Pottery and Clay Abraders
The use of potsherds for abrading is reported from the Mississippi alluvial valley area as far south as Memphis. It is a very minor trait. The occasional finds point up this usage as a stop-gap measure when a good stone abrader was not immediately available. This is a thing to be expected in the relatively stoneless alluvial valley. At the Lawhorn site 16 sherd abraders have been found. These show the same haphazard use over their surfaces as do the stone abraders. Ten of them were from Neeley’s Ferry shell tempered sherds and six were made from the sand tempered sherds. Two of the Neeley’s Ferry abraders show only the narrow pointed type of abrading groove while the other eight show the full length and width abrading slots such as might have been used for arrow shaft straightening and smoothing ([Fig. 24];2, left). All of the sand tempered sherd abraders show the pointed narrow type of groove none of which are large enough to be used as shaft grinders ([Fig. 24];2, right). In spite of the fact that it appears that sand tempered and shell tempered sherds represent two components with perhaps a considerable time span between them, it seems most probable that this use of sherd abraders is to be linked with the Mississippian component and that the use of the earlier sand tempered sherds by the later people was simply a convenience procedure. Two burned clay masses, of very sandy clay, were also used as abraders. These were the pointed narrow type.
Figure 23. Mortars and Pestles
Figure 24. Stone and Pottery Abraders and Stone Pipe
(1. Stone abraders, 2. Potsherd abraders, 3. Stone pipe)