250 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 185 
which must have been acquired during the life of the vessel. Some of 
this carbonization may also have been an acquired secondary charac- 
teristic since a number of the sherds were found lying upon a burned 
area. Interior surfaces had been smoothed but were uneven. Wall 
thickness varied considerably owing to construction techniques where 
a paddle and anvil were used. Exterior surface treatments were fairly 
uniform. Although not too distinct, it appears that this surface was 
treated with either a sinew- or bark-wrapped or crudely made cord- 
wrapped paddle, as well as being smoothed (pl. 42, a, e). Positive im- 
pressions taken from the exterior surfaces of the specimens indicate 
that such was the case. Cooper (1955, p. 28) suggested that some of 
these impressions resembled those of coiled basketry, but after careful 
study of the positives made with modeling clay it does not appear that 
basketry was involved. All the sherds recovered from this section of 
the site were from the body portion of a single vessel. The sherds 
found earlier correspond in paste, color, method of manufacture, and 
in exterior surface treatment to those collected at this time. It now 
seems that there were three separate systems of treating exterior sur- 
faces. Most sherds show that the vessel or vessels were treated with 
a wrapped paddle. Whether the wrapping was cord, sinew, or bark 
we are not sure. However, in the paddle-treated series there is not 
only a rim sherd but a number of body sherds which represent parts 
of the vessel almost down to the terminal basal portion (pl. 42, e, f). 
There is considerable variation in wall thickness as well as in distinc- 
tiveness of the impression. The lip of the rim sherd is intact (pl. 42, 
6). It was given a scalloped effect by pinching with the fingers, leav- 
ing the imprint of one fingernail at the base of each depression (pl. 42, 
c). The depressions are shallow, each separated by a hump of un- 
treated lip. The pressure brought to bear during this treatment caused 
the lip to thicken toward both surfaces, producing an inverted wedge- 
shaped effect. Suspended from the rim are shallow, crudely drawn, 
incised, pendant triangles or zigzag lines which extend 41 mm. below 
the rim. The sides of these elements form equilateral triangles 
measuring 45 mm. in length. 
In this same series is a sherd with an “S-shaped” cross section (pl. 
42, a). On the exterior and superimposed over the paddled treatment 
is a series of ovate indentations which appear to be the result of pinch- 
ing. Although the shape and size of the vessel are indeterminable, we 
can almost be positive that the line of pinched indentations was con- 
fined to the shoulder portion around its greatest diameter. Also, it 
seems probable that rising above the shoulder was a rather high neck. 
There is no clue to the shape of the basal portion. The walls of the 
vessel were thick, and there is a mottled effect on the surface resulting 
from firing clouds. Thus far this appears to be a unique sherd for 
Montana. 
