44  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
the  beach  and  iti  the  face  of  the  bank  below  th.e  level  where  the  earth 
had  been  disturbed  by  the  plow. 
The  II  specimens  shown  in  the  upper  part  of  plate  13  reveal  various 
kinds  of  surface  decoration  including  the  impression  of  a  fabric,  of 
twisted  cords,  and  of  another  material,  and  deep  lines.  The  frag- 
ments vary  greatly  in  texture  and  are  thought  to  have  Ijeen  made 
during  different  periods  of  occupancy.  The  five  pieces  forming  the 
top  row  are  bits  of  rims  of  vessels  and  may  be  described  briefly, 
beginning  at  the  left : 
1.  Coiled  ware.    Tempering,  crushed  quartz. 
2.  Coiled  ware.    Tempering,  sand  or  crushed  quartz. 
3.  No  evidence  of  coils.    Clay  contains  a  quantity  of  fine  sand  which 
was  probably  natural.   Vessel  is  a  very  light  yellow  with  top  or 
rim  flat.    Thickness  at  top  5/16  inch. 
4.  Coiled  ware.    Tempering,  small  amount  of  crushed  quartz,  and 
evidence  of  crushed  .shell  which  has  decayed  and  disappeared, 
causing  small  cavities  to  remain. 
5.  No  indication  of  coils.    Much  very  fine  sand  mixed  with  the  clay. 
Vessel  of  light  color. 
Second  row,  beginning  at  left : 
1.  No  trace  of  coils.   Clay  contains  much  fine  sand  or  crushed  stone. 
Rather  fragile  with  surface  weathered  a  light  gray. 
2.  No  trace  of  coils.    Tempering,  sand  or  crushed  stone. 
3.  No  evidence  of  coils.    Very  dark  inside  with  surface  weathered 
light  gray.    Tempering,  coarse  sand. 
4.  5,  6.    Three  pieces  similar  to  others  found  higher  up  the  Rappa- 
hannock opposite  the  large  island  at  the  falls. 
When  describing  the  specimens  found  opposite  the  island  it  was 
suggested  that  a  vegetal  substance  had  served  as  the  tempering.  This 
belief  had  been  suggested  by  the  presence  in  one  piece  of  small  cavities 
filled  with  particles  of  carbon  which,  when  leached  away,  would  have 
caused  the  porous  condition  of  the  ware.  However,  the  occurrence  of  a 
piece  of  shell,  ^  inch  in  width,  exposed  in  the  middle  of  the  edge  of 
the  largest  of  the  3  fragments,  at  right  end  of  the  second  row,  proves 
conclusively  that  crushed  shell  had  been  employed  as  a  tempering 
material,  either  solely  or  in  conjunction  with  some  other  substance, 
all  traces  of  which  have  disappeared.  The  pitted  surface,  and  the 
cavities  throughout  the  ware,  resulted  from  the  disappearance  of  the 
tempering  material,  whatever  it  may  have  been. 
