HOLMES] COKRELATH)N OF POTTERY WITH TRIBES 81 



PittsVnirg-, and as fur .southeast as Aug-usta, Georgia. Closely related 

 forms lire found also along- the Gulf of Mexico, from Tampa bay to 

 the Rio Brazos. As a result of the .seg'regatioii of the peoples of 

 this vast province into social divisions — each more or less isolated 

 and independent and all essentially sedentary — there are well-marked 

 distinctions in the pottery found, and several subgroups may be recog- 

 nized. The most pronounced of these ai'e found, one in eastei'n 

 Arkansas and western Tennessee, one in southeastern Missouri, one in 

 the Cumberland valley, Tennessee, and a fourth in the lower Missis- 

 sippi region. Others may be distinguished as collections are enlarged. 

 The pottery of this great group does not occupy exclu.sively any- 

 large area. Varieties of ware whose typical development is in other 

 centers of habitation may be found in many places within its range. 

 As to the occurrence of occasional specimens of this ware in remote 

 localities, it may be remarked that there are many agencies that tend 

 to distribute art products l)eyoiul their normal limit. These have been 

 referred to in detail in the introductory pages. The accompanying 

 map, plate iv, will assist in giving a general impression of the distri- 

 bution and relative prevalence of this ware. 



Ethnic Considerations 



It is not clearly apparent that a study of the distribution of this 

 pottery will serve any important purpose in the settlement of purely 

 ethnic questions. The matter is worthy of close attention, however, 

 since facts that taken alone serve no definite purpose may supplement 

 testimony acquired through other channels, and thus assist in estab- 

 lishing conclusions of importance with respect to tribal or family 

 history. 



It is clear that this ware was not made by one but by many tribes, 

 and even by several linguistic families, and we may fairly assume 

 that the group is regional or environmental rather than tribal or 

 national. It is the product of conditions and limitations prevailing 

 for a long time throughout a vast area of country. As to the modern 

 representatives of the potteiy-making peoples, we may very reason- 

 ably look to any or all of the tribes found occupying the g'eneral 

 region when the whites came — Algonquian, Siouan, Muskhogean, 

 Natchesan, and Caddoan. 



With respect to the origin of this particular ceramic group we may 

 surmise that it developed largely from the preceramic art of the 

 region, although we must allow that exotic ideas probabl}' crept in 

 now and then to modify and im})rove it. That exotic features did mi- 

 grate by one agency or another from Mexico is amply attested b}-^ 

 various elements of form and technic found in the ceramic as well as 

 in other arts. 



I have sought by a study of the plastic re|:)resentations of the human 

 20 ETH— 03 C 



