Mockley

Defining Attributes

Mockley is a Middle Woodland ware, characterized by crushed shell-tempering and net-impressed or cord-marked exterior surfaces, a clayey texture, and medium to large vessels. Defined types include Mockley Net-Impressed, Mockley Cord-Marked, and Mockley Plain.

Chronology

Stratigraphic sequences and radiometric dating indicate that Mockley dates from ca. A.D. 200 – A.D. 900.

Distribution

Mockley is found throughout the Western and Eastern Shore Coastal Plains in Maryland. This ware is commonly found in the Coastal Plain in Delaware south to the James River in Virginia. Small amounts of Mockley have been reported from rockshelter sites in the Piedmont and Great Valley regions of Maryland.

Description

Paste/Temper
The paste consists of non-compact, medium-fine clay, often with a distinctively laminated structure. The texture is clayey, soft, and friable, with a Moh’s scale hardness of 1.5 – 2.0. Mockley vessels are tempered with coarsely crushed unburnt shell, usually oyster.Temper size varies from very fine – 5 mm thick. The shell tempering comprises 20% – 30% of the paste. Accidental inclusions consist of angular or rounded particles of hematite, limonite, clay, and soft limey concretions. Frequently the temper has been leached out, leaving flat angular holes of varying sizes. Surface colors range from reddish rust to reddish-tan to black through light brown or tan. Smudge marks are rare on exteriors while interiors are
sometimes evenly smudged. 

Surface Treatment
Exterior surfaces are usually net-impressed or cord-marked, and less frequently smoothed-over. Net-impressions, the most common treatment, resulted from malleation with loose, open knotted textiles on a damp surface. The net was wrapped either loosely around the hand or a paddle, and applied with little to no overlapping. The knot spacing ranges from 2 mm – 6 mm apart. Cord-marking was produced with a cord-wrapped paddle. Impressions are oriented vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and occasionally in criss-cross patterns, or various combinations. Stephenson et al. (1963:106) note that cord-marking was made with medium to coarse cordage that was loosely wrapped around a paddle at intervals of 3 mm – 10 mm.

Interior surfaces are usually smoothed, but scraped-over cord-marking or net-impressions, totally scraped, or smoothed-over scraped treatments have been reported.

Decoration
Mockley ware is generally undecorated but occasionally the area below the rim was smoothed over and decorated. Crude, broad-line incised chevrons, diamonds, cross-hatches, or parallel lines, some filled with punctations, have been recorded (Egloff and Potter 1982:103).

Morphology
Mockley vessels are coil-constructed with paddle-malleated surfaces. Coil widths range from 12 mm – 16 mm, and are usually flattened in welding. Bodies are hemispherical to conoidal or straight-sided from the rim to the midpoint, and taper toward the base. Bases are rounded or semiconical. Lips are usually rounded or wedge-shaped. Rims are vertical or slightly flaring, but inverted and everted forms have been found. Vessel sizes range from medium to large. Sherds and vessel sections suggest diameters of 20 cm – 35 cm and depths of 20 cm – 40 cm. Rims are 6 mm – 10 mm thick. Bases are 10 mm – 19 mm thick. Vessel wall thickness varies from 8 mm – 11 mm.

Defined in the Literature
Evans (1955) defined three pottery types that were identical to Mockley: Chickahominy Cord-Marked, Potts Net-Impressed, and Potts Roughened (Egloff and Potter 1982:103). Stephenson et al. (1963: 105), however, was the first to formally establish the name Mockley, based on pottery recovered from the Accokeek Creek site (18PR8) in Prince Georges County, Maryland. He divided the ware into three types: Mockley Cord-Marked, Mockley Net-Impressed, and Mockley Plain.

Type Site
Accokeek Creek (18PR8)

Maryland Sites with Mockley components
Dorr (18AN19)*, Bathhouse (18AN37)*, Ruf (18AN65), Martins Pond (18AN141), Luce Creek (18AN143), Hillsmere Pond I (18AN197), Rose Haven (18AN279)*, Duck’s Run (18AN546)*, Allen’s Fresh #1 (18CH55)*, Loyola Retreat (18CH58), Otter II (18PR272)*, Abells Wharf (18ST53)*, Chickadee Rockshelter (18WA13), Nassawango (18WO23)*, Reeves (18WC15)*

* collections at the MAC Lab

References

Crane and Griffin 1966; Egloff and Potter 1982; Evans 1955;  Griffith 1982; Stephenson et al. 1963; Stewart 1981