holmes.] POTTERY OF TENNESSEE. 445 



the warp of which, whether wood or cord, has consisted of fillets more 

 than one-fourth of an inch in width, the woof being fine cord. 



This is what is frequently spoken of as the ear-of-corn impression. 

 No incised or excavated lines have been noticed in these fragments of 

 pot-shaped vessels. Some of the most elegant vessels are without up- 

 right necks. The upper or incurved surface of the body is approxi 

 mately flat, forming, with the lower part of the body a more or less sharp 

 peripheral aDgle. The base is rounded, and, so far as we can judge 

 from the examples, the bottom is slightly flattened. Vessels having ver 

 tical or flariug rims are generally somewhat more shallow. 



The incurved upper surface is often tastefully ornamented with pat- 

 terns of incised or excavated lines which are arranged in groups, in 

 vertical or oblique positions, or encircle the vessel parallel with the 

 border. One specimen has a row of stamped circles, made by a reed or 

 hollow bone. 



Bowls of the ordinary shape are variously decorated. In one case we 

 have on the outside of the rim, and projecting slightly above it, a 

 rudely-modeled grotesque face. A notched fillet passes around the 

 rim, near the lip, connecting with the sides of this head. 



In another case a rude node is added to the rim. The only bowl hav- 

 ing a flaring rim is without ornament. 



We have only one fragment of a bowl in which the body has been 

 marked with cords. 



Composition. — The clay used in the pottery from this mound is gen 

 ('rally fine in texture, and of a light-gray color. Many of the fragments 

 have been blackened by burning subsequently to their original firing, 

 and some may have been originally blackened with graphite. The 

 prevailing colors seen in the fragments are yellowish and reddish grays. 

 The percentage of powdered shell used in tempering has usually been 

 very large, forming at times at least half the mass. The flakes of shell 

 are very coarse, being often as much as one-fourth of an inch in diame- 

 ter. In many cases they have been destroyed by burning, or have 

 dropped out from decay, leaving a deeply pitted surface. 



Pipes.— There are a number of pipes in the collection, most of which 

 weie found near the surface of the mound. In some cases they resem- 

 ble modern forms very closely. The most striking example is made of 

 a fine-grained clay, without visible admixture of tempering material. 

 The color is a reddish gray. It is neatly and symmetrically formed, 

 the surface being finished by polishing with a smooth, hard implement, 

 and shaving with a knife. The bowl is 2 inches high, and the rim is 

 bell shaped above, with a smooth, flat lip, one-fourth of an inch wide. 

 The diameter of the opening is nearly 2 inches. The base is conical. 

 The stem part is one-half an inch long and one-half an inch in diame- 

 ter. The bowl and stem are both conically excavated. 



Another specimen is made of clay mixed with powdered shell. The 

 bowl is cylindrical, being a little larger at the rim, which is ornamented 



