@article {11403,
	title = {Pre-contact Pottery Tempering Practices at Sipiwesk Lake, Manitoba: The Effects of Grit Tempering on Drying and Firing},
	volume = {41},
	year = {2017},
	pages = {97-116},
	abstract = {<p>This report presents the results of an experiment designed to examine the effects of grit tempering on the shrinkage of clays used to manufacture Middle and Late Woodland pottery from Sipiwesk Lake in northern Manitoba. A single previous experiment by Corenblum and Syms (1977) using clay from southern Manitoba found that grit tempering had little effect on the shrinkage of clays; it was proposed that the use of temper by pre-contact potters may have been a practice driven by cultural choice as opposed to technical necessity. Our experiment analyzed the plasticity and shrinkage of clay briquettes and tiles from Sipiwesk Lake in northern Manitoba that were untempered or tempered with different proportions of a grit (10{\textendash}30 percent) composition comparable to that used by pre-contact potters. Our study shows that adding grit temper increased the plasticity of raw clays (their workability) and reduced the amount of shrinkage experienced during drying and firing. Our conclusions directly contrast Corenblum and Syms{\textquoteright} findings, but do confirm grit temper is not necessary to successfully manufacture a Middle or Late Woodland pot. Based upon these new data we then address the theoretical issue of whether it is useful to distinguish {\textquotedblleft}cultural choice{\textquotedblright} from {\textquotedblleft}technical necessity{\textquotedblright} as alternative explanations for manufacturing practices.</p>},
	author = {Kent D. Fowler and Kate Basco and Mostafa Fayek}
}
