Items related to food preparation, serving, and storage comprise this artifact group. Classes consist of glass containers, Euroamerican ceramics, metal containers, and utensils. The glass container class included two whole wine bottles, 266 bottle glass fragments, three stemware fragments, 16 tumbler fragments, two canning jar fragments, two lamp base fragments, and 44 indeterminate glass container fragments. A total of 104 non-aboriginal (mostly European) potsherds from the plowzone also were analyzed. Metal containers are represented by a nearly whole brass kettle, three kettle fragments, and three badly decomposed pewter porringers. Two latten spoons (an alloy of copper, zinc, and iron) and two broken spoon handles represent the utensils class.
Glass Containers
The two dark green English wine bottles (first, second) were found in burial contexts--one in Burial 3 and one in Burial 4. Both bottles were analyzed using Carrillo's (1974) statistical model, Baker's (1974) modification of Carrillo's model, Dumbrell's (1983) descriptive information, and Noël Hume's (1974) comparative summary. A series of 32 measurements was recorded for each specimen, including basal ring width, mouth radius, height, width, and height of kickup. A vessel profile of each bottle was constructed to facilitate comparison. These measurements produced a date of 1688-1700 (mean date=1694) for the Burial 4 bottle and a date of 1700-1704 (mean date=1702) for the Burial 3 bottle.
The Burial 3 bottle measures 16.5 cm in height, with a maximum diameter of 43 cm. The shape is short and squat with straight sides, narrow neck, and a broad, slightly domed kickup. An incised mark (possibly the initial "M" or "W") is present on the shoulder of this bottle. It could not be determined if this initial was of European or aboriginal origin. Wilson (1984:7) has suggested that "this symbol may have been a trader's mark, or the mark of a European who could not afford a proper seal."
Visual comparison of the Burial 4 bottle with examples illustrated by Dumbrell (1983:36) suggested a 1680 date for this specimen. Also, lip and neck profiles were compared to those illustrated by Noël Hume (1974:195), and these provided a date of 1685. Compared to the Burial 3 bottle, this specimen is slightly shorter (15.8 cm or 6-1/4 inches) with more rounded sides and has a thicker, shorter neck; it has an overall width of 13.7 cm or 5-3/8 inches. Whole bottles, as containers for rum and other liquids, appear on trade lists of the period (France 1985). These bottles probably also served as water containers when rum was not available.
The identification of specimens as bottle glass was determined by the presence of diagnostic attributes (e.g., lip, rim, shoulder, base, kickup, wall thickness, and color). Of the 266 glass bottle fragments recovered from the Fredricks site, only 37 came from feature or burial contexts. Dark green bottle glass fragments were found in 21 features or burials, including Burials 3 (see photo), 5, and 10, and Features 1, 9, 10, 13 (see photo), 17, 19, 24, 31, 38, 41 (see photo), 44, 45, 46, 49, 53, 56, 57, and 59. The ubiquitous occurrence of bottle glass within these contexts suggests that: (1) glass containers were relatively common items among the Occaneechi; and (2) much of the glass from the plowzone is probably also associated with the Occaneechi occupation.
With the exception of three unidentified glass container fragments, all other glass artifacts (e.g., stemware, tumbler, canning jar, and lamp base fragments) were recovered from the plowzone and postdate the Occaneechi occupation.
Euroamerican Ceramics
A total of 104 sherds of non-aboriginal ceramics were analyzed according to South's ceramic typology and mean ceramic dating formula (South 1977:210, 217). All were recovered from the plowzone. Only 64 (59%) could be positively identified and assigned a manufacturing range and median date. The resulting mean ceramic date was 1810.48 and clearly postdates the Occaneechi occupation of the Fredricks site.
Metal Containers
One crushed but nearly whole sheet brass kettle was found in Burial 8. The diameter of the kettle was 19.5 cm, and its estimated height was 12 to 14 cm. Six fragments of an iron bail handle were associated with it. The bail "ears" were of sheet brass and were attached to the kettle walls with paired rivets. The rim appears to have been rolled over a circular iron wire. Similar kettles have been found at the Guebert site in Illinois, dating 1670-1730 (Good 1972:166); the Tunica site (Type A, Variety 2), dating 1718 (Brain 1979:173); and the Conestoga site in Pennsylvania, dating 1676-1680 (Kent 1984:209).
One kettle patch, identified by the presence of rivets, was found. No type could be determined for this fragment; however, it appears to have been aboriginally modified or cut. Sheet brass scraps without diagnostic attributes (i.e., patches, rolled rims, or "ears," etc.) were placed in the Metal Resource artifact category. For some Southeastern Indians, it has been found that kettles were a primary source of sheet brass from which to make items of personal adornment or metal projectile points (Carnes 1983:199).
Two kettle lugs were recovered from Structure 5 and the plowzone. Kettle parts are more common at early eighteenth-century sites than late eighteenth-century sites, which may reflect a decline in the availability of brass kettles and probably some replacement of them by tin containers (Carnes 1983:199; Newman 1977:32; Polhemus 1987:963).
Three badly decomposed pewter porringers were recovered from Burial 2, Burial 4, and Burial 13. The porringer from Burial 2 was circular in shape with a single pierced handle; it measures 14 cm in diameter, 4 cm in depth, and has a 3.8 mm handle. The porringer from Burial 4 appeared to have a tapered, scallop-shaped handle and measured 14.5 cm in diameter. The Burial 13 porringer was too poorly preserved to obtain positive information about its dimensions and handle shape. All three specimens probably are of English origin. Similar porringers have been recovered from the Tunica site (Brain 1979:160), Fort Michilimackinac (Stone 1974:192), and Jamestown (Cotter and Hudson 1957:45), all dating from the early 1600s to early 1700s. Unlike brass kettles, pewter porringers are not often listed on trade inventories; however, they were popular domestic items among the White settlers in the Coastal Plain region according to personal estate records (Brad Rauschenburg, personal communication). For the inhabitants of the Fredricks site, these porringers may have served as liquid or food containers.
Utensils
Eating utensils are represented by two complete latten spoons and two spoon handle fragments. Latten, which is composed of 73% copper, 25% zinc, and 2% iron, was not made in England until the latter part of the sixteenth century (Raymond 1952:228). The latten spoon recovered from Burial 1 has a round bowl with an unadorned straight handle that is hexagonal in cross section. There is residue of tin plating on the bowl and a small circular maker's mark on the concave bowl portion of the spoon. The mark appears to consist of a circular cartouche surrounding three spoons (the outer two pointing in the opposite direction from the center one) flanked by two indistinguishable initials. Price (1908:35-37) contends that the three-spoon mark with initials is a common trade mark. Unfortunately, no guild for whitesmiths had yet been established in England in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century (Merry Outlaw, personal communication). A second complete latten spoon was found in Burial 8. Stylistically, it is different from the one described above, in that it has a seal-top finial on the handle and a fig-shaped (or oval) bowl. It also exhibited traces of tin plating. The touch mark, clearly visible on this specimen, consisted of a circle surrounding three spoons and the initials T and S. Again, no maker or exact date could be determined for this spoon. The bowl of the spoon had aboriginal modification in the form of incised geometric designs. The interior designs resembled cursive "L"s, arranged in a series around the bowl rim. The exterior patterns appeared to be a stylized chevron, again arranged in a series around the bowl perimeter. Similar geometric patterns were noted on a shell gorget from Burial 1. Whether this spoon was worn as an ornament or was just a vehicle for artistic expression is unknown. Similar spoons with similar touch marks are reported for Susquehannock sites in Pennsylvania and are believed to date to 1660-1700 (Kent 1984:287-293). Noël Hume (1969:180-181) proposes that tin plating replaced silver plating around 1650.
Finally, two spoon handle fragments were recovered. One of these, the mid-section of a hexagonally-shaped latten spoon handle, was found in the fill of Feature 13. The finial and bowl were missing, and the handle was bent, which suggests aboriginal modification. The other fragment, found in the plowzone, has a trifid handle tip and may not be associated with the Occaneechi occupation.
