Book review

Herman C. Kemp. Annotated bibliography of bibliographies on Indonesia. xvii, 433pp. Leiden: KITLV Press, 1990. (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde. Bibliographical series, 17.) Guilders 70.     

Using hearths for temper: petrographic analysis of Middle Woodland charcoal-tempered pottery in Northeast Florida

Charcoal-tempered pottery is uncommon in North America, but was produced with notable frequency in Northeast Florida from ca. AD 300–600. Thirty-six thin sections of pottery were analyzed by petrographic analysis and compared to 10 clay samples in order to characterize the paste of charcoal-tempered wares in terms of charcoal and mineralogical composition and abundance, assess the number of clay sources used to make the pottery, identify the species of wood represented in charcoal inclusions, and infer techniques of ceramic production. This analysis identified four temper categories, three texture groups, and three distinct clay resources used to make charcoal-tempered pottery, all of which were likely local to Northeast Florida. Identified wood taxa include pine (Pinus sp.), cedar (cf. Juniperus sp.), cypress (cf. Taxodium sp.), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum), with pine suspected to be the most common. These genera of charred wood, which exhibit minimal shrinkage in the samples, along with the prevalence of bone and grog inclusions, indicate that hearth contents were processed as temper, sometimes in combination with quartz sand. Potential reasons for the use of hearth contents as temper are considered.     

Book reviews

Bouwstoffen voor de sociaal‐economische geschiedenis van Indonesië van ca. 1800 tot 1940; een beschrijvende bibliographie: Koloniale Studiën 1916–1941, Koloniaal Tijdschrift 1912–1941, by Gerard J Telkamp. Amsterdam: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, 1977. 89pp. D.F1. 15.

Tetum Ghosts and Kin — fieldwork in an Indonesian community, by David Hicks. Explorations in World Ethnology, General Editors, Robert B Edgerton and L L Langness. Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Co 1976, 143 pp, 24 p1, 13 figs. IBSNO‐87484–368–5.

Southeast Asian Materials in the Australian National University Library: A Programme for Development and Use, by Cecil Hobbs. Canberra: Australian National University Library, 1975. iv, 180pp.     

Point/counter point: the accuracy and feasibility of digital image techniques in the analysis of ceramic thin sections

Digital Imaging Analysis has been proposed as an efficient alternative to traditional petrography for some applications. This paper tests that proposition in the measurement of temper size and abundance in four pottery thin sections from the Pevey Site, Mississippi. The findings of both studies are presented here and the relative merits of the two techniques are evaluated in terms of accuracy, precision, cost, and time.     

Provenance of Weeden Island “sacred” and “prestige” vessels: implications for specialized ritual craft production

ABSTRACT

Weeden Island mortuary ceremonialism united distinct cultures across the Late Woodland social landscape. The Weeden Island pottery series is central to recognizing regional ceremonial parity, with prestige (elite) and sacred (cult) wares showing strong similarities among distant sites. Finely made vessels and their ostensibly shamanistic themes led archaeologists to consider the liturgical and political roles of ritual specialists, whose tasks might have included vessel manufacture in centralized locations. This research evaluates the prospect of craft specialization and centralized production of sacred and prestige wares through comparisons of the provenance of vessels from three Florida localities: Palmetto Mound (8LV2), the mounds at Melton (8AL5, 8AL7), and McKeithen (8CO17). Results of Neutron Activation Analysis and petrographic analysis show that the majority of the sampled vessels were made far from the mounds in which they were deposited, from a variety of locations but especially within the area between Kolomoki and the Tallahassee Hills. We argue that production was not centralized but may have been specialized to the extent that an integrated ritual network was necessary to coordinate rules of manufacture and use that were evidently observed by all participants.     

Book reviews

A. K. Ogloblin. Madurskiy yazyk i lingvisticheskaya tipologiya. 200 pp. Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo Leningradskogo Universiteta, 1986.

Rahmah Bujang. Boria: a form of Malay theatre. xv, 165 pp. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, [1987]. (Local History and Memoirs.)

J. van Baal and others. West Irian: a bibliography. [By] J. van Baal, K. W. Galis, and R. M. Koentjaraningrat. xiv, 307 pp. Dordrecht; Cinnaminson: Foris Publications, 1984. (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde. Bibliographical series, 15.)