Cylinder Seal

Fragments of a Whole

This small ceramic sherd has a big story to tell. This would have been part of a small to medium sized ceramic vessel that would have been used for food storage or cooking. The thin wall of this grit tempered fragment indicates a refined firing process. Thin walls are difficult to produce and are the work of a skilled potter. Grit temper is tiny pieces of rock that were added to the wet raw clay to help a pot keep its shape prior to firing. The uneven color comes from oxidation during manufacture and reveals where the pot sat during firing. Lack of charred encrustations (burned food residue) indicates it was most likely used as storage, rather than a cooking pot, or was not very old at the time it was broken.

The fragment was excavated from the Simmons Site, which is located in what is now the town of Elma, New York. This site was first excavated in 1959 as part of the Niagara Frontier Archaeological project under the direction of Dr. Marian E. White. The main objective of this survey was to date the site’s occupation. Dr. White determined that the inhabitants of this site were probably Erie People, a group related to the Seneca.

Approximation of the pot the sherd was part of as drawn by Don Smith, Panamerican Consultants, Inc.

Buffalo Museum of Science Archive Collection

Cylinder Seal

Scientific Name......................................................No Data Description........................ 2500–2350 BCE, Mesopotamia BMoS Catalog No..................................................C14403 Collection Site.............................................................Iraq Collection Date..........................................................1943 Acquired By............................................Museum Purchase Iraq

ARTIFACT SIZE: 1.5in. x 6in.

PAINTING SIZE: 48in. x 72in. Photo of artifact illustrates actual size in relation to the size of the finished painting shown at left.