Hackney Pond vessels represent one of the final Windsor
Tradition types. This type was first identified during a survey of the
lower Connecticut River Valley by McBride (1984). The ceramic assemblage
from Site 61-49 (the Hackney Pond Site) exhibited many stylistic and
morphological
similarities with earlier Niantic and
other decorated Windsor tradition
types dating to the Late Woodland and Contact periods. Previous to this
discovery it was thought that Shantok represented
the final indigenous ceramic type.
The sherd illustrated at the bottom of this page and the reconstructed
vessel above are from the assemblage recovered from Site 61-49 in Haddam,
Connecticut.
A radiocarbon date from Site 61-49 of 180 +/- 40 years B.P. indicates the Hackney Pond type is third contemporary with late Niantic and Shantok types. Two attributes distinguish Hackney Pond ceramics from contemporary types: 1) notching of vessel collars and shoulders and 2) extremely fine grained paste and temper.
Surface Treatment
Hackney Pond ceramics are similar in many ways to Niantic
and Shantok pottery. This type is also equivalent
with 'Stage 4' ceramics identified for Massachusetts (Fowler 1976).
The similarity lies largely in the
triangular design motifs which are common in all three types.
Incised and shell stamp/drag lines are used to create
bands of horizontal, vertical, and opposed oblique lines forming
interlocking triangles. The shoulder is usually
marked by a horizontal band of notching and/or triangular single
point dentate stamping. Occasionally the area inside the rim
collar is decorated with a single band of parallel vertical shell
stamping. Exterior surfaces are often
smoothed above the shoulder and lower portions, including the
base, consist of smoothed over cord marking. Interior surfaces
are always smoothed.
Morphology
Vessel morphology is characterized as globular. Collars are
of very low relief compared with contemporary types. Rim
profiles are straight to slightly everted.
One example of the Hackney Pond type from Site 61-49 showed
double constriction of the neck, though neck constrictions are
shallow. Shoulders of Hackney Pond vessels are not
well pronounced.
Rim diameters of Hackney Pond vessels range from 22-26 cm. Lack of reconstructed specimens precludes further analysis of vessel dimensions.
Technological Attributes
Optical examination and use of neutron activation analysis
indicate Hackney Pond sherds typically have little or no temper
(Lizee, Neff, and Glascock 1995).
Occasionally, extremely fine
grained (2 mm) shell temper has been noted. The lack of
tempering material is associated with extremely fine paste in
Hackney Pond sherds. The clay matrix of this type appears to
have been carefully prepared and impurities, organics, and
inclusions were removed during manufacture. The careful paste
preparation resulted in increasingly thin walled vessels. Most
Hackney Pond sherds found in southern New England are less than 7
mm. in thickness and have been observed as thin as 3 mm.