FIBB AS AN AGENT IN HUMAN CULTURE 45 



ground near the fire, or later boiled in a kettle supported over the 

 flame on a cross stick set up on crotches. '" 



The American Indians generally, except in the portions of Califor- 

 nia and in the Plains where the potter's art was unknown, cooked in 

 earthenware vessels and had developed a type of paste in making the 

 vessels which was resistant to fire. The method of coiling, producing 

 a rugose surface, also prevented cracking on the fire. 



The older authorities stated that the Natchez Indians of Louisiana 

 only boil and roast their food.^^ 



For boiUng small portions of water or food the Hopi and some other 

 Pueblos use a sock-shaped vessel of coarse pottery which can be thrust 

 point into the fire. Specimens of this vessels are often taken from 

 the ancient sites. This form of vessel has been found in archeological 

 sites in Central and South America, but not definitely known to have 

 been used in cooking. 



The women of the Soumoos or Woolwas of Bluefields, Nicaragua, 

 busy themselves at the fires, from time to time in stirring the contents 

 of large earthenware pots with long-handled spoons, or in toasting 

 green plantains, turning them with tongs of bamboo. ^^ 



A. H. Keane states that "the Botocudos cook their food in huge 

 bamboo canes, which can be made to hold boiling water.^' 



A striking example of savage ingenuity which is suggestive of one 

 of the primitive beginnings of pottery is furnished by the natives of 

 Bhutan, who plaster clay around the base of a bamboo tube before 

 putting it on the fire for boiling the contents.^* 



At Port Moresby, New Guinea, most of the Motus have their eat- 

 ables boiled in earthen jars, whilst the Koitapu cooks his in an earth 

 oven. ^^ 



The Polynesians not havir^ pottery and the Melanesians having 

 it unequally distributed, determines the custom of boiling in these 

 areas. 



In Africa boiling is practiced by tribes possessing pottery. On 

 page 123 of the Specimens of Bushmen Folklore, in a description of 

 a controversy between a hyena and a lion, the following paragi'aph 

 describes the use of pottery for cooking: 



" Therefore, the Hyena gave soup to the Lion; therefore, the Lion 

 took hold of the pot, while the pot was hot; the Hyena also grasped 

 the pot with his hands; the Hyena said: 'O Lion! Allow me to pour 

 soup into the inside of thy mouth.' The Hyena poured soup into 



"A. O. Morice. Trans. Canad. Inst., 1892-93, vol. 4, p. 187. 



"J. R. Swanton. Indian Tribe? of the Lower Mississippi Valley, Bull. 43, Bur. Amer. Ethnol., 1911, 

 pp. 72-73. 

 "H. A. Wickham. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1894, vol. 21, p. 200. 

 » A. H. Keane. Man: Past and Present, Cambridge, 1899, p. 437. 

 •* Narrative of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet, 1876, p. 21. 

 » E. Way Elkington. The Savage South Seas, London, 1907, p. 23. 



