Coulbourn

Coulbourn is a late Early to early Middle Woodland ware, characterized by a temper of clay nodules or fragments, and cord-marked or net-impressed exterior surface treatments. Defined types include Coulbourn Cord-Marked and Coulbourn Net-Impressed.

Stratigraphic sequences and radiometric dating indicate that Coulbourn dates from ca. 500 B.C. – A.D. 1.

Coulbourn is found primarily along the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Coast drainages, as well as on the southern Delmarva Peninsula, in Kent and Sussex counties. It has also been found in the Upper Eastern Shore region of Maryland.

Paste/Temper
The temper consists of inclusions of fired clay or crushed ceramic sherds, often referred to as grog.

Surface Treatment
Exterior surfaces are cord-marked or net-impressed. Griffith and Artusy (1977:15) noted that the orientation of cord-marking on sherds recovered from the Wolfe Neck site is most commonly perpendicular to oblique, but also includes horizontal marks or a combination of the three styles. A combination of horizontal and perpendicular marks is the norm on Coulbourn Net-Impressed sherds. Interior surfaces range from scraped-over cord or net impressed, totally scraped, smoothed-over scraped, to completely smooth. The most commonly encountered treatment is scraped.

Morphology
Coulbourn is coil-constructed with paddle malleation. Vessels have a conoidal shape, with direct rims. Lips are flattened, rounded, and mostly smooth, but some have been found with net or cord impressions. Vessel wall thickness ranges from 7 mm – 14 mm, with a mean of 10 mm. Vessel walls are thick and uneven.

Defined in the Literature. Coulbourn is an Adena Complex ceramic. Custer (1984) and Griffith and Artusy (1977) have noted similarities to Wolfe Neck and Popes Creek ceramics.

Radiocarbon Dates
Date	Sample #	Site	Association	Reference
2240 + 60; B.C. 290	UGa-1763	Wilgus, DE (7S-K-21)	Coulbourn/Wolfe Neck	Artusy 1976
2325 + 60; B.C. 375	UGa-1224	Wolfe Neck, DE (7S-D-10)	Coulbourn	Griffith and Artusy 1977:15