January's artifact of the month is this Caddo Indian ceramic bottle from south Bossier Parish.
This miniature bottle is from the McClelland
archaeological site in south Bossier Parish. It is about 4 inches wide and 3 inches tall. The McClelland site was probably part of a
village belonging to the Nakasas, a Caddoan group that occupied the area as
late as 1700, when they were visited by the French explorer Bienville. Caddo Indians
are renowned for their high-quality and attractive pottery. This bottle is
decorated in a style known as “Keno Trailed”, a late prehistoric to early
historic (ca. AD 800-1700) design for fine (non-utilitarian) ware. Keno
‘trails’ were wide curvilinear incisions. Incised patterns were made while the
clay was still soft or only semi-hard, causing deeper lines than engraved patterns,
which are made when the clay is hardened.
Be sure to stop by the History Center to see this ceramic bottle in person! We also have other artifacts from the McClelland site on display in one of our central table cases.
No comments:
Post a Comment