THE INCORPORATION OF MISSISSIPPIAN TRADITIONS INTO FORT ANCIENT SOCIETIES: A PRELIMINARY VIEW OF THE SHIFT TO SHELL-TEMPERED POTTERY USE IN THE MIDDLE OHIO VALLEY.

Shell-tempered pottery is a common occurrence in late prehistoric assemblages from the southeastern and midwestern United States. The use of shell temper in the middle Ohio Valley began during the Late Woodland period (ca. A.D. 800) but was not common until Fort Ancient times (ca. A.D. 1000-1650). Initially, shell was mixed with other tempering agents, but between ca. A.D. 1300 and 1500 it became the primary temper form, during a time of clear and region-wide Mississippian/Fort Ancient interaction. Assessing whether or not tire Fort Ancient shift to use of shell tempering was associated with these Mississippian interactions is the subject of this paper, in which we combine petrographic analyses at a selection of western Fort Ancient sites with data pertaining to specific social contexts within a single village. A working hypothesis is offered that this temper type was initially mixed with local nonshell tempers alongside other Mississippian characteristics being combined with local traditions (e.g., wall trenches incorporated into post houses) throughout the study region, focused on the Miami-Ohio River confluence area of the middle Ohio Valley. In a well-defined social context in one village, the movement of nonlocal shell-tempered vessels is associated with a village wide leader (and possibly green corn ceremonialism) during a time of increased network strategies of cultural integration across the Fort Ancient region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]