Ceramics from the Whelan Site : a temporal and functional analysis of a Late Caddoan mound site assemblage

The vessel ceramics from the Whelan site, a Late Caddoan mound center in northeast Texas, are analyzed to determine the site's temporal placement and the functional implications of an assemblage from a ceremonial site. The first goal is handled through a typological study; the second is accomplished by a functional analysis of vessel batches, from which specific vessel shapes, size classes and inferred activities are determined. Intrasite activity differences are suggested by the distribution of these vessel batches. Intersite comparisons with other Late Caddoan mound sites reveal ceramics functionally similar to Whelan and suggest that cooking and storage were important activities at these sites.