Vinette

Defining Attributes

Vinette is an Early to Middle Woodland ware, characterized by crushed rock temper, and cord-marked exterior and interior surfaces. It is named for the Vinette site in New York, and is tied to the Point Peninsula culture of the Northeast. The type includes Vinette I and Vinette 2 dentate stamped variants. The latter have not been found in Maryland; however, some of the interior/exterior cord-marked ceramics recovered from Early to Middle Woodland contexts in Maryland may be Vinette variants (Wall 1992).

Chronology

Stratigraphic sequences and radiometric dating indicate that Vinette dates from
ca. 600 B.C. – A.D. 200.

Distribution

Vinette ceramics are found along the east coast from New England to Maryland and west to central New York and the Ottawa valley of eastern Ontario. In Maryland, it has been found primarily in rockshelter and in surface collections on sites in the western part of the state (Gross 1972; Stewart 1981).

Description  

Paste/Temper
The temper consists of high percentages of crushed quartz or other rock fragments greater than 3 mm in diameter. Sherd thickness is variable, and the clay has an average Moh’s scale hardness of 2.0. Color ranges from buff through gray to black, and interiors are usually gray to black.

Surface Treatment
The exterior is completely covered by cord-marking that tends to be vertical to the lip but is often oriented in various directions. Interior cord-marking tends to run parallel to the rim.

Decoration
None

Morphology
Vinette wares were coil-constructed with paddle malleation. Coil breaks are frequently observed on sherds. Rims are usually straight to outflaring and thinner toward the lip. Vessels are conoidal in shape, with elongated bodies and conoidal bases. Lips are rounded and often almost pointed in profile.

Defined in the Literature
Vinette ceramics are defined in the literature for New York and southern Ontario, where they have been found in stratified contexts (Ritchie and MacNeish 1949; Spence et al. 1990). Variants of Vinette have been recovered from areas south of New York along the Coastal Plain, as well as in the Appalachian highlands. Maryland appears to represent the Southern extreme of the range for this type. Early descriptions of Vinette ceramics may be found in Ritchie (1944).

Type Site
Vinette Site, NE of Finger Lakes, New York.

Maryland sites with Vinette components
Chickadee Rock Shelter (18WA13), Bushey’s Cavern (18WA18); Barton Complex (18AG3, 18AG8)

Radiocarbon Dates
None from Maryland.

References

Gross 1972; Ritchie and MacNeish 1949; Ritchie 1944; Stewart 1981; Spence et al. 1990; Wall 1992