178 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 177 
MABARUMA PHASE PLAIN TYPES 
The only plain ware of Mabaruma Phase origin identified in the Abary Phase 
sites is Hotokwai Plain, tempered with pulverized steatite (Appendix, table 25). 
The sherds are typical of the late form of Hotokwai Plain, in which the steatite 
is very finely ground and well mixed throughout the paste. The pottery type 
description is given under the Mabaruma Phase (pp. 101-103). 
Potrery ARTIFACTS 
Pottery artifacts are very rare. A few hunks of fired reddish-tan 
to orange clay have one finished surface, or a rounded junction of two 
walls, suggesting they may be parts of pot rests. Base diameter is 
estimated as 8-12 cm. 
Three sherds of Taurakuli Plain from level 8-16 cm., Cut 1, B-1, 
may be worked. Two are rectanguloid, 4.5 by 3.0 cm. and 3.3 by 2.1 
cm., and one is irregularly ovoid, 4.5 by 3.3cm. Although the eroded 
condition makes observation difficult, there appears to be wear at the 
ends, suggesting use as a polisher or abrader. 
One crude bead of Taurakuli Plain from B-1, Cut 1, level 0-8 cm. 
is approximately circular in cross section, 1.2 cm. in maximum diam- 
eter by 1.8 cm. long (fig. 67, a-c). The ends taper slightly. The 
perforation is 4 by 5 mm. at one end, but on the other the edges are 
folded over making a narrow slit 1.5 by 4.0 mm. The surface is not 
well smoothed. 
THE SITE SEQUENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS 
The Abary Phase is represented by three sites, all of them exca- 
vated stratigraphically. All of the cuts were used in the seriated 
sequence except B-3, Cut 1, which shows a distorted picture because 
of the small number of sherds per level. The four other excavations 
show a similar pattern of change. The dominant early plain ware is . 
cariapé-tempered Tiger Island Plain, which has a frequency of 79.1 
and 88 percent in the earliest levels of B-1 (fig.77). It declines rapidly 
to 14 percent by the middle of the sequence and in the latter part 
fluctuates between 1.4 and 7.3 percent of the total sherds per level. 
Corresponding to this decline is an increase in sherd-tempered Tau- 
rakuli Plain from between 10 and 19 percent at the beginning to 93.4 
percent at the middle of the sequence. Thereafter it declines to about 
65 percent (the latest level with 74.3 percent contains only 70 sherds). 
Abary Plain, tempered with coarse sand, has a sporadic history at 
the two earliest sites, where it fluctuates between 0 and 8.5 percent. 
Toward the end of the sequence, it shows a more consistent trend of 
increase, reaching a maximum of 29.9 percent. An unclassified plain 
ware tempered with black ash appears when Tiger Island Plain has 
undergone considerable decline. It reaches a maximum frequency of 
