12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE iSTATIONAL MUSEUM vol.79 



outline, the sides ranging in length from 15 to more than 30 feet, 

 while the temple was rectangular, 40 feet long by 20 feet wide. 



The two smaller Deasonville house rings, Nos. 2 and 3, are not diffi- 

 cult to explain ; they might easily be the remains of houses similar to 

 those recorded for the Tunica, the only unique feature being that the 

 wall posts were set up in a trench. From the evidence previously 

 given there is reason also to regard the circles of House Ring No. 1 

 as the remains of walls of separate buildings erected at different 

 periods. It is only when we consider the Cherokee and Creek houses 

 that there is presented the alternative explanation of House Ring No. 

 1 being a single complex structure. When it comes to choosing one or 

 the other alternative on the basis of the present evidence no definite 

 conclusion seems to be warranted. In view of a certain resemblance 

 to the Cherokee and Creek council houses described by Bartram and 

 Hawkins it seems safer to conclude that House Ring No. 1 may pos- 

 sibly have been such a structure, even though the bulk of the evidence 

 favors the view that the rows of posts represent the walls of houses 

 erected at different times. Possibly future excavations of Indian vil- 

 lage sites in the Southeast may bring to light additional facts which 

 may make possible a more definite and satisfactory explanation of 

 the Deasonville circles. 



POTTERY 



Potsherds were found in abundance in the trenches and post holes 

 and on the surface of the plowed ground. In order to determine the 

 relative proportions of the various types of ware represented, a sur- 

 face collection was made by picking up every sherd on and between 

 three cotton rows for a distance of about 100 feet. This resulted in 

 a collection of 398 sherds, as follows : 

 238 undecorated. 

 57 cord marked. 

 50 painted. 

 47 incised. 

 4 punctate. 



1 roulette or stamped. 

 1 small knob or rim. 

 These surface sherds were for the most part small, having been 

 for many years plowed over and trampled upon. A larger collec- 

 tion, selected on the basis of decoration or shape, was made botii 

 from the trenches and the surface and has been utilized in the fol- 

 lowing description of the decoration, shape, paste, and color of the 

 ware. There was no distinction between the sherds from different 

 parts of the site ; the same mixed type of pottery was found on the 



