Stevenson.] ^— ' ] March 20, 



would seem from this, however, that the deoxidizing process as systemati- 

 cally applied to red pottery for purposes of decoration was a widespread 

 fashion at that remote period. 



Some of the pottery of these strangers was decorated with crude figures 

 of ostriches, antelopes, etc., often represented in long lines, in brown on 

 buff and in red upon a lighter red. A very common decorative motive is 

 a long boat with two cabins, an ensign pole and many oars; sometimes the 

 figure of a man is added. The red polished ware, decorated in while 

 lines, "dents de loup," plants and flowers, etc., is imported from the 

 Mediterranean region. It is stated by Mr. Petrie to occur only in a 

 limited range of the territory occupied by the foreigners, and it gave rise 

 to no varieties of type. The shapes of these vases are also peculiar, espe- 

 cially the specimens in which two or three tall, straight stems or necks 

 arise from one base. 



The black incised bowls, with white decoration, in lines and "dents de 

 loup," are also imported. No such pottery is known of Egyptian make, 

 although in later times, during the Middle empire, a style of pottery sim- 

 ilar, though much finer, appears. A near approach to it is found in the 

 later Neolithic stations of Italy, Spain and in the lower strata of Ilissarlik. 



In a paper read before the Anthropological Section of the British Asso- 

 ciation — a notice of which was published in the Academy (September 28, 

 1895) and in L' Anthropologie (October-December, 1895, p. 590) — mention 

 is made of a Neolithic station near Butmir, in Bosnia, recently studied 

 and described by Mr. Radminsky, where pottery was found offering a 

 great variety of decoration, among which, by the way, appears a spiral 

 ornament. Figurines showing some artistic aspirations were also recov- 

 ered. In the discussion that followed Mr. John Evans expressed the 

 opinion that this station probably belonged to the transition period from 

 the Neolithic to the bronze age. Certain holes cut in the clay reminded 

 Mr. Petrie, who was present, of the sand pits dug in Egypt. He said that 

 the pieces of black pottery exhibited by Mr. Radminsky were absolutely 

 identical with pieces found by himself in Egypt and by others at Hissarlik 

 and in Spain, and that he, therefore, would date such a settlement, bj' 

 this black pottery, from 3300 to 3000 B.C.. when it was generally manu- 

 factured {Anthrop., October-December, 1895, p. 560). 



Among the small objects in our collection are a number of bone combs 

 and tools, one of which, a puncher, has just been identified by Prof. Cope 

 as the metatarsal of a gazelle. We have also a series of slate pallets upon 

 which Malachite, etc., was ground probably for tattooing purposes. These 

 are in the shape of the turtle and fish, besides more simple forms, such as 

 squares and rhombs ; but a larger variety of animal forms has been found, 

 and Mr. Petrie mentions the ibex, elephant and birds among those in his 

 collection. 



It is worthy of notice that the taste for sj-^mmetry, which prompted the 

 introduction of the double-headed bird design among so many ancient and 

 modern peoples, was already developed among these men, as may be 



