Were there toy marbles found at either site and what kind please?    Diane Rice
 
Carl Steen wrote:
 
> Listmates--I've been analyzing ceramics from Fort Johnson, on Charleston
> Harbor (South Carolina) recently. The situation basically is that FJ has been
> occupied since the early 18th century. During the Civil War it was built up
> with earthen fortifications, which were subsequently leveled. In addition
> later development spread artifacts far and wide.
>
> One of the main occupations that we excavated was free African-American
> squatters' settlement that seems to have been in place from about 1865--1906.
> The ceramic collection is varied, and consists both of purchased wares and
> "laterally recycled" pieces (how's that for jargon Ned Heite?) that were in
> active use, and sherds from dozens of vessels that were probably used at other
> loci (unless somehow a few lead glazed slipware vessels survived into the late
> 19th c....). So the problem is sorting out the later pieces from the earlier.
>
> My question is, has anyone looked into the color palettes used on 19th century
> refined industrial earthenwares in any detail, and is the information
> accesible? I'm sure that we can all look at a mid 19th century polychrome hand
> painted vessel and separate it from an early example, but has anyone
> quantified this? Illustrated the palettes in color on a web site? In this I am
> asking about not just hand painted wares, but the various permutations of
> annular wares---mocha, finger painted, etc. Any input will be appreciated.
>
> Second question, I have been doing vesselization (starting with undecorated
> "whiteware") and wonder if anyone has developed typologies for rim and base
> form, body shape, and other characteristics? I have been making up my own as I
> go, but why reinvent the wheel? Any ideas?
>
> For more background see our web site
>   HTTP://www.encore-net.com/diachronic
> (photos of whiteware are in the current research section). Any help will be
> appreciated.
>
> Also, I have recently added a paper on excavations at John de la Howe's Lethe
> Farm site that may be of interest. I transcribed his estate (will) inventory,
> estate sale, will, and included those just for fun. They make fascinating
> reading  (for weird people like me, anyway). Why, for instance, would cows,
> pigs, and a cat be included in an inventory of the items in the main house
> dining room?  Comments are welcome.