holmes] VESSELS OF RECTANGULAR OUTLINE. 381 



Fig. 369 illustrates a minute cup rudely made of coarse clay. The 

 outline is oval and slightly pointed at one end, as if intended for pour- 

 iug liquids. 



In Fig. 370 we have another small vessel of rude finish with two 

 pointed lips. A much larger vessel of similar shape may be seen in 

 the Davenport collection. The projecting pointed lip is rarely found in 

 aboriginal pottery, although I see no reason why such a feature may 

 not readily have been suggested to the savage by the prolonged mar- 

 gins of his vessels of shell. 



Eectangular vessels are of the rude shell-tempered ware, and, although 

 rare, are widely distributed. 



Fig. 371 illustrates a specimen from Pecan Point, Arkansas. The sur 

 face is rudely finished and without polish. The color is a dark gray, 

 much flecked with large particles of white shell. Another example has 



Fig. 371. — Hectangular bowl: Pecan Point, Arkansas. — J. 



a square rim but a rounded bottom, and is covered with a coat or slip of 

 dark red clay. 



A small vessel from the same region as the preceding has tlie rim 

 pressed in on the four sides, leaving sharp, projecting corners. 



One of tlie most notable vessels in the collection is illustrated in Fig. 

 372. It is a heavy casket consisting of two parts, body and lid, and is 

 made as usual of clay and coarsely pulverized shell. It is brownish gray 

 in color and bears some marks of the baking. It was obtained by Oap- 

 taiu W. r. Hall from a low mound at Bale's Point, Tennessee, and is de- 

 scribed by Mr. W. II. Pratt, in the following language : " It is of rude, 

 irregular, quadrangular form, made in two parts. The lower, or case 

 proper, is 12 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 5 inches deep, inside 

 measure, the. upper edge being slightly bent inward all around. The 

 upper part or lid is of similar form and dimensions, being very slightly 

 larger, so as to close down over the other part, about one and a half 

 inches, and is somewhat more shallow. As the lid does not fit very per- 

 fectly, the joint around the edge had been plastered up with clay. 

 When found, it contained the remains of a very small child reduced to 

 dust, except that some of the bones of the skull, jaws, and limbs retained 



