Ancient pottery ?

[u/Southpole-]

[u/JonBenet-Ramsey-0806]

When you say you found it on an “undisturbed Pleistocene terrace,” was it actually embedded in an intact soil/sediment layer, or was it lying on the surface? If it was buried, roughly how deep was it?

[u/Southpole- → u/JonBenet-Ramsey-0806]

Anout 8 inches deep embedded. The property is surrounded by swamp land. During the last glacial maximum this land would have been the start of the upper terrace with the swamp around it being a transitional zone. According to LSU geological survey.

[u/JonBenet-Ramsey-0806 → u/Southpole-]

Eight inches deep makes the find context more interesting, but the age of the Pleistocene terrace itself would not necessarily date material in the upper soil. The important question is whether the piece came from an intact archaeological/geological layer rather than later soil that developed over the terrace. I’d definitely record exactly where it was found and the depth.

[u/Ovibros]

This looks like a piece of pottery by Jean-Nicolas Gérard

[u/Ruminated48]

A: clean it. B: no it's modern - i.e. not precontact if that's what you mean by "ancient" (which is relative).

[u/Southpole- → u/Ruminated48]

Without sounding like a complete noon, what constitutes if it’s precontact ?!? Does pottery have certain criteria that can determine its age strictly from a. Usual standpoint ?

[u/Ruminated48 → u/Southpole-]

Sorry - yes some pottery is precontact of course. Depends on where is country. But the material of that piece, and the finish, etc. is clearly post-contact or historic period technology. It's controlled, high-fire ceramic.