The Mean Ceramic Dating (MCD) formula is a widely accepted method for dating historic archaeological ceramic assemblages. This mathematical assessment uses historically known ceramic manufacture ranges to determine a date assumed to correspond with a site's occupation; however, formula applications on nineteenth century sites have been inconsistent in establishing acceptable absolute dates. An examination of applications of the formula on nineteenth century ceramics reveals that it's strength is not in its ability to establish absolute dates for a site, but rather to create relative intrasite chronologies. This study uses ceramic assemblages excavated from several of the feature and outbuilding remnants at the Lanier site (12Je490) to assess and evaluate the MCD formula. Historical documentation allows hypothetical chronologies to be established for the site. The MCD formula is applied to several Lanier site contexts in order to demonstrate the formula's ability to establish relative intrasite chronologies for a nineteenth century site. / Department of Anthropology