DECORATION Treatment: Engraving. Designs: Effected with heavy engraving on exteriors of rims only. Curving, wide bands outlined by parallel single engraved lines, with transverse, widely spaced lines producing a ladder effect. Usually two of such bands form arcs or meanders, with undecorated bands of similar width between them ([Fig. 5], I-K). Occasionally one or more engraved lines flank the engraved bands or bisect the intervening plain band. Some sherds ([Fig. 5], M, N, P) have straight instead of curving bands, but otherwise seem to fit into the type.
CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS
This type has occurred only in sites which have Alto Focus pottery; it has not been found in Bossier Focus sites which lack established Alto types. In the Bossier Focus, the related engraved type seems to be Maddox Engraved, which in northwestern Louisiana has cross-hatched engraved bands, generally not curving and most often vertical, as the major element. In central Louisiana Maddox Engraved type has been extended to include curvilinear bands of cross-hatched engraving (Suhm and Jelks, 1962: Pl. 50). The decoration on Plate 50, F of this handbook is very much like Carmel Engraved and this vessel probably should be included in this type instead of Maddox.
DISTRIBUTION
In addition to the Smithport Site, Carmel Engraved has been found at one mound and four village sites in northwestern Louisiana.
There is one untyped engraved vessel and seven sherds. The vessel (V-102), from Burial 1 is a bottle (with missing spout) of polished black ware, decorated with engraved interlocking spiral design, four times repeated. One sherd ([Fig. 5], H) has a zig-zag engraved decoration with excisions at the angles, similar to the two sherds illustrated from the Davis Site (Newell and Krieger: 1949, Fig. 34, S, T). Three sherds have bands with cross hatching, probably Maddox Engraved motifs, but the sherds are too small to be sure about the design ([Fig. 5], R). A bottle sherd ([Fig. 5], Q) has diagonal spurred engraved lines. Two bowl sherds are from polished black wares, with designs which suggest the Glassell Engraved type (Webb, 1959: Fig. 118).
B. Incised Pottery Types
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.