406 ANCIENT POTTERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 



idea of the complete creature. The round body is decorated with broad 

 vertical lines in dark red. A red line encircles the rim. 



Fig. 419. — Animal-Bhaped vase: Arkansas. — ). 



It is not strange that a people who had successfully engaged in the 

 modeling of life forms, and especially the heads of animals, should at- 

 tempt the human head. Their remarkable success iu this direction is 

 shown in a number of vases, one of which is given in Fig. 420. This 

 and kindred peoples had made considerable progress in carving in stone 

 and other materials, evincing a decided talent for sculpture; but clay is 

 so much more readily manipulated than either wood, stone, or shell, 

 that we are not surprised to find their best work in that material. 



It is an interesting fact that with all this cleverness in the handling 

 of clay, and iu the delineation of varied models, the art had not freed 

 itself from the parent stem — the vessel — and launched out into an inde- 

 pendent field. In a few cases such au end seems to have been achieved 

 by certain groups of mound builders, notably those whose works at 

 Madisonville, Ohio, have recently been explored by Professor Putnam. 

 Modeling in clay was probably confined to vessels for the reason that, 

 through their humble agency, the art was developed. 



Up to the present time I have met with but eight of these curious 

 head shaped vases. All were obtained from the vicinity of Pecan Point, 

 Arkansas, and, like other vessels, have been associated with human re- 

 mains in graves or mounds. It is true that iu all cases the bones of the 

 dead have not been found, but this only indicates their complete decay. 

 The question as to whether or not these vases were made exclusively 

 for sepulchral purposes must remain unanswered; there is no source of 

 information upon the subject. Such a purpose is, however, suggested 

 in this case by the semblance of death given to the faces. 



The finest example yet found is shown iu Fig. 420. Iu form it is a 

 simple head, five inches in height and five inches wide from ear to ear. 

 The aperture of the vase is in the crown, and is surrounded by a low, 

 upright rim, slightly recurved. The cavity is roughly finished, and fol- 

 lows pretty closely the contour of the exterior surface, excepting in pro- 

 jecting features such as the ears, lips, and nose. The walls are generally 



