V0 1889."'] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 369 



Again, comparing the chipped implements with those from regions 

 abounding in flint, obsidian, and the finer varieties of the silex group, 

 a large collection of them has a somewhat rude appearance. (See Plates 

 xvi aud xvn.) All this is due, however, to the material. The ancient 

 Potomac dweller was restricted in his material to bowlders of quartzite 

 found in quantities inexhaustible all over his area, to veins of milky 

 quartz outcropping here and there, and to an occasional quarry of soap- 

 stone. It is not meant to be here asserted that all Potomac implements 

 are made of these materials and are rude, because there exist in some 

 of o*ur local collections specimens of exquisite workmanship from finer 

 substances. 



A map, originally prepared for the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. 

 Louis Kengla, is herewith appended. (See Plate xviii.) This has been 

 perfected to date for the writer by Mr. S. V. Proudfit, who is most 

 familiar with the location of camp-sites, workshops, etc., around Wash- 

 ington. 



In addition to the collection of the Smithsonian Institution there are 

 many private cabinets of great value illustrative of this part of the 

 subject, notably those of Mr. Mann S. Valentine, in Richmond; J. D. 

 McGuire, esq., of Ellicott City; Mr. O. N. Bryan, of Piscataway, Md. ; 

 and in Washington, of Mr. S. V. Proudfit, Dr. Elmer P. Reynolds, Dr. W. 

 J. Hoffman, Hallet Phillips, esq., Messrs. Ernest Shoemaker, De Lancy 

 Gill, F. D. Finckel, aud Nathaniel S. Way. 



Our knowledge of the culture status of the peoples of this region is 

 considerably enlarged by the discovery of earthenware which, though 

 mostly in a fragmentary state, serves perfectly, when placed beside the 

 ceramic products of other sections of the country, as an index of com- 

 parative advancement. A study of the distribution of the varieties of 

 ware promises to assist materially in settling questions of tribal distri- 

 bution. 



Mr. W. H. Holmes has made a careful study of this field, and has, in 

 addition, by taking casts from impressions upon the pottery, restored a 

 number of the primitive woven fabrics of the tide- water people. Plate 

 xix gives a number of illustrations of the forms and ornaments of the 

 pottery and four examples of the weaving. 



The most serious problem that faces the archaeologists in this area 

 has been proposed by Mr. Thomas Wilson, of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion. It is no other than that of existence of two periods of occupa- 

 tion in the Potomac region — the one palaeolithic and ancient, the other 

 neolithic and modern. As the present writer understands the question, 

 the facts are as follows: While the camp-sites along the water-courses 

 yield abundance of finely-chipped arrow-heads, spear-heads, knives, 

 etc., and also polished implements, soapstoue vessels, and pottery, the 

 hills back from the river are wanting in the smaller, finer forms, but 

 abound in coarser, flaked arte/acta, mixed with broken implements and 

 spalls. 



Proc. N. M. 89 24 



