NO.    4      INDIAN    SITES    ON    THE    RAPPAHANNOCK BUSHNELL  5I 
handle  was  placed  on  the  other  end  of  the  vessel  in  the  same  relative 
position.  The  greatest  thickness  of  the  wall  is  i  inch,  just  below  the 
knob.  The  entire  surface,  both  inside  and  outside,  is  very  smooth, 
resembling  the  surface  of  the  rim  fragment  shown  in  plate  7,  found 
at  Pissaseck. 
The  villages  of  Pissaseck  and  Nandtanghtacund  were  important 
centers  of  population  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  and 
so  continued  for  some  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  colony.  The 
sites  of  both  native  settlements  are  very  extensive,  and  it  is  evident 
that  they  had  existed  through  generations,  although  the  entire  area 
of  each  as  now  recognized  may  not  have  been  occupied  at  any  one 
time.  From  year  to  year,  with  the  return  of  the  people  to  the  villages, 
different  places  would  be  selected  for  the  erection  of  their  habitations, 
a  custom  that  resulted  in  a  very  extensive  tract  showing  evidence  of 
having  been  occupied,  thus  causing  the  sites  to  appear  to  be  those  of 
very  large,  widely  dispersed  settlements.  Such  a  moving  about  over 
a  restricted  area  may  have  continued  for  a  long  period  and  readily 
explains  the  occurrence  of  varied  types  of  objects  in  many  localities. 
The  material  found  on  the  two  important  sites  just  mentioned  may 
be  considered  characteristic  of  the  region.  It  is  known,  however,  that 
certain  forms  of  artifacts  that  would  formerly  have  been  encountered 
are  not  represented  in  the  collections  illustrated,  but  the  deficiency 
will  be  partly  supplied  by  showing  specimens  from  sites  farther  up 
the  river  which  will  be  briefly  described.  Nevertheless,  were  it  pos- 
sible to  create  large,  representative  collections  from  other  places  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  above  Pissaseck,  there  would  be  a 
marked  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  material  as  a  whole,  and 
some  types  that  are  numerous  on  one  site  would  be  lacking  or  seldom 
encountered  on  others. 
Arove  Port  Tobago  Bay 
The  right  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  at  and  immediately  above 
the  beginning  of  Port  Tobago  Bay,  is  bordered  by  an  extensive  marsh. 
That  the  high  ground  adjacent  to  the  marsh  was  once  occupied  by  a 
native  settlement  is  indicated  by  the  presence  of  pottery,  now  reduced 
to  very  small  pieces,  scattered  over  the  surface.  Various  stone  imple- 
ments may  also  be  found,  together  with  a  few  pieces  of  soapstone 
vessels.  The  extent  of  the  occupied  area  could  not  be  determined, 
but  it  may  have  been  comparatively  small. 
Many  of  the  shards  discovered  on  the  surface  of  the  site  are 
smooth,  others  bear  the  impressions  of  cords  and  textiles,  but  the 
majority  are  so  worn  that  it  is  not  possible  to  identify  the  kind  of 
5 
