| The widespread use of mineral-tempered pottery coincides with an increase of starchy seeds in the diet of Woodland period people in the first millennium after Christ. Ceramic pot sherds from four sites along the lower Missouri and central Mississippi river valleys are analyzed to determine change in their performance characteristics resulting from their use as vessels for cooking seeds.; Measurements of vessel wall thickness, temper type and temper particle size indicate that pots were made to be stronger and more efficient conductors of heat between the dates of A.D. 1 and A.D. 1,000. Vessel walls became thinner, matching a trend documented for sites from western Illinois. The use of thermally efficient temper types, particularly limestone, increases. Limestone is shown to effectively strengthen the ceramic body. Temper particle size, analyzed using radiographic techniques, remains stable, but is of a size that allows for ease of manufacture without sacrificing thermal properties. The study demonstrates the usefulness of a selectionist approach, implemented through analytical techniques grounded in materials science. |
