Preview
Description
These sherds belong to a style of Mississippian pottery known as Avenue Polychrome, so named for the red, white, and black paint used to decorate this style of pottery. Avenue Polychrome is a relatively rare type of Mississippian pottery which appears late in the Late Mississippian Period. Evidence suggests that Avenue Polychrome decoration was used only on closed containers like globular bottles and stirrup-spouted bottles, and not on open vessels such as bowls or jars. The painted decoration on both of these sherds seems to belong to a Mississippian symbol known as a sun-circle, which may indicate that the complete ceramic vessel(s) was/were intended for use in a ceremony or ritual related to the spiritualized, perhaps deified position of the sun itself within the ancient Mississippian system of belief known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
Date
1400-1540
Recommended Citation
Museum, Chucalissa, "Avenue Polychrome Sherds" (2022). Artifacts. 112.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/chnash-museum-chucalissa-gallery2/112
Keywords
Pottery; Pottery Sherds; Avenue Polychrome; Mississippian
