248 



PREHISTORIC FISHING. 



SECTION OF SHELL-HEAP AT 

 CEDAR KEYS. 



Six inches of modern soil. 



(Later stage). ' 



Fine thin pottery, beautifully or- 

 namented. Neatly-made imple- 

 ments of bone, shell, etc. A.xes, 

 arrow and spear-heads of stone; 

 also stone beads and objects of 

 stone used in games. : 



Three feet. 



Two feet of soil containing a 

 few fragments of pottery. 



" 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 mould his wares in rush-baskets, 

 which were subsequently burned away, leaving the 

 vessel curiously checked as though it had been i:)ressed, 

 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 man- 

 ufacture. 



" This brings us to a portion of the shell-heap 

 corresponding in position with the two-feet stratum 

 of soil shown in the dingram, and that stratum marks 

 the transition-period between the middle and modern 

 styles of Indian pottery. Immediatel}^ 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 im- 

 provement on those below. New patterns are intro- 

 duced, 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 supei'ior quality of ware. Stone axes, arrow-heads, bone and shell im- 

 plements are of frequent occurrence. 



"As we approach the top, marks of improvement are numerous. All the 

 larger pots are furnished with numerous ears, through which strings might be 

 run for suspension. Vessels are sometimes furnished with handles, and all the 

 finer wares are elaborately ornamented with zigzag-lines, curves, dots, and, in 

 i*are cases, with figures of men and animals. The finest wares are invariably 



(Middle stage). 



Better pottery, rudely orna- 

 mented. Primitive implements 

 of bone and shell. 



Four feet. 



(Earlier stage). 



Rude, heavy pottery, destitute 

 of ornament. 



Three feet. 



