Edmond A. Boudreaux

Mississippian period ceramic assemblages in the Nashville Basin region of Tennessee are traditionally viewed as being overwhelmingly shell tempered. Our petrographic analyses of 30 ceramic sherds from three Middle Cumberland sites have revealed, however, the presence of grog, or crushed potsherds, in shell-tempered pastes in over 40% of our specimens. In our study, serving vessels are often tempered with both shell and grog, with one bowl rim containing solely grog. Cooking vessels tend to be tempered with coarse shell and contain only incidental grog. Grog tempering alongside shell has been only occasionally noted elsewhere in the regional literature, but the lack of its widespread recognition may be due to the difficulty of identification without the assistance of a petrographic microscope. It is not clear whether the addition of small grog particles to a shell-tempered paste offers any immediate functional advantages. Other studies suggest that grog temper could improve the workability of the clay, may reduce thermal shock, and may enhance a vessel's resistance to mechanical stress. The strong correlation of fine grog and shell temper with bowls, however, may constitute a low-visibility horizon marker for an extensive swath of the Late Mississippian culture area.

Attributes of Mississippian public architecture have been used to infer aspects of social organization and political economy, but the inclusion of artifactual datasets in these interpretations has occurred less frequently. As a result, we often do not know much about the activities actually associated with public buildings and spaces. This article discusses several public contexts at the Town Creek site (31Mg2), a single-mound Mississippian civic-ceremonial center in central North Carolina that was occupied between AD 1150–1400. Architectural remains and multiple artifact classes are used to explore the activities associated with several public buildings in the mound area at Town Creek. Premound and mound-summit public spaces at Town Creek were associated with food consumption at multiple scales, some of which is consistent with feasting, the consumption of special foods, craft production, and ritual activities that included smoking and tattooing. Some of these activities appear to have been integrative and inclusive while others took place in smaller, more inaccessible spaces, which suggests they were more exclusive in nature. Our findings are consistent with the idea that crafting and the performance of rituals in public spaces were important aspects of leadership at Town Creek.