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Compositional analysis of glazed earthenwares from eighteenth-century sites on the northern Gulf Coast

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Abstract

Compositional classification of colonial-era ceramics using neutron activation analysis has heretofore focused primarily on majolicas from Spain and Mexico. In order to expand the chemical database to include 18th-century French ceramics, 186 sherds from Old Mobile and nearby sites on the north-central Gulf Coast have been analyzed, including faïence blanche, faïence brune, Mexican majolicas, and several types of coarse earthenwares. Quantitative analysis of 23 elements provides a basis for distinguishing French and Spanish-colonial earthenwares, as well as suggesting some preliminary chemical groupings of French faïence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 9506 Watts Road, Great Falls, VA, USA, 22066

    Jacqueline S. Olin

  2. Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, Museum Support Center, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD, USA, 20746

    M. James Blackman

  3. 1940 E Main Street, Notasulga, AL, USA, 36866

    Jared E. Mitchem

  4. Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA, 36688

    Gregory A. Waselkov

Authors
  1. Jacqueline S. Olin
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  2. M. James Blackman
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  3. Jared E. Mitchem
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  4. Gregory A. Waselkov
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Olin, J.S., Blackman, M.J., Mitchem, J.E. et al. Compositional analysis of glazed earthenwares from eighteenth-century sites on the northern Gulf Coast. Hist Arch 36, 79–96 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374340

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