ADMINISTRATIVE EEPORT XXVII 



concepts as motives; and it is this stage, with its protean 

 foi-ms, textures, decorative devices, and modes of manufacture, 

 which has been found peculiarly inscrutable by students of 

 the products alone. Now it is precisely this stage which is 

 represented by most of the American aboriginal ware, both 

 prehistoric and historic, and by the surviving tribes. Accord- 

 ingly, Professor Holmes's description of the American ware, 

 with its critical analysis of types and interpretation of motives, 

 would seem to afford not merely a supplement to, but a sound 

 foundation for, the history of the potters' art. 



