STEPHEN P. CARINI

MINERALÓGICA!. ANALYSIS OF WEST INDIAN SALADOID CERAMICS: A PRELIMINARY REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The subject of this preliminary report is the compositional analysis of the initial Saladoid ceramics from the Antillean Islands. Samples from Puerto Rico were selected from the assemblages of Hacienda Grande-style pottery excavated at the sites of Hacienda Grande (Loiza), Canas (Ponce), Maisabel (Vega Baja) and Sorcé (Vieques) and from the La Hueca-style assemblages at Punta Candelera (Humacao). Ceramics from the Salt River site in St. Croix and Hope Estate site in St. Martin were also examined so that regional data would be included.

The aim of the research is twofold, first to assess the structure and chemistry of the initial Saladoid ceramics to see how these relate to their associated stylistic modes, and secondly to account for the range compositional variation by addressing the utilitarian qualities of the paste types. When the functional aspects of the various paste mixtures have been correlated with stylistic modes, the cultural affiliation of undecorated ware will be easier to determine. Eventually data of this nature may be used to help locate clay sources, identify regional trade networks, and test theories of migration and interaction. However, more field and laboratory work will be required to assemble a substantial data base that would make such applications valid.

BACKGROUND

It is generally agreed that ancestors of the Tainos came from the Orinoco River and began settling the Antillean Islands during the latter part of the first millennium B.C. (Rouse 1985). They brought with them a material culture that included plainware and two decorated wares: one characterized by white-on-red painted designs and the other by zoned-incised-crosshatched designs (z-i-c). Other traits, such as modeling and incision, are shared by both decorated wares. Rouse has named this pottery Cedrosan Saladoid after two sites, Saladero on the Lower Orinoco in Venezuela where the characteristic painted ware was found by itself, and Cedros in Trinidad, where it is found along with z-i-c ware.

Rouse has determined that the migration was a single, punctuated movement that began on the Orinoco River and eventually reached Cuba and the Bahamas. He has traced the expansion through regional frontier zones, in which marked cultural divergences occurred.

One of the most notable divergences was found within the northern frontier zone in the Greater Antilles and at Rió Guapo to the West. Here there is a distinctive switch from the Cedrosan Saladoid duality of decorated wares to an exclusive reliance on z-i-c ware. Luis Chanlatte, Miguel Rodriguez and Jay Haviser have excavated at sites (Chanlatte at Sorcé on Vieques Island, P.R., Rodriguez at Punta Candelera in Humacao, P.R., and Haviser at Hope Estate, St. Martin) which

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lack the characteristic mix of white-on-red and z-i-c pottery that was present at the other initial Cedrosan Saladoid sites. The significance of this cultural divergence is still being debated.

METHODOLOGY

In order to effectively utilize determinative mineralogical techniques toward the solution of problems encountered in archaeology, one must ask what information is gained through material analysis. And what information is appropriate or applicable to the question at hand. In the course of this research I have employed four techniques to address typological and functional questions as they relate specifically to prehistoric West Indian ceramics and Caribbean culture in general. These are infrared absorption and emission spectrophotometry and pétrographie and electron scanning microscopy. The first technique is used to determine molecular/mineral associations; the second, to identify elements; and the third and fourth to characterize the slips, paints, temper and natural inclusions, and to make other general observations of the ceramics as seen in thin section and under high magnification. This paper is primarily focused on the results of the infrared absorption analyses.

The infrared spectrum is an analysis of molecular vibrations. All molecules vibrate at a frequency that depends on the mass of the atoms, the forces acting between them, and their spatial geometry. The more complex the molecule, the greater the number of bonds it possesses and the greater the number of natural frequencies and overtones it produces. Their patterns are uniquely diagnostic. Therefore the infra-red absorption spectroscopic methos is particularly suitable for analyzing ceramics. Clay and its admixtures are exceedingly hard to identify even before they have been subjected to the processes of pottery production,. Thermal treatment and minerals that have been added to temper the clay further complicate the analysis. Even though the Saladoid ceramics were not fired at a temperature high enough to cause vitrification (around 950 C). many of the diagnostic hydroxal groups of the clays had been driven off. Comparing material variables and stylistic modes does not, however, necessarily require exact quantification and identification of the various ceramic constituents. Infrared analysis provides an overall representation of the compositional features of the samples tested which lends itself readily to intra-sample comparisons and contrasts. Therefore, it is possible to assemble an infrared fingerprint for each sample tested.

Te emission spectrograph is more effective tool for identifying metals and trace elements. The results of these tests, as well as te results of the two kinds of microscopic examinations will only be dealt with briefly in this paper.

RESULTS

The initial fifty samples run through the infrared test procedure were grouped into compositional modes, four of which are presented here (see fig. 1-4). Each mode includes samples that bear a close molecular relationship to one another.

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Mode 1. Figure 1 displays the spectra of five Hacienda Grande-style samples, four from that period at the type site in Loiza, P.R., and one from the Sorcé site in Vieques, P.R.. Two of the samples are painted ware, two are z-i-c ware, and one is plainware. All of these samples are compositionally similar, which suggests that they were conceivably produced by the same group of potters using the same clay source and techniques. We may therefore assume that each of these stylistic modal types were in use at the same time by the same cultural group. The three white-on-red ceramics from Salt River also displayed a similar pattern, but were tempered with sherd, volcanic ash and feldspar (see Figure 5a,b,c). The Hacienda grande sherds and the painted sherd from Sorcé lacked the sherd and volcanic ash tempering, but contained feldspars. The sample from Sorcé was apparently a trade item from Hacienda Grande. This conclusion is based on the material similarity it shares with the Hacienda Grande samples.

The paste of the painted and z-i-c samples are nearly identical, but they differ in surface finish. Therefore, the presence or absence of a slip or paint may depend on functional distinctions. Z-i-c pottery, as it appears in the archaeological record at the Hacienda Grande site, could have been used as cooking ware. The painting and possibly the slip found on the white-on-red ware would be destroyed if these vessels were used over intense heat, so this ware may have been used for serving food rather than preparing it.

Mode 2. Figure 2 displays the spectra of five sherds, four from Maisabel and one from Canas. Three of these sherds were curvilinear-incises-white-on-red, and two were white-on-red. The paste from these samples is a calcareous clay mixture. Had these vessels been heated it is likely that carbon dioxide would have been released from the calcium carbonate causing the pot to crack and spall. Since the curvilinear-incises-white-on red pots have restricted apertures and are slipped on the interior as well as the exterior, it is possible that fermentation was the intended use for this ware. Successful fermentation requires an anaerobic environment. Vinegar will be produced if the fermenting liquid becomes contaminated by acetobacteria which are often present in the atmosphere. The restricted aperture of the curvilinear-incised-white-on-red vessels would cause the fermenting mash to consolidate on the surface as the mixture works. This process should prevent the outside air from reaching the liquid. Furthermore, the interior slip facilitates the cleansing necessary to ensure avoidance of contamination by unwanted bacteria. The smaller vessels of this type could also have been used as receptacles for inhaling snuff.

One of the two samples that had only white-on-red decoration was from a turtle effigy vessel, and the other of was a body sherd of unknown vessel form. It is likely that these white-on-red vessels were intended to serve a function similar to the curvilinear-white-on-red-incised vessels.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the paste used for this ware is its high aluminum content. It is possible this is the result of substitution of the aluminum for silica in the tetrahedral sheet of the illite clay mineral in addition to the aluminum present in octahedral coordination. The high aluminum content and the calcium carbonate bleach the iron oxides present in the paste mixture causing a lighter coloured body that is well suited to its elaborate decoration.

Mode 3. Figure 3 is a representation of the infra-red spectra of seven samples, six from Punta Candelera and ne from the Hacienda Grande component at the Hacienda Grande site. On of the Punta Candelera samples is white-on-red decorated, one is a plain incense burner and four are z-i-c ware. Only two of the

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last lot are zoned-incised-crosshatched, the third is a modeled lug and the fourth is an anteater effigy. The modeled lug from the Hacienda Grande site is also z-i-c ware. It appears to have been made by the Punta Candelero potters and to have reached the Hacienda Grande site through trade or some other type of interaction. This conclusion is based on its stylistic similarity to the Punta Candelero.

My analysis of this group of samples indicates that limesand was being used to temper what is probably a sedimentary, residual clay. If the clay was from a marine deposition the presence of sodium would diminish the amount of carbon dioxide released from the paste so this ceramic ware could withstand moderate heat.

Another paste type, present in the plainware from Punta Candelero, was probably used for making cooking vessels. This paste, displayed in thin section in figure 5d is well suited for heating because it has a greater quantity of carbonaceous matter and lacks the limesand temper.

The samples from Punta Candelero, like the Mode 2 samples from Maisabel, are characterized by the potters' reliance on raw materials associated with the maritime setting of these sites. The near absence of painted ware at Punta Candelero may have been a matter of convenience. Clearly the potters knew how to make white-on-red painted designs, as evidenced by the solitary sample of a local fragment, but preferred to omit them. The difficulty in obtaining the slip and paint minerals may have caused the potters to discontinue production of this ware.

Mode 4. Figure 4 shows the spectra of three z-i-c ware samples from the Hope Estate site in St. Martin. Two of these had zoned-incised-crosshatched designs and one is zoned punctate. The two crosshatched samples are of identical composition and it is possible that they could be fragments of the same vessel. The zoned-punctate is distinct from the other two but is compositionally related to the degree that it is possible they were made from the same clay source.

Use of the other methods. The analysis presented in Figure 6 was performed with a field dispersion electron scanning microscope. The sample tested was a painted ware sherd from the Salt River site on St. Croix that has a polychrome design. Figures a-d display the composition of the exterior decoration and of a characteristic oxide mass photographed in thin section in Figure 5d, e. the red slip is a 2-1 clay (two tetrahedral silica sheets for every AI octahedral sheet), perhaps montmorillonite. The orange paint is nearly the same except for the presence of some additional sulfur. The white slip is a kaolinite 1-1 clay. It contains additional potassium as do the red and orange paints. The potassium serves as a deflocculant, making the mixture more viscous and easier to apply.

The oxide mass (shown in Figure 6e,f) may have occurred naturally or it may have been added by the potters. It is impossible to determine which until more tests of clay sources have been done. The presence of such oxides in the ceramic body is desirable because they add to the tensile strength and decrease the porosity of the vessel.

The results from the spectrographic emission tests verified some of the data already discussed. One additional element, barium, was found in some of the Maisabel samples by the use of this procedure. Barium may be used as a deflocculant; if calcium carbonate is present, "overdoping" or loss of vicousity may be prevented.

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CONCLUSIONS

In 1964 Rouse introduced the concept of series, devised during the course of his Venezuelan research. (Rouse and Cruxent, 1958-59,(1 );22-29). A series is a set of ceramic styles that have developed one from another. Vescelius (1980) has recently added a concept of subseries, which is a stage within the developmental trajectory. Rouse has traced the continuities and changes in modes from style to style within each series and subseries in order to define and to determine its origin (Rouse 1982). He has also used the three wares discussed in this paper in defining two of the subseries, Cedrosan Saladoid which has painted ware and z-i-c ware as well as plainware, and Huecan which has only z-i-c ware and plainware.

The results of the material analysis clearly demonstrate that the Saladoid potters produced new modes at each site they settled during the final phase of their expansion. The overall pattern of the data also support the idea that z-i-c is a ware, which is a functional distinction, rather than a subseries of series, which is a stylistic distinction.

In conclusion, the compositional similarities between samples with different stylistic motifs indicate that he variable structural modes do not always correlate with corresponding stylistic modes. Material analysis should therefore be used in conjunction with stylistic analysis if the results are to be effectively utilized for developing or testing archaeological hypothesis.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In applying the methods of material analysis of the West Indian Ceramics described here, I have relied on generous help from Dr. Irving Rouse, Emeritus Professor at Yale University, Miguel Rodriguez, Director of the Anthropology Museum at Universidad del Turabo in Caguas, P.R., Peter Siegel, Co-Director of the Maisabel project, Dr. Jay Haviser, Birget Faber Morse, Dr. Homer Liese and Dr. Anthony Philpotts, geology professors at The University of Connecticut, and Gary Levine, laboratory director at the Institute of material Science at The University of Connecticut.

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