282 CERTAIN ANTIQUITIES OF EASTEKN MEXICO [kth. ann. 25 



miles from Tampieo, has a few mounds. A characteristic of these 

 few clay objects is the enlargemeut of the body, which in one specimen 

 has the form of a cup. It suggests the general appearance of some of 

 the tigurines from Vera Cruz and the state of Chiapas. 



The author's studies in the Tampieo region bring out in strong relief 

 the desirabilit}' of renewed explor;ition of the archeology of Tamaulipas. 

 There is no doubt that this state contains many relics of the past in 

 the form of mounds, the sites and character of which are unknown to 

 archeologists. The mounds in the immediate neighborhood of Tampieo 

 are shell heaps, p\'ramidal foundations of temples, and mortuary hil- 

 locks, but thus far none have been found with walls in their interior 

 or cropping out on their surfaces. The mounds of Tamaulipas are 

 related in form and apparently in structure to those of Cempoalan, 

 but the building material employed in the two regions is different. 

 Certain of these mounds are similar to the earth mounds at Antigua 

 and Texolo, near Jalapa. As has already been pointed out, they 

 resemble superficially the mounds of Louisiana, but objects found in 

 them are quite different. 



The pottery of the Huaxtec has in genei'al a similarity to some of 

 the Hopi ware, especially that from along the Little Colorado, but 

 the designs upon it are somewhat different and characteristic. The 

 ancient people of the Panuco valley were distinctly potters, as the 

 variety of forms they manufactured makes evident, and their descend- 

 ants still retain the art. They were given to making images of 

 clay, as well as vases, bowls, jars, and clay heads, and these pottery 

 images and bowls were painted or decorated with reliefs. These 

 productions are found everywhere in the soil, particularly near 

 mounds, which occur in numbers at certain points, especially on banks 

 of rivers and lagoons. Some of the common forms of pottery from 

 the neighljorhood of the Champayan lagoon are figured in the accom- 

 panying plate (cxxvii). The specimens in the plates named below were 

 found along the Panuco and Tamesi rivers and were probably made by 

 the Huaxtec. They are owned by Doctor Presslev, the missionary 

 at Tampieo, and the author was allowed to photograph his collection. 

 Figure 70 is the largest and one the most bizarre in form. It has an 

 hourglass shape and a vertical hollow handle on one side and a melon- 

 shaped base, the enlargements Ijeing continued into lobes as here 

 shown. There was formerly a handle attached to the rim of this 

 vase, but it is now broken off. Plate cxxvii, </, represents a melon- 

 shaped vessel with a vertical spout and contracted base. Specimen c 

 is an amphora with the face on the side of the neck and a contracted 

 orifice. In specimen 5, which is also a small melon-shaped vessel like 

 a teapot, there is a handle over the orifice by which it was carried. 

 The majority of clay objects of the Huaxtec in most collections are 



