Book Reviews

Abstract

One of the few maps made by the indigenous population of the Americas and dating from the early eighteenth century to have survived, either in original or copied form, is the subject of this article. The map, on deerskin, was given to the new governor of South Carolina, Francis Nicholson, by an unknown Native American. Entitled A Map Describing the Situation of the Several Nations of Indians between South Carolina and the Massissipi River, it has generally been attributed to the Catawba nation. After situating the map in its historical period and detailing the claims for a Catawba origin, these claims are refuted and evidence supplied for a Cherokee origin.     

A case for lead-glaze experimentation by late eighteenth-century Catawba using portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF)

ABSTRACT

Recent research has demonstrated that Catawba ceramic practices changed abruptly and dramatically after 1759 following a devastating smallpox epidemic and subsequent community relocation. Pottery from the historically documented Catawba town of Old Town and others indicate potters adopted new techniques and styles as they adjusted to new economic and social conditions, including copying European vessel forms, experimenting with new ceramic paste recipes, and utilizing new decorative motifs. The identification of four lead-glazed sherds on otherwise Catawba-looking pale-bodied paste raises the possibility that Catawba potters may have also experimented with lead glazing. This paper presents the results of an elemental analysis of nearly 70 ceramic samples using pXRF and multivariate statistical techniques to identify patterns of production within pale-bodied colonowares. The results indicate that the glazed pottery fragments were made with elementally similar clay used by Catawbas in the Twelvemile Creek locality. I argue that in addition to modifying nearly every aspect of their ceramic repertoire, at least one Catawba potter experimented with lead glazing, providing further insights into the emergent Catawba pottery trade.