Soapstone Characterization as a Proxy for Trade in the Archaic Southeast

Soapstone is a soft, metamorphic rock frequently created by hydrothermal flows through a parent material and containing at least 35% Talc naturally. Soapstones are only naturally located along the eastern and southern edges of the Appalachian Mountains and have been utilized for a number of artifact types with soapstone vessels being of particular interest. While much debate surrounds the temporal range and use of the material it is generally accepted to have been used during the Late Archaic through the Early Woodland. The relatively narrow period of use, the ubiquity of the soapstone vessels throughout the Southeast and, the limited geographic location of sources makes the material particularly attractive for research into trade and interaction between sites. This project uses pXRF and FORS, both relatively inexpensive and non-destructive methods, to characterize soapstone vessel fragments from Webb’s Cache (Louisiana), 1Ma26 (Alabama), Townsend (Tennessee) and Birdwell (Tennessee) to identify possible trade interactions between these sites.