Shantok is the latest ceramic type within the Windsor Tradition. This type is contemporary with the late Niantic and Hackney Pond types.

Surface Treatment and Decoration
The stylistic attributes which characterize Shantok pottery can be seen in the contemporary Hackney Pond and Niantic types. All three types include incised and shell stamped designs on the vessel collar. These designs consist of parallel bands of horizontal, vertical and oblique lines which are zoned to form square, rectangular, and triangular designs. In eastern Massachusetts, castellated pots fitting the Shantok tradition are grouped together under the label of 'Stage 4' pottery (Fowler 1976). In New York there is a similar horizon of castellated vessels which appears within the late Owasco and Iroquois traditions (Ritchie 1980; Snow 1980; Niemczycki 1984; Bradley 1987)

Since stylistic and morphological attributes which define Shantok as a tradition can be seen in earlier local Windsor forms, the validity of Shantok as a tradition should be re-evaluated. Shantok ceramics also lack sufficient time depth to qualify as a tradition. Shantok ceramics have only been recovered from Contact Period sites (ca. A.D. 1600-1700). As mentioned in previous sections, the identification of Shantok as a tradition may have been the product of an out-dated belief that the Mohegan and Pequot tribes of southern New England represented populations which migrated into the region just prior to contact. However, ceramics which have been identified as Shantok have been recovered from historic period settlements associated with every tribal group from in the Long Island Sound region (Salwen 1968; Ritchie 1980; Simmons 1970). In all regions where the Shantok tradition has been identified, it is described as both late in development and local in nature. For this reason, I propose a re-alignment of Shantok as a type within the local Windsor ceramic tradition. To avoid confusion with the earlier tradition label, I further propose the label Shantok Castellated because the decorated castellations that are commonly cited as the defining feature of Shantok pottery appear in earlier Selden Creek and Niantic assemblages.

A variety of decorative elements and tools were used in the decoration of Shantok pottery. The common motif within the Shantok Castellated type includes interlocking triangles executed by shell stamping, stamp/drag, and/or incising techniques. Notching at the base of collar and/or shoulder region is also common on Shantok Castellated pots. Applied elements such as nodes and lobes are usually decorated with incised horizontal lines bisected by a single vertical line.

On the interior surface, the area inside the lip is occasionally marked by a single band of parallel vertical shell impressions. Castellations are often decorated on the interior. At several sites anthropomorphic forms have been incorporated into castellations (McBride 1984; Snow 1980). The best known example in southern New England is the Shantok Castellated vessel recovered from Site 75-6 in Lyme, Connecticut (McBride 1984).

Morphology
Morphologically, the Shantok Castellated type is highly varied. All vessels are collared, but collars are of varying relief and height. Rim profiles also include a variety of everted, inverted, and straight forms. Castellations are always everted but associated rims can be straight, inverted, or everted. Both flat and rounded lips are associated with this type. There is no association or cluster of rim and lip profile orientations and all forms are present in the assemblage from Fort Shantok.

Shantok Castellated vessels show the highest degree of morphological variability within the Windsor Tradition. In a sample of 73 partially reconstructed vessels from the Shantok type site, rim diameters ranged from 8-32 cm, with a mean diameter of 22.68 cm. The rim sherds and reconstructed vessels from Fort Shantok show a range of vessel sizes. Variability of vessel size and rim diameter at the site may reflect specialized production and use of ceramic vessels. In addition, a rare "double pot", identified as Shantok by Mrozowski (1980:86) was recovered from the Burr's Hill Site in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Technological Attributes
Shell predominates at as temper in Shantok vessels along the coast of southern New England, but mineral temper has also been noted in rare cases. Salwen (1968) observed that Shantok specimens from Fort Corchaug (Long Island) were mineral tempered. Temper particle size is typically fine grained to extremely fine grained (less than 2 mm). Sherd thickness is also relatively thin compared to earlier Windsor types and commonly averages under 7 mm.