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Petrographic analysis of Contact Period Native American pottery from Fort Hill (27CH85), Hinsdale, NH, USA

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Abstract

We present results of petrographic analysis of a sample of pottery from Fort Hill, a fortified village in southwestern New Hampshire built and occupied by a group of Native Americans between Autumn of 1663 and Spring of 1664. Our analyses reveal a surprising degree of variability in ceramic fabrics and in ceramic production techniques relative to that reported for contemporaneous and slightly earlier assemblages from southern and central New England. We explain the presence of this variability as likely reflecting the amalgamation of multiple ceramic traditions that would result from the presence of refugees within the community occupying Fort Hill.

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Notes

  1. References to quartzite throughout the text refer to fragments of this metamorphic rock.

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Acknowledgments

Nearly all of what is known about the ethnohistory of the Sokoki and of Fort Hill comes from the Ph.D. dissertation of Peter Thomas (1979). We cannot thank him enough for his encouragement, generosity, and overall helpfulness. Richard Boisvert provided the clay sample from Haverhill, and Julie Woods aided in the collection of clay from Deerfield. Leslie G. Cecil provided the photomicrographs in Figs. 4 and 5. Michael J. O‘Brien, R. Lee Lyman, Christine VanPool, and Michael D. Glascock provided comments on earlier drafts of this research. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, insistence on clarity, and challenges to improve the overall quality of this article. Any errors or omissions are our own. This research was supported in part by the W. Raymond Wood Opportunities for Excellence in Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Matthew T. Boulanger

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO, 80217, USA

    David V. Hill

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  1. Matthew T. Boulanger
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  2. David V. Hill
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Correspondence to Matthew T. Boulanger.

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Boulanger, M.T., Hill, D.V. Petrographic analysis of Contact Period Native American pottery from Fort Hill (27CH85), Hinsdale, NH, USA. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 7, 517–532 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-014-0214-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-014-0214-3

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