NO.    4      INDIAN    SITES    ON    THE    RAPPAHANNOCK BUSH  NELL  25 
no  similar  specimen  was  found  on  the  sites  examined  along  the 
Rappahannock.  Much  crushed  quartz  had  been  added  as  a  tempering. 
The  impression  of  tightly  twisted  cords  remains  on  the  outer  surface. 
It  is  of  a  very  bright,  reddish  color,  different  from  that  of  any  other 
specimen  found  on  the  site. 
The  large  fragment  to  the  right  is  part  of  a  massive  vessel.  It  is 
coiled  ware  and  in  places  is  more  than  one-half  inch  in  thickness. 
The  surface  is  hard  and  slightly  pitted,  indicating  the  leaching  away 
of  part  of  the  tempering  material,  although  some  small  pieces  of 
quartz  remain  exposed.  Tightly  twisted  cords  crossed  and  recrossed 
the  surface,  the  impressions  of  which  are  clearly  defined.  The  lower 
edge,  as  viewed  in  the  photograph,  is  the  bottom  of  a  coil  or  band  of 
clay  which  had  separated  from  the  one  against  or  upon  which  it  had 
been  placed.  This  parting  had  occurred  while  the  vessel  was  still  in 
use,  when,  it  is  evident,  the  parts  had  been  perforated  and  fastened 
together  by  means  of  a  cord  or  thong.  Perforations  made  for  this 
purpose  are  frequently  found  in  bits  of  pottery  as  well  as  in  frag- 
ments of  soapstone  vessels. 
The  specimens  of  earthenware  just  described  are  considered  typical 
examples  from  the  site  of  Pissaseck. 
SOAPSTONE 
The  discovery  of  many  fragments  of  soapstone  vessels  proves  that 
at  some  time  in  the  past  much  of  the  material  was  used  by  the  occu- 
pants of  the  ancient  site.  The  rather  small  pieces  differ  in  texture 
and  degree  of  purity,  and  consequently  could  have  been  derived  from 
more  than  one  quarry.  Some  may  have  been  carried  down  the  Rappa- 
hannock from  the  quarries  far  up  the  valley,  well  within  the  bounds 
of  the  territories  dominated  by  the  Manahoac  tribes  in  1608;  other 
pieces  were  probably  obtained  from  the  extensive  outcroppings  in 
Amelia  County,  or  from  other  sources  in  the  tidewater  region  which 
have  remained  undiscovered. 
There  are  no  known  references  by  the  early  writers  to  the  actual 
use  of  soapstone  by  the  native  tribes  of  Virginia  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century,. but  it  may  have  been  used  to  a  limited  extent 
by  some  in  conjunction  with  the  far  more  numerous  pottery  vessels. 
This  condition  appears  to  have  prevailed  among  certain  related  Algon- 
quian  tribes  farther  north  in  New  Jersey  and  possibly  elsewhere. 
Peter  Kalm,  the  Swedish  scientist,  who  wrote  while  in  New  Jersey 
in  January  1749,  mentioned  the  use  of  pottery  and  soapstone  vessels 
by  the  Indians  of  the  region  at  the  time  of  the  earliest  European 
