MIDCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Salt Manufacture and Trade from the Perspective of Avery Island, Louisiana
Ian W. Brown
pp. 113-151
Salt is one of the invisible items of trade. In the Eastern Woodlands there are a number of excellent descriptions of historic Indians making and trading salt, but these activities are difficult to trace archaeologically. Research conducted at several saline sites in the midcontinent has revealed the intensity of salt production within the last millennium, but because it is so hard to identify the means of transport, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of salt trade on areas outside of salines. This paper addresses the prehistoric importance of salt production at the Salt Mine Valley site (16Ib23) on Avery Island, Louisiana. The focus of the discussion is on the Petite Anse phase component revealed in Locale 5. This protohistoric phase is believed to reflect the movement of people, possibly related to the Tunica, Taënsa, or Koroa Indians, to coastal Louisiana for the prime purpose of producing salt for trade.

The Enigma of Saskatchewan Blackduck: Pottery from the Hanson (FgNi-50) and Hokness (FgNi-51) Sites
David Meyer, Margaret Hanna, and Doug Frey
pp. 153-175
Blackduck pottery is uncommon in Saskatchewan, having been recovered from 10 sites, almost all in the northern boreal forest zone. In most cases only one or two vessels are represented. The recovery of sherds representing five Blackduck vessels from the Hanson and Hokness sites, two adjacent sites in the aspen parklands of central Saskatchewan, must therefore be considered significant. The Hanson and Hokness vessels are thicker and have less consolidated paste than is usual in Blackduck found farther to the east, although the decorative motifs are generally the same. However, their coarser features are consistent with Saskatchewan Blackduck pottery in general. This consistency is taken as evidence that this pottery was produced in the context of an established cultural tradition in this region and is not simply a result of trade or the occasional in-movement of outsiders.

Oneota End Scrapers and Experiments in Hide Dressing: An Analysis from the La Crosse Locality
Robert F. Boszhardt and Joelle McCarthy
pp. 177-199
End scrapers are common artifacts at many late prehistoric Oneota tradition sites, particularly on the eastern margins of the Great Plains. Such tools are relatively scarce at Oneota sites nearer the Great Lakes. This distribution suggests that scrapers may be associated with bison hide dressing. This pattern is supported by point/scraper indices from site assemblages across the Prairie Peninsula. Analysis of wear on end scrapers from Oneota archaeological contexts and on a series used in experimental hide preparation indicates that Oneota scrapers from La Crosse, Wisconsin, locality sites were used for dry-hide working. These results imply that Oneota groups returning from communal bison hunts on the "Little Prairies" of southern Minnesota brought back not only bison scapulas for hoes, but also dry hides for final processing at La Crosse.

A Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the Parker Festooned Ceramic Type
Timothy J. Abel
pp. 201-256
The Parker Festooned ceramic type has been called "the most garish ceramic form in the Great Lakes area." Indeed, due to its unique motif, it is easily recognized in any Great Lakes ceramic assemblage. Over the years, however, the concept has grown vague and ambiguous-due in large part to increasingly inclusive generalizations that lack accurate seriation data. At this point, Parker Festooned is perhaps the least understood, yet most widely known, of all the ceramic types present in the Great Lakes. Recent research has begun to tackle the immense job of seriating Parker Festooned. Before that can begin, however, it is essential that we adopt a consistent definition of the type. This article proposes a new taxonomic model that gives renewed perspective to the Parker Festooned ceramic type by clearly showing its temporal and spatial dynamics within seven northwest Ohio assemblages.