Hi Roberta:

Sorry to have taken so long to get back to you re kinds of ceramics you guys
have found on the reservaton.  My first question would be, do you have any
deposits that are tightly dated to the mid and late 19th century?  If so,
what are the more common patterns that are included?   In most mid- to late-
19th century domestic deposits that I've worked with in New York City, we
tend to find more plain white ironstone molded in various patterns and
relatively little transfer printed (the data for some of the sites are in an
article in Historical Archaeology vol 33 no 1).  I think that these choices
depend on "taste' - the idea of what is appropriate, to set boundaries around
people who are appropriate (creating and maintaining the class structure),
and the meanings of domestic life and the different meals that help to make
it up.  In New YOrk, middle class families/women seem to have prefered
ironstone in the "Gothic" pattern for family meals, perhaps because it fit in
well with contemporary ideas about the "Christian" home.

So, as Ron asked, what are you finding for that time period?

Diana Wall