60 ABORIGINAL POTTERY OF EASTERN UNITED STATES [eth.axn.20 



In the following extrsict the author appears to refer to the use of 

 pottery in New Jersey; and sherds now found in so many localities 

 no doubt represent the art of the time referred to. 



The old boilers or kettle:^ uf the Indians, were either made of clay, or (if different 

 kinds of pot stone (Lapis i pilaris). The former consisted of a dark clay, nuxt 

 with grains of white sand or quartz, and burnt in the fire. Many of these kettles 

 have two holes in the upper margin, on each side one, through which the Indians 

 put a stick and held the kettle over the fire as long as it was to boil. Most of the 

 kettles have no feet. It is remarkable that no pots of this kind have been found 

 glazed, either on the outside or the inside. A few of the oldest Swedes could yet 

 remember seeing the Indians l)oil their meat in the.^e pots." 



Many details of ela\' nninipulation are given in subsequent pages as 



the various groups of ware are presented. 



SIZE 



The production of a vessel of clay required much skill, experience, 

 and foresight; it was not a single, simple act of construction that was 

 necessary, but a series of progressive operations of a delicate and diffi- 

 cult nature, extending over a number of days. These difficulties were 

 much increased with the increase in dimensions of the utensil. A ves- 

 sel so small as to be kept well within the grasp of the fingers could be 

 built at once, and without great danger of failure at any stage of the 

 work, ))ut in building a large vessel the walls had to be carried upward 

 by degrees, time being required to allow the plastic paste to set and 

 thus to become capable of supporting additional weight. The danger 

 of failure in subsequent stages of the work also increased with the 

 size, and a vessel of clay two or more feet in diameter, and three-fourths 

 that height, carried successfully through all the steps of modeling, 

 drying, bitrning, coloring, and ornamentation may well be regarded 

 as a triumph of barbarian manipvdative skill. 



The average Indian vase, as seen in our museums, is rather small, 

 having a capacity of a gallon or less, but these surviving vessels do 

 not fairly represent the dimensions of the original products; large 

 vessels are rarel}' preserved for the reason that as a rule, save in 

 limited districts, they were not buried with the dead, as were the 

 smaller pieces. 



The use for which the vessel was intended had much to do with its 

 size. The boiling of messes for feasts where many people were to be 

 served required large pots, as did also storage, and evaporation of 

 water for salt or sugar. The so-called salt pots found in Tennessee, 

 Illinois, and Missouri are among the largest vessels known in any sec- 

 tion of the country, and fragments have been found indicating a 

 a diameter of three feet or more. In such vessels the depth usually 

 is not great; indeed, few vessels of any class have been collected having 

 a height greater than twenty-four inches. The thickness of the walls of 



"Kiilm, I'ctcr, Tmvels iiuoXortli .\merica, viu. ir. Lniifion. 1770, pp. 41-12. 



