Bell Plain Pottery

Bell Plain is a widespread Mississippian plain ware type consisting of smooth, undecorated shell-tempered pottery. Vessels are often globular jars, bowls, and bottles with carefully smoothed or lightly burnished surfaces and simple rims. The paste is typically fine and relatively hard, with shell temper visible in break and occasional pitting on surfaces.

Common jars range from about 160 to 300 mm in rim diameter and 180 to 320 mm in height. Bowl forms span roughly 140 to 280 mm in diameter with wall thickness typically 4 to 8 mm, thicker toward the base.

Widely distributed throughout the Mississippian world, especially in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys and across much of the Midwest and Southeast.

Bell Plain serves as a key background type across many Mississippian sites and is often used as a baseline for understanding local decorated types. Shell temper and smooth plain surfaces differentiate it from earlier Woodland cord-marked or grit-tempered wares.