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DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



natural objects themselves as utensils, the original forms not having 

 been lost sight of and having in time suggested the employment of 

 other natural forms. Examples of the latter class may be cited. 



Shells were primitive vessels. The hard cases of seeds and fruits 

 were also much used. These ^\ere doubtless antecedent to vessels 

 of clay. They were the natural models for the potter, the carver in 

 wood or stone, and their employment as such served to lead u]) 

 gradually to a more realistic and general use of natural shapes in 

 works of art to which they were not essential features. The import- 

 ance of the various animal forms was doubtless increased by their 

 association with religious ideas. Nearly all the vessels of this class 

 presented in the following illustrations come from the vicinity of 

 Pecan Point, Arkansas. 



She/Is. — Traces ot these antecedent vessels are frequently found 

 in the pottery of our collections. The shells of the sea-shore, and 

 of our large rivers were a common form of primitive bowls. Clay 

 vessels imitating them, are occasionally obtained from the mounds 

 and graves of the Mississippi Valley. The conch shell appears to 

 have been a favorite model, especially in its modified form, Fig. 



Fig. 15. — Clay vessels imitating shells. 



1$, a and /'. The clam shell is also imitated, c. These conven- 

 tionalized forms are exceedingly interesting, as they point out the 

 tendencies and possibilities of modification. Fig 16, b, illustrates 

 an instructive example from this collection. It has four groups of 

 nodes, each consisting of a large central node with four or five 



Fk;. 16. — Clay vessels imitating shells, 



smaller ones surrounding it, set about the rim, the conception being 

 that of four shells joined in one vessel, with the noded apexe.s 

 turned outward, and the bases inward. 



