The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group has been formed to identify and define all the ceramic ware types that appear on pre-1650 Jamestown and vicinity sites. The impetus for this work is a conference that is to take place in the year 2000 entitled Capital and Countryside: Jamestown and its Hinterland. The objective of the conference is to gather and study the data that has been collected through the years on 17th-century archaeological sites in the Chesapeake. Pottery comprises an important component of this study for, of all the classes of artifacts, it yields the richest record of date, social status, household routine, and trade. Valid comparisons of the ceramic information, however, require a standard nomenclature for both ware and form. The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group proposes to do this by maintaining an on-line study collection of these wares.
This is just the beginning at an attempt to standardize the nomenclature of ceramic types found on pre-1650 sites in Virginia and to identify where those wares are being found. Eventually, this work could be extended to the latter half of the 17th century, and perhaps even the 18th century, and encompass much more of the Chesapeake region. It is anticipated that Native American ceramics could also be incorporated into this format.