HOLMES] FORM AND ORNAMENT 85 



ocheiy grays, rarel\' approaching the redditsli or terra-cotta tones. It 

 is possible that these difl'ei'ences of color were, to some extent, inten- 

 tionally produced hj regulation of the materials or methods of firing. 

 This theory is confirmed by the fact that certain forms of vases are 

 quite generally dark, while other forms are as uniformly liglit, the 

 latter in nearly all cases having been finished in color or with designs 

 in color. 



FOKM 



RANGE 



This ware exhibits great variety of outline, many forms being 

 extremely pleasing. In this respect it is far superioi' to the other 

 groups of the eastern United States. The vessels are perhaps more 

 varied in shape than those of the Pueblo country-, but are less diversi- 

 fied and elegant than those of Mexico, Central America, and Peru. 

 They take a higher rank than the prehistoric wares of northern Europe, 

 but, as a matter of course, lack the symmetry and refinement of out- 

 line that characterizes the wheel-made pottery of Mediterranean coun- 

 tries. As the vessels are grouped by forms later, in presenting the 

 illustrations, it is unnecessary to make further reference to this topic 

 here, save to call attention to the accompanying plates of outlines 

 (plates V, VI, and vii), which give in a connected series the full range 

 of form of this group. 



ESTHETIC MODIFICATIONS 



It can hardly be maintained that the ancient peoples of this region 

 had a very refined appreciation of elegance of outline, yet there are 

 many modifications of shape that indicate a taste for higher ty2)es of 

 beauty and a constant attempt to realize them. There is also a \-ery 

 decided leaning toward the grotesque. To such an extreme ha\'e the 

 dictates of fancy been followed in this respect that utilit}^ the true 

 and original oflice of the utensil, has often taken a secondary place, 

 although it has never or rarely been entirely lost sight of. Bowls 

 have been fashioned into the shape of birds, fishes, I'eptiles, and shells, 

 and vases and bottles into a multitude of animal and vegetal forms, 

 without nmch apparent regard for convenience. Much of this imita- 

 tive and imaginati\e art is undoubtedly the direct ofl'spring of myth- 

 ologic conceptions and superstitious practices and is thus symbolic 

 rather than esthetic; but it seems to me highly probable that pure 

 fancy, mere playfulness, had a place, as in more southern cou^ntries, 

 in the creation of unusual forms. 



AXIMAI, FORMS 



The portrayal of animal forms in one art or another was almost 

 universal among the American aborigines, Init with these middle Mis- 



