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
|