8 BULLETIN 15 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



incised and applied decorative design or by the presence of figurine 

 heads representing animals and used as decorative lugs or handles 

 on earthenware vessels. Types of Antillean ceramics are recogniza- 

 ble through the similarity in paste, form, surface finish, and decora- 

 tion, while the style is indicated by a superficial similarity only, 

 principally in the manner of applying decorative design. For 

 example, the modeled figurine head is either luted on to or is itself 

 a part of the walls of the vessel; or, again, zoomorphic figurines 

 appear to gaze into the vessel or peer outward or sidewise. 



Paste indicates the composition of the clay and a clear-cut, accu- 

 rate description of the paste is possible only with the aid of a chemical 

 analysis. In this description of West Indian pottery no such an- 

 alysis has been attempted. The writer analyzed the tempering ma- 

 terial of stone and shell employed in the Santo Domingan pottery 

 forms examined, both as to its relative quantity and coarseness, each 

 of which is an aid in determining the composition of the paste. The 

 texture of the paste was studied chiefly from the standpoint of its 

 fineness and the thoroughness of its treatment by the primitive potter. 

 Firing and degree of hardness due to heat were tested to determine 

 resistance of the pottery to scratching. The relative thickness of 

 the unfired area occupying the center of wall is perhaps a superior 

 indication of degree of firing and skill of potter. The Samana 

 examples were tested by the ability of the paste to absorb small quan- 

 tities of water. 



The color of the unslipped paste, due to its composition and to 

 the firing, shows a variegation in color of red, gray, and black to 

 various shades of buff. The surface finish principally of the Andres 

 and Monte Cristi examples shows more evidence of smoothing and 

 polishing than it does of application of slips or washes. When such 

 washes are applied they are never mineral of the type that has been 

 designated as lead, alkaline, or feldspathic, neither is there any indi- 

 cation of the use of such substances as wax, oil, or the gum of certain 

 trees. A white clay slip, kaolin, had been aj^plied perhaps more 

 than any other form of slip. Much of the patination and unfortu- 

 nately much of the reddish colored slip was removed along with 

 organic material adhering to the walls of the Monte Cristi and Andres 

 vessels when they were cleansed in a dilute solution of hydrochloric 

 acid. A discoloration or patination of the surface due to inhuma- 

 tion, weathering, flaking, or other processes of disintegration was 

 particularly evident in the Andres pottery. 



The third primary element or characteristic in this study of 

 ceramics, tliat of decoration, hinges on the design intended and the 

 technic. The processes of application are three, (1) incising, etch- 

 ing or engraving, and stamping as contrasted (2) with the coiling 



