BULLETIN 



OP THE 



ESSEX UsTSTITTJTim. 



VOL. 24. SALEM: JAN., FEB., MAR., 1892. Nos. 1,2,3. 



ON THE OLDER FORMS OF TERRA-COTTA 

 ROOFING-TILES. 1 



BY EDWARD S. MORSE. 



IN tracing out the ethnic relations of past races and the 

 lines pursued by them in their migrations, the material to 

 be studied consists not only of the actual remains of man, 

 but also of the objects and results of his handiwork. If 

 the objects have written characters upon them, the story 

 to be unravelled is often easy ; the very style of ornamen- 

 tation betrays their relationship. Of great value to the 

 archaeologist are the enduring objects in stone, metal and 

 terra-cotta. It will be found that those features which per- 

 tain to the households of a race, and which are successively 

 taught from father to son, or from mother to daughter, 

 such as methods of shooting the arrow or of weaving, are 

 longest persistent. 



In language, it is found that those words which have the 

 deepest root often refer to acts of domestic life which pre- 



1 This paper was communicated to the Essex Institute, Dec. 21, 1891. It after- 

 wards appeared as a series of papers in the American Architect and Building 

 News. To the courtesy of Ticknor & Co., the publishers of that journal, the Es- 

 sex Institute is indebted for the use of the illustrations in this communication. 



0) 



