Le style emblématique des potières Iroquoiennes du Saint-Laurent : comparaison interrégionale de deux attributs identitaires
This thesis concerns the detailed study of two stylistic attributes, the ladder plait motif and reed impressions, typically associated with St. Lawrence Iroquoian pottery during the Late Woodland period. Our research aims to demonstrate that these representative traits of a culture organised in provinces or regions can vary in their applications within the same region; evidence of internal variability among St. Lawrence Iroquoians. The presence of certain stylistic peculiarities on pottery is generally a sign of membership in a cultural group. Through a morphostylistic analysis we hope to demonstrate that, in spite of a certain cultural homogeneity, which we find in the global stylistic project, the agency of the craftswoman has to be taken into account in terms of the finishing and the "signature" of the pottery productions. Using the interregional comparisons of those two attributes, we shall demonstrate that the Saint-Anicet region, and in particular the Mailhot-Curran site (BgFn-2), is part of the St. Lawrence Iroquoian culture but remains distinctive from a stylistic point of view. We will use the data acquired during autumn 2014 at the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) from pottery collections of the Summerstown cluster of sites: Salem (BgFp-4), Glenbrook (BgFp-5) and Grays Creek (BgFp-6). This comparison will also allow us to highlight similarities that could lead to chronological proposals, including the placing of the Mailhot-Curran site in a wider chronocultural context than the Saint-Anicet region. At the scale of the Mailhot-Curran site, this approach will allow us to reach the hands of the potter through this stylistic dimension analysis, the hand of the potter, her relationship with her family within the longhouse, within her household, and with her clan within the village.
Archaeology St. Lawrence Iroquoians pottery ladder plait motif reed punctation identity Late Woodland Saint Lawrence Valley