_Davis Incised_ type is represented by one vessel (Fig. 4, H) and 17
sherds. The vessel is a deep, reddish-brown bowl, which curves outward
from a slightly convex disc base, then is vertical to the rounded,
unmodified lip. It is 10 cm. in height, 15.2 cm. in greatest diameter.
There are five parallel, smoothed-over incised lines around the upper
body, placed about 1 cm. apart. They are shallow and about 2 mm. in
width. The surfaces are smoothed and questionably polished. The 17
sherds (Fig. 6, A-E) include 11 rim sherds, nine of which indicate
vertical walls, two outward sloping (but no excurvate). Most of the
vessels seem to be deep bowls, but two sherds indicate shallower
carinated bowls with inward curving or sloping rims. All are clay or
grit tempered, with walls 4.5 to 8 mm. thick. Three are black, others
gray, buff, light brown or tan in surface color; surfaces are smoothed
and one of the black sherds (Fig. 6, C) is polished lightly. The lips
are rounded and unmodified except that most are thinned by an extra
outward curving of the interior wall. The incised lines are smoothed
over, 5 to 13 mm. apart and are 3 to 10 in number. Half of the lines are
less than 1 mm. in width, the others are between 1 and 2 mm. wide,
generally shallow and well executed.
Nine sherds are classified as _Sanson Incised_ (Ford and Willey, 1940)
because of the wide, shallow, smoothed incising in straight lines (Fig.
6, F, G). No rim sherds were found, hence patterning of the incising is
indefinite. Tempering is clay-grit, the surface coloring is gray to
black or dark brown, and the thickness is 5 to 8 mm. The incised lines
are 2.5 to 4.5 mm. in width and appear to have been made with tools
which had bluntly rounded or flat ends.
Two sherds (Fig. 6, H, I) are possibly _Mazique Incised_ (Ford, 1951)
but may be well executed _Dunkin Incised_. They are light gray and tan
in color, and one is a rim sherd. The decoration consists of finely made
parallel incisions, closely placed in diagonal fields or herring-bone
effect on the upper body. Vessel shape is uncertain.
_Coles Creek Incised_ type is represented by eight sherds, although it
is almost certain that some which are typed as _Hardy_ or _Kiam Incised_
are in reality _Coles Creek_. In order to be certain of Coles Creek
Period wares at this site, I have included in this type only those
sherds whose paste characteristics are consistent and which have
“overhanging” parallel lines around the rim (Fig. 6, J) or
characteristically placed triangular punctations below the incised lines
(Fig. 6, K). Surfaces are smoothed and are buff or gray in color. The
incisions are bold, horizontal, and usually more closely spaced than in
_Davis Incised_. The subjacent triangles on four sherds are pressed into
the paste more deeply at the apex. It must be pointed out that it is not
a simple task, in studying sherds from northern Louisiana, to
distinguish the four related types which are characterized by parallel
incisions around the rim—_Davis Incised_, _Coles Creek Incised_, _Hardy
Incised_, and _Kiam Incised_—unless the technique and paste are
characteristic or a large part of the vessel available. Much overlapping
occurs.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Incised Sherds. A-E, _Davis Incised_ (A
resembles high rim of jars which are frequent in Haley pottery). F,
G, _Sanson Incised_. H, I, _Mazique Incised_. J, K, _Coles Creek
Incised_. L-Q, _Kiam_ or _Hardy Incised_ (note outer lip notching or
punctations on L-N, also suspension hole and subjacent hemiconical
punctation on O, almost certainly _Hardy Incised_).]
One hundred and seventy four sherds from this site are included in type
_Kiam Incised_ or _Hardy Incised_ (Fig. 6, L-Q). No attempt shall be
made to distinguish between these types, but the problem will be pointed
out and resolution left for future conferences. These sherds are
characterized by parallel incised lines covering the rim or upper part
of the vessel. Fortunately, there are four complete vessels from the
burials (Fig. 4, D-G) which are typical _Kiam Incised_ (Suhm and Jelks,
1962: 89, Pl. 45) and established the presence of this type. Vessel 106
(Fig. 4, D) is a heavy, thick-walled cylindrical jar with a slightly
recurved and rounded lip. It is 11 cm. high, 10.6 cm. in diameter, clay
tempered, and dark reddish-brown in color. Decoration consists of
numerous scratchy incisions covering the upper 3 cm.; it is plain below
this zone. Vessel 133 (Fig. 4, E) is a jar with narrow excurvate rim and
semiglobular body. It is 12 cm. in height and in greatest width, and is
clay tempered, with irregular light and dark gray surface color. The rim
has three to four irregular, wavy incised lines which are not
continuous; the body is covered with vertical, firm incisions spaced 4
to 7 mm. apart. Vessel 94 (Fig. 4, F) is a firm, intact, well made
cylindrical jar, clay tempered, with dark gray-brown surface color
except for a few light fire clouds. The upper 2.5 cm. has irregular
horizontal incisions, 5 to 7 in number, and the remaining body exterior
is covered with fingernail punctations, spaced rather regularly but not
in exact rows. Vessel 134 (Fig. 4, G) is a jar with semiglobular body,
narrowed toward the rim, which is vertical. The clay tempered paste is
softer than the other three vessels and is fired black over the
exterior, dark gray on the interior. It is 11 cm. high, 14 cm. wide.
Decoration consists of five firmly incised lines around the rim
exterior, spaced 3 to 5 mm. apart, and paired fingernail punctations or
pinches covering the body. These vessels demonstrate the three most
frequent body treatment techniques described for the _Kiam Incised_
type.
The 174 sherds present more variation, and include 82 rim pieces. Temper
is clay-grit or ground sherd except for five which are bone tempered.
The surface colors cover the range of tan, buff, yellow-orange, light to
dark gray, reddish-brown and black; the light colors predominate.
Interior and exterior surfaces are smoothed. Wall thickness is 5 to 10
mm., averaging 6.5 to 7 mm. The rim sherds show that about half have
excurvate rims, ¼ to ⅕ of the vertical, and the others slant outward.
Five have a row of punctations or notches on the rim exterior (Fig. 6,
L-N), and one has transverse incisions on a flat lip. The lips are more
often rounded, but about ¼ are flat; thinning may occur but not
thickening.
The incising varies from thin scratchy lines made with a pointed tool,
to rough and irregular (Fig. 6, Q), to firm, well made and regular (Fig.
6, L, M, P). The number of lines varies from two to 20 and the spacing
from two to 10 mm. apart, often varying on the same sherd. Generally
they are placed at 3 to 5 mm. intervals. Although most were produced
with a pointed tool, a few were made with a blunt or square-tipped tool.
Five have hemiconical or oval punctations below the last line (Fig. 6,
O).
These characteristics as a unit do not fit either _Kiam_ or _Hardy
Incised_ types. The predominant shape, with everted or excurvate rim is
more like _Kiam_, as are bone tempering, and either punctated bodies
(two vessels, two sherds) or vertical incising on bodies (one vessel,
two sherds). The paste and surface coloration are more like _Hardy
Incised_ (except for the five with bone temper), as are the subjacent
punctations (Fig. 6, O), occasional stabs or punctations at the ends of
lines (in central Louisiana, this occurs more often in _Yokena_ and
_French Fork Incised_ than in _Hardy_), plain bodies (one vessel, five
sherds), cutting away of the body wall just below the incisions (Fig. 4,
D), and flattened lips. Not described for either _Kiam_ or _Hardy_ types
are notched or incised lips, vertical rows of plowed-up paste where the
incisions meet (Fig. 6, L) or narrow undecorated gaps at this junction,
which occur on a number of the Smithport sherds. The conclusion seems
obvious that _Kiam Incised_, _Hardy Incised_ and the similar wares from
this area are local or regional variations of a single widespread type.
The _Dunkin Incised_ type presents the same problem. Although the sherds
assigned to this type have more similarities to type _Dunkin Incised_
than to any other, there are some similarities to _Mazique_ and _Manchac
Incised_ types of central Louisiana, and some items which differ from
all of these types. Again, regional or temporal variations of a single
type are indicated and should be subjected to study.
There are 117 sherds of _Dunkin Incised_ which show incising in varying
directions (Fig. 7, A-L), usually including diagonal lines, and 65
sherds (Fig. 7, O-R) which show only diagonal lines but are also
assigned to _Dunkin_. Thirty of the former group and 25 of the latter
are rim sherds. Paste characteristics, color, and wall thickness are the
same as those described for _Kiam Incised_. The majority of the rim
sherds indicate everted or excurvate shapes, possibly a fourth are
direct and vertical, none incurvate. Indicated vessel shapes are
semiglobular jars with flaring rims, similar jars with narrowing at the
neck and vertical or slightly everted rims, cylindrical vessels, and
simple deep bowls. Lips are usually narrowed by outward curving of the
interior wall, but may be rounded or occasionally flattened. There are
no nodes or handles, and only one rim shows notching.
Incisions are generally bolder than in the _Kiam Incised_ type, spaced 3
to 8 mm. apart, and seldom smoothed over. On the 117 sherds with lines
in varying directions, 52 were made with a round-tipped tool, 47 with a
pointed tool, 16 with square-tipped, and two with forked tool (Fig. 7,
D). In the instance of the rim sherds with diagonal incising, 17 of the
25 slant downward from right to left (Fig. 7, P-R), eight from left to
right (Fig. 7, O). The lines may produce diamonds (Fig. 7, C), triangles
(Fig. 7, A, D, J), chevrons (Fig. 7, B) or, rarely, squares (Fig. 7, I).
Hemiconical or oval punctations are placed in a single row below the
incising in two instances (Fig. 7, L), above in one (Fig. 7, E). The
trait of making firm punctations at the ends of the lines (Fig. 7, F,
H-J) is more frequent than in type _Kiam Incised_, and gaps are left at
times (Fig. 7, F). One sherd (Fig. 7, P) has a wide, smoothed band
interrupting the previously placed incisions below the lip. The numerous
body or rim-body sherds which show fields of varying incising more
nearly resemble _Dunkin Incised_ from the Davis Site in having full body
decoration than the central Louisiana _Manchac_ and _Mazique_ types,
where the decoration is usually confined to a narrow rim band.
Cross incising (Fig. 7, M, N), which is called _Harrison Bayou Incised_
(from the Harrison Bayou Site on Caddo Lake) in central Louisiana, but
is included in _Dunkin Incised_ in eastern Texas (Suhm and Jelks, 1962:
Pl. 19), is present on nine sherds from Smithport. They are clay
tempered, light to dark gray in color, with smoothed surfaces. The
incisions vary from narrow and closely placed to firm, wide lines.
Curvilinear incising is present on two sherds. These resemble
curvilinear incising from the Sanson Site in central Louisiana which has
been tentatively termed _Neild Incised_.