NO.    4       INDIAN    SITES    ON    THE    RAPPAHANNOCK BUSHNELL  21 
clearly  defined,  and  the  edges  are  sharp.  A  characteristic  feature  of 
the  type  is  the  increase  in  the  width  of  the  blade  near  the  middle,  and 
in  many  examples  a  few  flakes  are  removed  from  one  edge  near  the 
point  evidently  in  the  endeavor  to  make  the  latter  sharper.  Specimens 
resembling  this  from  Michigan,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky  are 
preserved  in  the  collections  of  the  United  States  National  Museum. 
The  specimen  from  Kentucky  deserves  special  mention.  It  is  made 
of  a  dark  brown  flint,  so  plentiful  through  parts  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  and  was  found  in  a  cave  a  short  distance  northeast  of 
Bowling  Green,  Warren  County,  Ky.  It  was  found  in  1888  and  was 
sent  to  the  museum  at  that  time  (U.S.N.M.  no.  1062,  loan).  The 
specimen  is  embedded  for  a  distance  of  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  in  a  fragment  of  human  pelvic  bone,  which  it  had  entered  from 
the  front  through  the  body.  Thus  it  had  served  as  a  weapon  and  had 
undoubtedly  been  attached  as  a  point  of  a  spear.  This  discovery 
suggests  the  manner  in  which  all  similar  pieces  may  have  been  used. 
Nevertheless,  if  mounted  as  knives  or  daggers  they  would  have  been 
serviceable  in  many  ways. 
The  specimen  from  the  site  of  ancient  Pissaseck  was  undoubtedly 
made  west  of  the  Ohio. 
POTTERY 
A  vast  amount  of  fragmentary  pottery  has  been  recovered  from 
the  site.  It  is  of  a  brownish  color,  often  with  coils  clearly  defined,  and 
for  the  most  part  containing  a  tempering  of  crushed  quartz  or  sand, 
some  of  which  may  have  occurred  naturally  in  the  clay.  With  few 
exceptions  the  fragments  bear  on  the  outer  surface  the  impressions 
of  nets  or  single  cords ;  a  few  reveal  the  use  of  closely  woven  fabrics. 
A  single  shard  appears  to  have  been  decorated  with  straight,  very 
regular  lines,  which  had  been  made  by  impressing  some  hard  material 
into  the  clay  when  the  latter  was  in  a  plastic  state.  One  fragment, 
appearing  to  be  older  than  the  majority,  bears  the  impression  of 
basketry.^' 
Plate  6. — The  nine  specimens  forming  the  three  upper  rows  are 
bits  of  rims  of  vessels  and  show  several  forms  of  impressions.  The 
large  piece  on  the  top  row  is  part  of  a  rim  that  measured  about  8 
inches  in  diameter.  It  is  coiled  ware,  and  the  difference  in  height  of 
the  two  ends  of  the  specimen  represents  the  height  of  one  coil  of  clay 
^'  I  am  indebted  to  E.  G.  Cassedy,  by  whom  all  drawings  were  made,  for  assis- 
tance in  determining  the  nature  of  the  textiles  which  were  impressed  on  the 
pottery  vessels. 
