Carson Lake Punctated: Sociological implications of a ceramic motif from the Central Mississippi Valley.

A distinctive ceramic motif, a series of punctations within a pendant triangular field, has a limited distribution within the central portion of the Nodena phase region of northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. Based on the presence of key horizon markers, the ceramic crafting took place within a generation or two during the protohistoric period. The motif's distribution is suggestive of a localized group of potters engaged in some type of religious or social interaction. In this article, we briefly outline a model to interpret this distinctive cluster of a ceramic motif. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]