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Diachronic Artifactual Evidence 161 6.909, df = 1, P .25). In summary, the availability of the fancy beakers and bowls (serving and eating containers) increased after the Edelhardt phase and again after the Lohmann phase. Itis noteworthy that the density offineware vessels in Stirling-phase garbage mirrors that seen on the Kunnemann Mound (Pauketat 1993). In all likelihood, the amount of fineware used, broken, and discarded depended in large measure upon the social status of the household orthe location ofelite-sponsored activities and rites atCahokia. Ramey Incised jars may not have been linked with social status in the same way as fineware beakers and bowls. Emerson (I989) and I (Pauketat and Emerson 1991) have argued that the context, regional distribution, physical characteristics, and standardized design elements of Ramey Incised jars support the contention that these pots were manufactured under centralized conditions and dispersed from Mississippian centers into the immediate hinterlands (and beyond). The pots are found at most Stirlingphase rural sites but are relatively uncommon, comprising a small proportion ofany homestead refuse assemblage (e.g., Emerson and Jackson 1984; 2.0 -r-----------------------r60 "i::" 1.5 i J.! -'3 ::I ~ ~ 1.0 I!! S ~ • c .! 0.5 Subphaae Figure 6.14. Fineware Vessel Density and Ubiquity 50 40 30 20 10 - t\I en en 162 Diachronic Artifactual Evidence Fortier 1985; Hanenberger 1990a, 1990b; Jackson 1990a, 1990b; Mehrer 1982; Milner 1983, 1984a; Pauketat 1986, 1989). Ramey Incised jars were not small serving and eating containers, like fineware dishes. Some were capable of containing large volumes (more than fifty liters) of foodstuffs and probably were not used on a daily basis in the ordinary consumption of foods. If Ramey Incised jars were centrally made, then it is reasonable that the pots were produced initially for use in centralized gatherings or ritual events, where a large storage or cooking pot might have been required. Subsequent to such an event, the containers could have facilitated the redistribution of foods or medicines (Emerson 1989; Pauketat and Emerson 1991). Thus the simple and redundant representations and synecdoches of mythical sky-world deities, the sky arch, sun/fire, and perhaps serpentine form of Ramey iconography would have engaged the Mississippian commoner initially in a different context than the complex iconography of a fineware pot. These motifs, arranged according to a quadripartition of the vessel design field, are inferred to have expressed basic cosmological principles not unlike those associated with other late-prehistoric and historic Native American groups of eastern North America and the Plains. The pots so embellished are interpreted as a medium for elite-commoner communication, the design and the mode ofdispersal defining in effectthe relationship between the elite, the nonelite, and the cosmos (Pauketat and Emerson 1991). Given this symbolic interpretation, the appearance of these jars during the Stirling-1 subphase is quite important as it correlates with the initial construction of the Post-Circle Monument at Tract 15A (figure 6.15). Their frequency in the 15A-DTrefuse oftheStirling-1 through Moorehead-1 subphases, consistently making up around 20 to 22 percent of the jars, bespeaks their prominent and long-standing place in Cahokian vessel assemblages. Time-Series Summary One means of summarizing the artifact-density time-series information is by converting the weighted density figures into z-scores ([observed value-mean value]/standard deviation). The z-scores provide a standardized perspective into raw-value diversity. The standardized scores of the 15A-DT exotic artifacts and craft-goods residues that exceed the value of one standard deviation (Le., a z-score 1.0) indicate occurr ences of extreme density value. The 15A-DT z-scores illustrate four principal patterns (table 6.6). First, Diachronic Artifactual Evidence 163 6 30 5 4- Ramey jar/m3 CO) -0- % of Jars • .e 4 20 .. III .. .., ~ 3 '0 >- ~ ~ III 2 10 a: Subphase Figure 6.15. Ramey Incised Jar Density and Percent of Total Jars there are few artifacts in the EM-2, EM-3, and L-1 material assemblages that stand out against a standardized background: Mill Creek chert density fluctuates wildly between the EM-2 and EM-3 subphases; fineware vessels (and many other exotic goods and craft items) are few in number. Second, the high densities of many items in the L-2 and L-3 subphases are indicated as positive z-scores greater than or equal to 1.0. Exotic cherts, silicified sediment, copper, galena, hematite, basalt debitage, large bifacial tools, projectile points, and mineral crystals in the L-2 and L-3 subphase...

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