28 Albany MnKcnm Records. 



show the "ears" which are said to he charaeteristic of Hottentot 

 pottery. They consisted of thickened portions below the neck 

 throngh which a hole was made which allowed a sinew or thong 

 of hide to be passed in order to suspend the pot. They were either 

 slightly raised or flush with the surface of the pot. It is interest- 

 ing to note that in the 5th pot these ears are only indicated by 

 2 round projections which evidently serve only to ornament the 

 pot and are of no practical use. It need not, therefore, surprise us 

 when we find that they are absent in our pot. But thaty " eared" 

 pottery was used by the people by whom it was left behind, was 

 proved by the fact that a number of " ears" were found on their 

 encampment some of which are represented on plate II, fig. a-f . ' 

 Pots similar to ours, were made by the Ancient Egyptians, 

 Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, etc. The Ancient Egyptians even 

 made " eared" pottery which were slung on a small cord of bast- 

 fibres. All these nations, however, used the potter's wheel which 

 was unknown to South African natives before the advent of 

 Europeans and is even now scorned (with the exception of some 

 Basutos ?) by those who still make their own pottery. Besides 

 S. A. tribes turned their knowledge of the art of pottery to no 

 other account but for making pots (and comparatively recently 

 bottles), and though the beautiful and artistic terra-cotta figures 

 of Greece were quite unknown to the more Ancient Egyptians 

 they made dolls and other rude figures of pottery. ^ A direct 

 connection between the Ancient Egyptians and the Hottentots 

 (which was deduced by Bleek and others on linguistic grounds, 

 though repudiated by other authorities) can, therefore, scarcely be 

 traced in their pottery. We must pre-suppose a missing link 

 which has to be looked for in pre-historic times. It may here also 

 be stated that all Hottentot and Bushman pottery is unglazed, 

 though as a rule quite watertight (owing perhaps, as Kolbe 

 already pointed out, to a mixture of white-ant " eggs " with the 

 clay used). 



Plate II, fig. 2, represents a pot (C. 14 of the Museum register) 

 found by Mr. F. Cock in the sandhills not far removed from a 

 kitchenmidden at the mouth of the Rufanesriver. It is of much 



' Eared wooden vessels were also made by Hottentots. See illustration in 

 William Burchell, " Travels in the Interior of South Africa," London, 

 1822, Vol. I, p 406. 



* Adolpli Erman, " Life in Ancient Egypt," transl. by H. M. Tirard, Lon- 

 don, 1894, p 457. 



