Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) of Shell-Tempered Ceramics in the Ancestral Caddo Region: Rethinking Methods

The geochemical analysis of shell-tempered ceramics in the ancestral Caddo region has been a matter of confusion since the mid-1990s. While Caddo archaeologists have long perceived most or all of the shell-tempered ceramics in East Texas to have originated from two different areas within the Red River basin, the geochemical data and interpretations remain inconsistent with that idea. This poster takes another look at this dataset, and considers an approach that was initially put forth by MURR, and then seemingly abandoned. Using only the geochemical data from shell-tempered sherds, we take a closer look at the contributions of calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), sodium (Na), and manganese (Mn), and illustrate the spatial and temporal consistencies that can be used to establish and expand arguments for the trade and/or exchange of shell-tempered ceramics from multiple locations in the Red River basi