Kansas Archeology - Early Ceramic Period
1 BCE to CE 1000
The Early Ceramic period was a time of significant change. For the first time evidence of houses is common. Pottery appears and is made widely, some of it is decorated. The bow and arrow comes into use, as evidenced by a shift to very small projectile points. Wild plant seeds are recovered more frequently, and cultivated plant seeds, including maize, are recovered. Human burials sometime have large amounts of grave goods, such as shell beads.
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Decorated pottery from site 14LN344. Many of the decorations on this pottery are also seen as far away as Illinois and Ohio in association with what archeologists call the Hopewell people. Hopewell sites further east contain large, well-planned earthworks, elaborate burials, well-made ceremonial artifacts, and evidence of a far-flung trade network. Kansas appears to be on the far western edge of the Hopewell phenomenon.
A variety of large projectile point fragments from 14LN344 in Linn County.
A ground stone cutting tool known as a celt from 14LN344 in Linn County.
A reconstructed ceramic pot from the Booth site (14JN349) in Jackson County, Kansas.
A reconstructed ceramic pot from the Arrowhead Island site, (14CF343). It is decorated, has a restricted neck, and has drilled holes so that a crack could be laced up to mend the pot.
A reconstructed ceramic pot from site14LT316. It is decorated, has a restricted neck, and has drilled holes so that a crack could be laced up to mend the pot.
End scrapers from the Early Ceramic Forrest site (14PA303) in western Kansas. These were used to scrape flesh from animal hides to make leather.
Bone tools and ornaments from an Early Ceramic site in western Kansas (14PA303). Pictured to the left is a shell bead with bone beads to the right.
Pictured at right is a bone tool that may have been used to remove flesh from a hide.
Pictured at right is a perforated bison toe bone.
Pictured at right is a scored rib, possibly used in a game, as an ornament, or used with another bone to make a rasping sound.
Archeological References
Entry: Kansas Archeology - Early Ceramic Period
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2014
Date Modified: February 2024
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
