ANCIENT POTTERV OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 1 89 



only, I take the liberty of reproducing one examaple — the finest — 

 by wood engrav'ing, Fig. 98. This vessel was found in a mound 

 near Davenport along with human remains, and closely associated 

 with other relics, among which were several copper implements 

 covered with coarse woven fabrics. Its height is eleven inches, width 

 of aperture seven and one-half inches, and diameter of base four 

 inches. It is estimated to contain a little over one gallon. 



There is a broad, shallow constriction at the neck. The walls are 

 from one-fourth to three-eight of an inch thick, and the margin of 

 the rim is squared off, showing the full thickness — a strong charac- 

 teristic of the northern pottery. The form is nearly symmetri- 

 cal, and the surface is hand-smoothed but not polished. At 

 present the paste is dark and crumbling, and shows a rough frac- 

 ture. A large percentage of sand was used in tempering. The 

 color is a dark gray-brown. The entire surface with the ex- 

 ception of a narrow band about the base has been covered with 

 ornamentation. This is executed with considerable care, and 

 shows a great deal of ingenuity and some taste. There is apparently 

 no feature copied from nature or from ideographic art. Two or 

 three distinct implements have been used. A part of the neck 

 ornament was made by rolling back and forth a circular tool— a 

 roulette — the edge of which was notched, A row of indented 

 nodes has been produced upon the exterior surface of the neck by 

 impressing upon the inside the end of a reed or hollow bone about 

 one-fourth of an inch in diameter. Patterns of bold, rather care- 

 lessly drawn lines cover the body and seem to have been made by 

 trailing, under pretty strong pressure, the smooth point of a 

 stylus — probably the bone or reed already suggested. Some of the 

 larger indentations upon the lower part of the neck may have been 

 made by the same implement held in an oblique position. The use 

 to which this vessel was applied can hardly be guessed. It was 

 found with the remains of its owner, and probably contained food 

 or drink. 



Another smaller vessel from the same locality and found under 

 similar conditions shows the same characteristics of material, form, 

 and ornament. There are also a few other fragments of the same 

 ware from this group of mounds. One of these shows that decoration 

 by the indentation of twisted cords was practiced here as elsewhere. 

 A similar vase tastefully decorated with indented lines about the 

 neck, and a band of decoration consisting of broad, plain, sinuous 



