In many respects, the early forms of Windsor Cord Marked pottery are similar to Vinette I. Ritchie and MacNeish (1949) noted a transitional form from Vinette I pottery to vessels with cord marked exteriors and smoothed interiors which they labeled Vinette 2. This development was believed to have taken place during the early Woodland Period in New York. In New England, however, there is evidence for contemporary use of Vinette I and undecorated Windsor Cord Marked types.

Surface Treatment and Decoration
Cord marked exterior / smoothed interior vessels have typically been assigned to miscellaneous undecorated classes in analysis. At the Hollister site Lavin (1980) differentiated Windsor Cord Marked from other undecorated cord marked vessels. My feeling is that the exterior cord marked interior smoothed type referred to as 'Modified Vinette' should be grouped with undecorated and decorated varieties of Windsor Cord Marked to include all exterior cord marked / interior smoothed or brushed ceramics. Undecorated forms should be considered early and decorated forms should be considered late. This classification would provide stylistic and descriptive continuity to all cord marked forms within the Windsor Tradition.

By 1600 years B.P. there is a significant change in the Windsor Cord Marked type as cord impressions are used as decoration over the vertically oriented surface treatment. Some late examples utilize cord marking to create parallel horizontal bands on middle and lower portions of the vessel body. Cord marked decoration is executed by pressing the edge of a cord wrapped paddle or cord wrapped stick into the exterior surface. Cord marking as a surface treatment is also increasingly smoothed over but still recognizable.

In New York, decorated cord marked pottery is considered an early Owasco Tradition type dating to approximately 900 years B.P. (Ritchie 1980). In northern New England, Petersen and Power (1985) and Petersen and Newcomb (1986) have identified cord marked ceramics matching descriptions of Windsor cord marked types at the Winooski Site in Vermont and Androscoggin Lake, Maine. Petersen and his collaborators have documented the persistence of cord marked ceramics to date consistently between 1100 and 715 Years BP.

Morphology
The morphology of "early" Windsor Cord Marked ceramics is characterized as conoidal. Typically, the early variety has a straight rim profile. Later decorated examples show slightly developed shoulders, constricted necks, and outflaring rims.

This illustration shows a detail of a decorated cord marked sherd and a reconstruction of a late Windsor Cord Marked vessel recovered from Waterford, Connecticut.

Rim diameters reported for Windsor Cord Marked vessels are highly varied. This is likely a result of time depth. Rim diameters range from 12-28 centimeters. The smaller diameters are typically associated with the later decorated sub-type which appears in the late Roaring Brook (2000-1200 years B.P.) and Selden Creek (1200-450 years B.P.) phases.

Technological Attributes
Within the Windsor Cord Marked type a refinement of both paste texture and temper are observable over time. Temper particle size is reduced compared with Vinette I, Linear Dentate, and Rocker Dentate types. Trends in temper associated with early Windsor Cord Marked vessels are similar to those reported for contemporary Early Woodland types. Shell temper predominates in coastal settings and mineral temper is used exclusively in the uplands.

Sherd thickness of Windsor Cord Marked vessels ranges from the thick proportions equivalent to Vinette I (sometimes greater than 10 mm) to 8 mm. Rims are typically thinner and have been measured as low as 6 mm.