Period: Middle Woodland

Defining Attributes: Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware is an early Middle Woodland ceramic that is fabric marked with limestone temper. Decoration is rare.

Chronology: Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware has been dated to as early as 350 BCE. (Lafferty 1981). A large sample of Long Branch Ware derived from a stratum located below a feature radiometrically dated to 322+/_70 CE, was recovered by Benthall (1979:41-50) during the testing of Daugherty’s Cave (44RU0014).

Distribution: Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware was noted at Daugherty’s Cave (44RU0014), from a rockshelter in Wise County (44WS0085, DHR collection), from 44LE0076 (DHR collection), and from Holland’s (1970) collection from sites in Russell (44RU0001, 44RU0002, 44RU0003A, 44RU0003B, 44RU0009, and 44RU0011) and Scott (44SC0004, 44SC0009, and 44SC0013) counties.

Description:
Paste/Temper: Temper is angular particles of crushed limestone which comprise approximately 35 percent of the past. The past is compact. Firing colors range from black to tan on both exterior and interior surfaces.
Surface Treatment: Surface treatment consists of impressions made by a paddle wrapped with a simple-plaited fabric,

Decoration: Decoration is rare. A few V-shaped and criss-cross incised lines have been noted on a few sherds of the Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware.

Morpholopgy:
Vessel Form: Consists of jars with conoidal or subconoidal bases.
Vessel Diameter: Unknown
Vessel Height: Unknown
Rim Form: Rims are vertical with rounded lips.
Base Form: Conoidal or subconoidal forms.
Vessel Wall Thickness: Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware is rather thicker.

Discussion: Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware along with three other limestone tempered types- Wright Check Stamped, Bluff Creek Simple Stamped, and Mulberry Creek Plain seem to overlap in time in southwest Virginia. However, Long Branch Fabric Marked Ware seems to be the earliest of the four types and Wright Check Stamped the latest. A related cord-marked ware, Candy Creek, was not found with Long Branch Fabric Marked at Daugherty’s Cave. This suggests that Candy Creek Ware is still later in the Middle Woodland Period.

Defined in the Literature: Long Branch Fabric Marked Type, Mulberry Creek Plain Type, and Wright Check Stamped Type were first defined by Haag (1939) from pottery found in the Pickwick Basin (1942) in northern Alabama. The wares were first recognized in Virginia by Benthall at Daugherty’s Cave (44RU0014).

References: Benthall (1979); Haag (1939, 1942); Lafferty 1981;

Prepared By: Egloff 2016