Stephenson (1963) defined Accokeek Creek ware based on his analysis of ceramics from undated contexts at the Accokeek Creek site in Maryland. Subsequently, excavations at stratified sites in the Potomac Valley placed friable, sand and grit tempered Accokeek ceramics between 800 and 500 B.C. However, disagreement about the definition and chronological placement of Accokeek Creek pottery continues (cf., Thurman, 1987 and Stewart, 1987). Analysis of ceramics from the Falcon's Landing site (18PR131) and the Accotink Meander site (44FX1908), combined with a review of data from throughout the region, suggests temporal variation in the attributes of Accokeek Creek sherds underlies these difficulties.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BraunD. P.1983Pots as Tools, in Archaeological Hammers and Theories, MooreJ. and KeeneA. (eds.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 107–134.
2.
BraunD. P.1985Absolute Seriation: A Time-Series Approach, in For Concordance in Archaeological Analysis: Bridging Data Structure, Quantitative Technique, and Theory, CarrC. (ed.), Westport Publishers, Westport, Iowa, pp. 509–539.
3.
BraunD. P.1987Coevolution of Sedentism, Pottery Technology, and Horticulture in the Central Midwest, 200 B.C.-A.D. 600, in Emergent Horticultural Economies of the Eastern Woodlands, KeeganW. F. (ed.), Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional Paper No. 7, pp. 153–182.
4.
CarrC.1985Perspective and Basic Definitions, in For Concordance in Archaeological Analysis: Bridging Data Structure, Theory and Analytical Technique, CarrC. (ed.), Westview Press, Evanston, Illinois, pp. 1–13.
5.
CarrC.1990Advances in Ceramic Radiography and Analysis: Applications and Potentials, Journal of Archaeological Science, 17, pp. 13–34.
6.
CarrC.1993Identifying Individual Vessels with X-Radiography, American Antiquity, 58:1, pp. 96–117.
7.
CusterJ. F.1984Delaware's Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Delaware Press, Newark.
8.
DavisD. D.1981Ceramic Classification and Temporal Discrimination: A Consideration of Later Prehistoric Stylistic Change in the Mississippi River Delta, Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 6:1, pp. 55–89.
9.
DavisR. P. S.1988Pottery Analysis, in Archaeology of the Historic Occaneechi Indians, WardH. T. and DavisR. P. S. (eds.), Southern Indian Studies, pp. 36–37.
10.
EgloffK. and PotterS.1982Indian Ceramics from Coastal Plain Virginia, Archaeology of Eastern North America, 10, pp. 95–117.
11.
EvansC.1955A Ceramic Study of Virginia Archaeology, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 160, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
12.
EvansJ. and CusterJ. F.1990Guidelines for Standardizing Projectile Point Typology in the Middle Atlantic Region, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, 6, pp. 31–41.
13.
FishP. R.1978Consistency in Archaeological Measurement and Classification, American Antiquity, 43, pp. 86–89.
14.
GardnerW. M.1982Early and Middle Woodland in the Middle Atlantic: An Overview, in Practicing Environmental Archaeology: Methods and Interpretations, MoellerRoger W. (ed.), Occasional Paper No. 3, American Indian Archaeological Institute, Washington, Connecticut, pp. 53–86.
15.
GardnerW. M. and McNettC.1971Early Pottery in the Potomac, Proceedings of the Middle Atlantic Archaeology Conference, 2, pp. 42–52.
16.
GardnerW. M. and NashC. L.1990An Early and Middle Woodland Ceramic Sequence in the Shenandoah Valley, paper presented at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, Ocean City, Maryland.
17.
GriederT.1975The Interpretation of Ancient Symbols, American Anthropologist, 77, pp. 849–855.
18.
HagstrumM. B. and HildebrandJ. A.1990The Two-Curvature Method for Reconstructing Ceramic Morphology, American Antiquity, 55:2, pp. 388–402.
19.
HargraveM. L.1981Woodland Ceramic Chronometry and Occupational Intensity at the Carrier Mills Archaeological District, Saline County, Illinois, M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
20.
JohnsonWilliam C.1989Analysis of Cordage Impressions on Late Woodland Ceramics from the Patawomeke Site (44ST2) and Five Montgomery Complex Sites in Potomac River Piedmont and Ridge and Valley Provinces, paper presented at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
21.
KleinM. J.1991Beyond “Inspectional Types:” An Attribute Analysis of Ceramics from 18PR131, Prince George's County, Maryland, paper presented at the 58th Annual Eastern States Archaeological Federation, Williamsburg, Virginia.
22.
KleinM. J.1994An Absolute Seriation Approach to Ceramic Chronology in the Roanoke, Potomac, and James River Valleys, Virginia and Maryland, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia.
23.
McLearenD. C.1991Phase III Archaeological Investigations of the “522 Bridge Site “ (44WR329), Warren County, VA, report prepared for the Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, Virginia, by the Virginia Commonwealth University, Archaeological Research Center, Richmond.
24.
McNettC.1975Excavations at the Spring Branch Site, Quarterly Bulletin, Archeological Society of Virginia, 29:3, pp. 97–123.
25.
MouerL. D.1990The Archaic to Woodland Transition in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain Sections of the James River Valley, Virginia, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.
26.
MouerL. D.1991Late Archaic and Early Woodland Material Culture in Virginia, in Late Archaic and Early Woodland Research in Virginia: A Synthesis, ReinhartT. R. and HodgesM. E. N. (eds.), The Dietz Press, Richmond, Virginia, pp. 89–138.
27.
MouerL. D.RyderR. L., and JohnsonE. G.1981The Elk Island Tradition, Quarterly Bulletin, Archeological Society of Virginia.
28.
MouerL. D.GleachF. W., and McLearenD. C.1986A Ceramics Temporal Typology in Progress for Central Virginia, in Archaeology in Henrico, Vol. II: Introduction to Phase 2 and Phase 3 Archaeological Investigations of the Henrico County Regional Wastewater System, MouerL. D. (ed.), Report on File, Virginia Department of Historic Landmarks, Richmond, pp. 119–149.
29.
MounierR. A.1987Estimation of Capacity in Aboriginal Conoidal Vessels, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, 3, pp. 95–102.
30.
PhelpsD. S.1983Archaeology of the North Carolina Coast and Coastal Plain: Problems and Hypotheses, in The Prehistory of North Carolina: An Archaeological Symposium, MathisM. A. and CrowJ. J. (eds.), North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, pp. 1–52.
31.
PlogS.1985Estimating Vessel Orifice Diameters: Measurement Methods and Measurement Error, in Decoding Prehistoric Ceramics, NelsonB. A. (ed.), Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, pp. 243–253.
32.
PlogS. and HantmanJ. L.1990Chronology Construction and the Study of Prehistoric Culture Change, Journal of Field Archaeology, 17:4, pp. 439–456.
33.
ReadD.1989Intuitive Typology and Automatic Classification: Divergence or Full Circle?Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 8:2, pp. 158–188.
34.
RiceP.1987Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
SnavelyA. N. and RaberP.1982Description and Analysis of Ceramic Assemblages, in The Haw River Sites: Archaeological Investigations at Two Stratified Sites in the North Carolina Piedmont, ClaggettS. R. and CableJ. S. (assemblers), Commonwealth Associates, Inc., pp. 599–636.
37.
SteponaitisL. C.1987Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Lower Patuxent River Drainage, Maryland, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Binghamton.
38.
StephensonR. L.1963The Accokeek Creek Site: A Middle Atlantic Seaboard Culture Sequence, Anthropological Papers No. 20, Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
39.
StevensJ. S.1990Management Summary: Phase III Archaeological Investigations at Falcon's Landing, Prince George's County, Maryland, reported submitted to the Marriott Corporation by John Milner Associates, Alexandria, Virginia.
40.
StevensJ. S.1991Archaeological Investigations at Falcon's Landing (Site 18PR131): A Late Archaic through Middle Woodland Occupation, Prince George's County, Maryland, paper presented at the Eastern States Archaeological Federation Meeting, Williamsburg, Virginia.
41.
StevensJ. S.1993Archeological Investigations of Site 44FX1908 Pohick Loop Handicap Access Trail, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, report submitted to CDM Federal Programs Corporation by John Milner Associates, Alexandria, Virginia.
42.
StevensJ. S. and KleinM. J.1994Ceramic Trends or Cultural Chronologies: A Comparison of Ceramic Attributes among Accokeek Phase Occupations along the Coastal Plain Potomac, paper presented at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, Ocean City, Maryland.
43.
StewartR. M.1982Prehistoric Ceramics of the Great Valley of Maryland, Archaeology of Eastern North America, 10, pp. 69–94.
44.
StewartR. M.1987Catharsis: Comments on Thurman's Coastal Plain Synthesis, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, 3, pp. 111–124.
45.
StuiverM. and BeckerB.1986High-Precision Decadal Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale, A.D. 1950–2500 B.C.Radiocarbon, 28(2B), pp. 863–910.
46.
TerryR. and ChilingarG.1955Summary of “Concerning Some Additional Aids in Studying Sedimentary Formations by M. S. Shvetsov,”Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 25:3, pp. 229–234.
47.
ThomasD. H.1981How to Classify the Projectile Points from Monitor Valley, Nevada, Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 3:1, pp. 7–43.
48.
ThurmanM. D.1985A Cultural Synthesis of the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain Part I: “Culture Area” and Regional Sequence, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, 1, pp. 7–32.
49.
ThurmanM. D.1987“A Funny Thing Happened to the Archaeological Data Coming Back from Delaware”: Some Models for Middle Atlantic Archaeology, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, 3, pp. 125–141.
50.
WagnerD. P.1990Pedological and Geomorphological Investigations of the Falcon's Landing Tract, manuscript prepared for John Milner and Associates by Geo-Sci Consultants, Inc., College Park, Maryland.
51.
WaselkovG. A.1982Shellfish Gathering and Shell Midden Archaeology, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
52.
WeissnerP.1983Style and Social Information in Kalahari San Projectile Points, American Antiquity, 49:2, pp. 253–276.
53.
WeissnerP.1985Style or Isochrestic Variation?American Antiquity, 50:1, pp. 160–166.
54.
WeissnerP.1990Is There a Unity to Style, in The Uses of Style in Archaeology, ConkeyM. W. and HastorfC. A., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 105–112.
55.
WrightH. T.1973An Archaeological Sequence in the Middle Chesapeake Region, Maryland, Maryland Geological Survey, Baltimore.
56.
Young-RavenhorstC. C.1994Archaeological Investigations in the Backyards of Park Buildings 32 to 36, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: The Package 116 Prehistoric Occupations, Occasional Report No. 10, Regional Archaeology Program, National Capital Region, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
