At 11:27 AM -0500 3/18/02, Ron May wrote:
>What would be cool to know if there are southern regional artifact
>patterns among ethnic groups, such as Creole that are different. I
>should think that ethnic groups brought diverse consumer patterns
>that adapted to local situations. Certainly food items, such as
>recipe elements for sauces would seem distinctive. Sometimes, I
>think historic archaeologists lump too much and seek too broad a
>pattern to ever reconstruct regional patterns.

No, Ron, I don't think the regional patterns are being ignored.
However, I fear they are generalized too much.  Is there a generic
southern black pattern, or is there an ethnic Italian yard decor? Or
are there nuances?

Yes, indeed, there are regional and ethnic patterns that have been
studied in some detail.  The swept yard, for example, is well
documented. the practice of sweeping the yard leaves a little ring
around the perimeter of small artifacts. The swept yard is a distinct
Southern, not exclusively black, phenomenon.

Then of course there are the several articles on ethnic decoration of
houses in Northern cities.
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***************************  Ned Heite  ([log in to unmask])

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