Pottery Classification and Cultural Models in Southern New England Prehistory

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Abstract
Pottery is a major component of many prehistoric sites in northeastern North America. In southern New England, it appears to be the primary means by which archaeologists may establish finely delineated regional cultural sequences. Yet there are few comprehensive pottery studies from the region. Major reasons include controversies over the appropriate classification system and the utility of limited contextual materials. Recent research in Connecticut indicates that a combination of attribute analysis and typology provides maximum information in the reconstruction of cultural histories and processes, facilitates inter-site comparisons, and eliminates the need for re-analysis of collections. Application of the attribute/type method provides data that support and expand the Windsor ceramic sequences formulated by Rouse (1947) and Smith (1950) and suggests a gradual transition in material cultural change rather than the model of abrupt, periodic replacements that has often been used to explain cultural sequences and change in the Northeast.

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