42 BULLETIN 87, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



frequently the pottery is marred by large smoked areas due to the 

 fuel resting against it during the process of burning. It is evident 

 that the fuel consisted of wood, the smoke markings being from 

 angular pieces of charcoal. 



The forms are: Bowls, always less than 10 inches in diameter; 

 vases with loop handles, either flattened, twisted, or simulating ani- 

 mal figures, birds and heads of animals projecting from the rim. 

 (PI. 8, figs. 1 and 2, Cat. Nos. 736 and 741, Gates Coll.; Blue, Ari- 

 zona.) The neck is occasionally quite tall in proportion to the body 

 and usually taller than in specimens from the Tularosa. The pre- 

 vailing type is globular, but sometimes the vessels are of bird or ani- 

 mal forms. One specimen especially, in the form of a plumed serpent, 

 is remarkable (see figs. 81, 82, and 83) and another, a bird form, is an 

 excellent example of taste, skill, and execution. A few dipper forms 

 are found, but they are very scarce compared with other areas north 

 of the mountains. Canteens holding about 3 pints are present in 

 small number. Tlie relative frequency of gray pottery in the Blue 

 River region is about 12 per cent. The gray pottery of the Blue 

 Eiver is much inferior to that of the Tularosa River both in crafts- 

 manship, accuracy of drawing, and in quality of j^aste. 



GRAY WAEE OF SPUR RANCH. 



As one ascends out of the gorges of the Blue, Tularosa, and San 

 Francisco rivers and mounts to the highland in which they arise, 

 gray ware becomes very scarce, and little also has been found from 

 the Datil Mountains on the east to the White Mountains on the west. 

 From the neighborhood of Luna, New Mexico, a few specimens have 

 been procured, and these in the main are related to those of the upper 

 Blue River on the south, and possibly some of them may have been 

 brought from that region. Several specimens, however, are unique. 

 (See fig. 84, p. 47, also pi. 9, figs. 1 and 2.) 



GRAY WARE OF THE TULAROSA VALLEY. 



On account of its exceptional situation and the fertility of its land, 

 the Tularosa Valley maintained a considerable population in ancient 

 times and, as if reflecting a life of abundance and isolation, there are 

 found evidences of one of the highest cultures in the southwest. 

 Gray w^are was abundant here and excelled that of any other region. 

 The paste is fine, and was clextrously fashioned into vessels which 

 show the artist's appreciation of form and texture. The craft here 

 also shows a greater inventiveness in the production of forms than is 

 met with elsewhere. In scarcely any other region do we find so many 

 examples of the pure white paste, which, if fired at a higher heat than 

 was possessed by these Indians, might have produced a semiporcelain. 



