders, or craft specialists the mortuary category. attached to ritual leaders (from Spielmann 2002)—could not Among the mortuary and prestige wares within mounds, be determined. the presence of nonlocal, relatively standardized pottery vessels has been used as evidence of craft specialization and The Palmetto Mound, 8LV2 regional centers of production (Cordell 1984; Pluckhahn and Cordell 2011; Rice 1980). Multiple centers of production The Palmetto Mound is located on Hog Island, also known of Weeden Island pottery have been proposed. However, as Palmetto Island, in Levy County, Florida (see Figure 1). production of at least some vessels at Kolomoki (9ER1), the The site was