Period: Late Woodland

Defining Attributes: Dallas Ware exhibits mussel shell temper with cord-marked or plain surface treatments.

Chronology: The ware probably dates to the period of post 1300 CE.

Distribution: Dallas Ware was identified in Lee County at 44LE0010 (Carter Robinson), 44LE0014, and 44LE0017, all either substructure mound sites, or probably substructure mound sites. Isolated vessels appear, mainly in burials, on sites in counties further to the north and east.

Description:
Paste/Temper: Dallas Ware paste is clayey and compact. Fine-to-medium crushed mussel shell leaves numerous platlets in the past. The clayey paste and fine shell temper gives sherds a smooth and soft feel. The vessels are normally fired to a light color on the exterior and a darker color to the interior.
Surface Treatment: Dallas Ware exhibits cord-marked or plain surface treatments

Decoration: Incising, notched fillets, and modeling are characteristic of Dallas Ware.

Morpholopgy:
Vessel Form: Dallas Ware vessels are coil constructed with paddle malleation. Small jars and bowls exist.
Vessel Diameter: Unknown
Vessel Height: Unknown
Rim Form: Broad, flat strap handles and lugs do occur
Base Form: Round to round-flat bottoms
Vessel Wall Thickness: Appears thin.

Discussion: Dallas Ware is directly affiliated with Mississippian cultures in eastern Tennessee. The mound sites in Lee County that contain Dallas Ware are only 40 km north of the mounds identified by Web (1938) in Norris Basin, Tennessee. The ceramics and mounds indicate a period of increased cultural interaction and even the intrusion of a different people, this time signaling the arrival of a chiefdom society (Meyers 2011). Meyers discussed the mixing and blending of Dallas Ware attributes with Pisgah Ware and Radford Ware attributes at the Carter Robinson Mound (44LE0010).

Defined in the Literature: Dallas Ware was first discussed in the literature by Lewis and Kneberg (1946). Meyers (2011) discussed the Mississippian shelltempered tradition in Southwest Virginia based on her excavations in 2007 and 2008 at the Carter Robinson Mound (44LE0010) in Lee County.

References: Egloff 1987; Lewis and Kneberg 1946; Meyers 2011; Web 1938;

Prepared By: Egloff 2008