# Is this more pottery? Found by a kid



## riverbank (Aug 20, 2016)

My step son found this in the woods. You can see what looks (to me) like some man made markings in it. What are y'alls thought on this? Thanks for looking.


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## dtala (Aug 20, 2016)

yes, that is for sure 100% pottery. nice pattern also.


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## riverbank (Aug 21, 2016)

Wander why it's black? We've got red clay


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## fishtail (Aug 21, 2016)

I'm wanting to blame the piece for absorbing whatever minerals that were present for the period of time it was in that location.

Many times the inside and sometimes also the outside are blackened from either ash coals tempering it or whatever might had been stored in it. Your piece is from neither of those being the broken edges are also blackened.

Interesting and nice find


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## riverbank (Aug 21, 2016)

Thanks for that information fishtail. Do you have any idea how old this might be? We don't know squat about this type of stuff. So any info would be appreciated, because I can just about guarantee you that it's something I didn't know. Haha.


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## riverbank (Aug 21, 2016)

Would those marks have been some sort of drawings?


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## fishtail (Aug 21, 2016)

Age is hard to say, usually you base it on the design/composition of the material and other artifacts present in the very immediate location. Some designs and material composition are very prevalent over a vast area and time periods.

The blackness is interesting to almost appearing petrified. I've seen this in the salt mud when stuff was buried a few feet deep for about 100 years. Certain materials absorb certain minerals in their immediate location.

The marks appear to be a type of grit tempered incised very complicated and  prevalent at that! Very deep and clean, I doubt it was a paddle that done the work.
"Drawings" would not necessarily be correct as they served several purposes but yes they were. Reducing weight, showing ownership and pride, utility aspect for better grip on the vessel and actually helping with expansion and contraction of the material reducing cracking.

"Usually" the more ornate the pottery is, the newer it is.

It would be interesting to find out the material composition.
Lets say what if it was a piece made of blue clay from the coast was relocated to the Athens area. That piece was discarded and over a couple of hundred years (or more) it interacted and absorbed whatever minerals that turned it black.

This geographical relocation is not at all out of the ordinary. Several years ago I found a hand sized piece of stone pottery on one of the barrier islands, it's origin was from the present lower Atlanta area.    

Sorry I don't have an age for that one.


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## riverbank (Aug 21, 2016)

I have found some blue clay around here. At least i think it's clay. I always see it in a creek after a good rain. It feels just like clay. I'll take a pic of it the next time I get down there.


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## riverbank (Aug 21, 2016)

How would one go about finding out the material composition?


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## fishtail (Aug 22, 2016)

I don't have that answer either.
You would expect it to be the usual sand grit clay composition. Which clay would be interesting. 

I've found a few pieces that looked like charred petrified wood but with little inspection you could tell they were pottery pieces. I couldn't bring myself to scratch deeply or break them to see just how far the black goes.

By the way, don't be tempted to enhance the designs by cleaning or scrubbing.
I tried doing that with something as light as a tooth brush and water to enhance a piece impressed with Spanish moss and other things that might have had an ornate design. I ruined the piece.


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## fishtail (Aug 22, 2016)

The best I remember the black pieces I found were from highly disturbed locations. No different than finding petrified shark teeth on the beach that had dredged material dumped there. 
It held no archaeological merit or value, just interest.


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## riverbank (Aug 22, 2016)

The piece is actually a good bit lighter colored than that. Still pretty much black but not that dark. It was found in the woods. I washed it off in the creek and immediately took that picture.


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## Nicodemus (Aug 22, 2016)

Bring it to Kolomoki State Park in Blakley the second Saturday in October, and a friend of mine will be able to not only ID it for you, but will show you how it`s made. Michael Stuckey knows his stuff.


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## fishtail (Aug 22, 2016)

You need to do it ↑↑↑
It don't get no better than that!!

And please let us know about it!


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## riverbank (Aug 22, 2016)

The fact that y'all are interested in it makes me that much more curious about it. If we ain't working that weekend we sure might make the trip. If not though is it something I could send in the mail to someone? I'll cover the shipping.


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## riverbank (Aug 22, 2016)

What do you mean by a "paddle" that done the work?


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## fishtail (Aug 22, 2016)

The correct name would be "stamped" but this site has a couple pictures.
http://thesga.org/2009/07/paddle-stamped-pottery-the-paddles/

Incising might have been done with a variety of tools such as animal teeth or bones.


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## riverbank (Aug 22, 2016)

Very nice information. For what it's worth to you guys that know your stuff .....guys like me really appreciate it.


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