LVIH ANNUAL REPORT OP THE DIRECTOR 



the development of geometric ornamentation. It is shown 

 that forms of decoration, originating in the previously existing 

 textile art and hence purely conventional, were imposed upon 

 the potter's art, which, at the time of the Spanish conquest, 

 had not vet acquired a style purely its own. 



ANCIENT POTTERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, BY WILLIAM 



H. HOLMES. 



The ancient relics discussed in this paper are divided into 

 three groups, viz, those found in the Upper Mississippi, the 

 Middle Mississippi, and the Lower Mississippi or Gulf prov- 

 ince. The much greater amount of ware obtained from the 

 mounds and graves of the province of the Middle Mississippi 

 Valley, as compared with that found in the other districts, has 

 required that this paper should be mainly devoted to this 

 province. It embraces the greater part of the States of Mis- 

 souri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, large portions of Kentucky, 

 Mississippi, and Illinois, and extends into Iowa, Alabama, 

 Indiana, and Texas. The author dwells upon the age of the 

 objects, their use, construction, material, colors, form, finish, and 

 ornamentation. He gives special classifications and descrip- 

 tions, with numerous illustrations, under the heads of bowls, 

 pot shaped vessels, wide mouthed bottles or jars, and high 

 necked bottles. It is noted that the vessels, though generally 

 found in connection with human sepulchers, were not to any 

 extent cinerary, probably not even mortuary, in the sense of 

 construction for the purpose of inhumation with the dead. 

 They were ordinary receptacles for food and drink placed 

 in the grave, together with other possessions of the deceased. 

 Tlie material employed in their manufacture was clay in all 

 grades of refinement. The tempering materials, varying 

 in quantity, were shells, sand, and pulverized potsherds. 

 The stage of the art represented was that of primitive hand 

 building. No lathe or wheel was used. Molds, such as 

 could be made from baskets, nets, and coarse cloth, were 

 employed in some sections. The period was also one of open- 

 air baking. A prominent feature is the great diversity of form, 

 indicating the long practice of the art, a high specialization of 



