Pot/Potter Entanglements and Networks of Agency in Late Woodland Period (c. AD 900-1300) Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Description

Complementary strands of thought are here woven together to further the notion that people and things are entangled in interdependent webs of action, and a view of social life as engendered by the ways we apprehend and interact with the material world. It is argued that material culture can be considered agential insofar as it serves to condition certain sensory responses from its users. An analysis of Late Woodland period pottery production in southwestern Ontario provides a case study: over 800 earthenware vessels are analyzed from Iroquoian and Algonquian (Western Basin) sites. The results suggest that Iroquoian potting practices were organized around a design repertoire to which most potters subscribed. These patterns contrast with the Western Basin assemblages, which hint at a greater degree of design heterogeneity and a wider array of choice. The discordant nature of Western Basin decorative practices points to a form of human/non-human interaction markedly different from the milieu experienced by Iroquoian artisans.