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JICARILLA CERAMIC ANALYSIS Jicarilla ceramics are important for identifying and dating Jicarilla archaeological sites, and making interpretations regarding trade and landscape use through time. The geochemical and structural analysis of Jicarilla sherds can provide information regarding technological practices and landscape use by focusing on physical properties of sherds not directly visible using morphometric techniques. There are four stages to the research proposed here (1) Collect an adequate sample of micaceous raw clay in order to characterize sources locally and regionally, (2) Subject selected sherds to multiple archaeometric techniques including neutron activation, electron microprobe, and petrographic analysis, (3) Evaluate these methods in terms of the quality and type of information relating to technological practice and source utilization and, (4) Use geochemical and structural properties of ceramics as attributes in ceramic analysis, and assess covariation between morphological and geochemical traits of sherds. Results of analysis may reveal patterning in sherds pertinent to refining Jicarilla Apache ceramic variability. In this section, I briefly review the nature of micaceous clay pottery and archaeological research done with micaceous ceramics in northern New Mexico. I then review geological literature regarding the geochemical analysis of mica for the area. Last, I discuss an alternative methodology for the analysis of Jicarilla ceramics. Utilitarian pottery produced by the Jicarilla is made from self-tempering micaceous clay. Hispanics and Pueblos also use micaceous clay in the production of utilitarian wares. Clays with abundant mica flakes have two favorable properties for potters. They are strong and durable, both in the production phases and in use; and they act as an insulator for cooking. The intentional addition of temper to mica clay is not necessary for the production of mica pots, and this practice is not reported ethnographically for the Jicarilla. The presence of mica schist in Jicarilla pottery types is reported (Warren 1981), but it is not clear if the schist is added or was originally part of the clay matrix. Jicarilla ceramics are utilitarian-wares primarily. Their identification is made difficult by a general lack of surface treatments on sherds, their similarity to Hispanic and Pueblo ceramics, and increased trade between these groups historically. Levine (1984:34) remarks that micaceous ceramics are sufficiently similar morphologically, that petrographic and attribute analysis may be necessary to make distinctions (See Habicht-Mauche 1989 for one such example). Woosley and Olinger (1990) used XRF analysis to distinguish five clay collection locales from sherds taken from sites historically occupied by 19th century Jicarilla. They compare these to sherds from Taos Pueblo that show the utilization of only one source. They conclude that the utilization of many sources should be characteristic of semi-sedentary bands such as the Jicarilla. Geologically, mica clay sources can be lacustrine in origin and the result of geomorphologic processes acting on decomposing mica, or it can develop in situ from mica beds. Northern New Mexico is rich in mica deposits that have been extensively mined during the historic period. Eight mica mining districts are identified for the area. Through XRF analysis of 54 mines distributed among these eight districts, Post and Austin (1993) show that each mica region is geochemically distinct and internally homogenous. The geochemical analysis of mica in New Mexico is an active field given its use in industry today, and there exists abundant geological literature that can act as a foundation for geochemical studies proposed for this research. So far, 24 published references related to the geochemical analysis of mica using various methods have been identified. Several of these references report on results using Electron Microbeam techniques to analyze micas from Taos and the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. (Ehrenberg and Perkins 1977; Lumpkin 1986). Published reports, in addition to geological maps, will form the basis for the selection, analysis, and interpretation of mica clays. Given the nature of clays and cultural practices of ceramic production, the archaeometric analysis of sherds is notoriously difficult. Yet many researchers hope to find exact source locations for sherds and interpret results in terms of social phenomena. The approach taken here, however, is slightly different. Interpretations are not dependent upon matching sherds to exact source locations. The goal of using different archaeometric techniques is to account for variability in sherds due to cultural practice and those due to source location. Neutron Activation analysis will provide a bulk geochemical signature representing plastic and aplastic elements of sherds. In some cases, Neutron Activation Analysis may pinpoint clay extraction locales, but the contribution of different temper inclusions to this signal should be assessed with petrographic analysis. Petrographic analysis also can demonstrate aspects of technological practice visible in the structure of clay pastes (e.g. the addition of temper, firing temperatures, or clay mixing). Lastly, electron microprobe techniques will be used to analyze individual mica flakes in pottery pastes and slips, information that can be related to geochemically distinct mica regions in northern New Mexico. A lready over seventy samples of raw micaceous clay representing approximately 20 discrete clay sources among 5 mica districts in Northern New Mexico have been analyzed at the Ford Nuclear Reactor in Ann Arbor, Michigan. These collections are based on two years of field reconnaissance working with local micaceous potters, historical references to clay collection locales, and micaceous clay reports provided by Dr. George Austin of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico. Dr. Austin works extensively with New Mexico clays. He currently is involved in a long-term management program to record and describe clay collection locales and analyze these using XRF techniques. To date, he has described 14 micaceous clay deposits actively used by potters today. Initial results of neutron activation analysis indicate that clay groupings are fairly discreet. Several of these sources have been matched with sherds from Jicarilla Apache sites, but more work is needed to refine these groupings and separate cultural from geological sources of variability among sherds and clay samples. This will require a more systematic approach to clay collection and sherd analysis techniques.The following pages contain both maps of collection locales, photos, and findings of initial neutron activation analysis.
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