646 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE POTTER'S ART AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS. 



By ALICE D. LE PLONGEON. 



OF all the arts at which man has labored, that of molding clay 

 was probably the first, the most primitive. It has been 

 practiced in all parts of the world, and the thousands of specimens 

 yet existing are an aid to archsBological studies, particularly when 

 found intact and unblemished. It is never easy to decide on the 

 age of any piece, as this is not necessarily indicated by its appear- 

 ance, least of all in places where, as in Mexico and Peru, cun- 

 ning artificers manufacture antiquities, making jars a few weeks 

 old appear like the time-begrimed handiwork of their great — 

 very great — grandfather or mother ; for women have been and 

 are active in that branch of industry. The Mandan women were 

 clever potters. The Zuni and the Maya women also do much of 

 that work. A new-looking, well-preserved vase may be a rare 

 antique, while a roughly finished primitive one may be modern 

 or of comparatively recent date. There are scholars who claim 

 that some of the Central American and Peruvian specimens are 

 thousands of years old. 



In several parts of America it was customary to place vari- 

 ous receptacles in tombs, close by the human remains, some jars 

 being usually filled with food and liquid. The pottery found on 

 the Atlantic coast is poor and not abundant, but there is a great 

 quantity in the western part of the United States, as well as in 

 Mexico, Central America, and Peru. Colorado, Missouri, and 

 Ohio are States which have yielded very large collections, vary- 

 ing from crude work to some that is admirable, a certain simi- 

 larity existing in all. The Alaskan productions are considered 

 of a better quality, in paste and in baking, than any other on the 

 American continent. Some of the large Alaskan vases were coated 

 with a grayish-white wash, and polished after the manner of 

 Phoenician wares. They were decorated with bold devices in 

 black and dark red. 



The North Americans modeled their utensils by hand, without 

 wheel, and none seem to have understood the art of glazing. 

 They mixed their clay with pounded shells, with sand, or with 

 pulverized siliceous rock ; mica was also used. After being 

 shaped, the clay was hardened in open fires or kilns. Among 

 the many ornamentations, that imitating basket work was much 

 used, and may have suggested itself because the modeling was 

 sometimes done inside of baskets. Similar devices are common 

 on ancient German pottery. The Greek ornament (EI) was 

 very common in America, while Phoenician art is suggested by 

 some of the life forms seen on the Peruvian and Chiriquian 



