INTERPRETING PREHISTORIC POTTERY FROM 9DW276 (RICE FARM), DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA**

Recent archaeological investigations at 9DW276 (Rice Farm) in Dawson County, Georgia have recovered prehistoric pottery from surface and plow zone contexts at the site. Although this pottery was not recovered from undisturbed, primary contexts, it still represents the site broadly, particularly its temporal associations and economic networks. After stylistic analysis and quantification, the pottery recovered from the site attests to occupation spanning the Middle Woodland to Mississippian periods, demonstrating the potential longevity of settlements at the site. This paper presents the results of the preliminary stylistic and quantitative analysis of the pottery assemblage from Rice Farm. Our results from this assemblage suggest the bulk of the pottery dates from the Middle Woodland with lesser quantities of Late Woodland and Middle Mississippian pottery. We interpret this data to suggest that the site was most densely occupied during the Middle Woodland, with fewer inhabitants during the Late Woodland and Mississippian periods. This reduction likely occurred concomitant to the consolidation of power by the Etowah site