Preview
Description
Although bottles with medium/tall necks are found in the region around Memphis, this very narrow “carafe”-style of bottle neck does not typically appear in the Memphis area and probably represents a non-local vessel that was brought to Chucalissa from elsewhere in the larger Mississippian cultural sphere (the regions around New Madrid, MO and Cumberland, TN have both been suggested as possible places of origin). Indeed, bottles with long necks often show evidence of holding liquid specifically, so perhaps this bottle journeyed to Chucalissa for the purpose of transporting a liquid-based good for trade. this vessel belongs to a style of Mississippian ceramics known as Bell Plain. Bell Plain style pottery is made from a clay which tends to be dark grey in color and is tempered with very fine shell fragments. These vessels are usually formed by the coiling process: thin rolls of clay are used to build up the shape of the vessel around a flat base, and the interior and exterior surfaces are thoroughly smoothed giving the finished vessels a lustrous, almost soapy appearance.
Recommended Citation
Museum, Chucalissa, "Carafe Neck Jar" (2022). Artifacts. 65.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/chnash-museum-chucalissa-gallery2/65
Keywords
Pottery; Jar; Bell Plain Jar; Carafe Neck Jar; Mississippian
