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MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. G79 



paper is to present the reader with a description of the relics and pottery 

 found in each stratum of the shell-heap, beginning at the foundation 

 and ending at the top, and from a comparison of the various styles 

 which mark the march of progress and improvement, to hazard a con- 

 jecture as to the time which elapsed from the beginning of the shell- 

 heaps up to the advent of the European. 



In all the large shell-heaps examined hitherto I have invariably found 

 pottery in the lowest stratum of shell, and, in many instances, in the 

 soil beneath the foundations, which I regard as conclusive evidence 

 that the aborigines were acquainted with the art of fabricating earth- 

 enware iiots long before they began these vast accumulations of shell. 

 The art however was in its rudest state. The fragments are thick, 

 heavy, and coarse, the composing clay often containing a mixture of 

 coarse sand or small pebbles. The utensils were of large size and rudely 

 fashioned, as shown by the curves of the fragments, and thej' were des- 

 titute of all attempt at ornament. The rims were plain, and were not 

 thickened or re-enforced to increase their strength. This style is found 

 generally for about three or four feet in height, and may be said to rep- 

 sent the first stage. Above this a gradual change is perceptible, the 

 two styles overlapping, so that it is difficult to say where one begins and 

 the other ends. 



The second stage however as we ascend, soon becomes plainly 

 marked. The walls of the utensils become thinner. The rims are 

 turned outward and slightly thickened. Dots and straight lines are 

 cut into the sides of the vessel by way of ornament, and the thickened 

 rims are sometimes " pinched" like pie-crust with the fingers. During 

 this stage the savage artist first began to mold his wares in rush bas- 

 kets, which were subsequently burned away, leaving the vessel curi- 

 ously checked as though it had been pressed while wet with coarse 

 cloth. The use of sand or gravel is totally abandoned during this 

 stage, and the quality of the pottery is in every way improved. Im- 

 plements of shell and bone are sometimes found, but they are generally 

 few in number and rude in manufacture. 



This brings us to a portion of the shell-heap corresponding in position 

 with the two-feet stratum of soil shown in the diagram, and that stratum 

 marks the transition period between the middle and modern styles of 

 Indian pottery. Immediately below this layer of soil we find the curved 

 line introduced in ornamental designs on the utensils, and a few frag- 

 ments of the rims of pots show that ears began to be attached to them 

 for the convenience of suspension, and that the thickness of the ware 

 was reduced by the employment of better materials. Immediately over 

 the stratum of soil all the fragments show improvement on those below. 

 New patterns are introduced, and we begin to find fragments of dishes, 

 bowls, cups, as well as those of jars and pots, many of them of elegant 

 design and of a superior quality of ware. Stone axes, arrow-heads, bone 

 and shell implements are of frequent occurrence. 



