HOLMES] BOWLS AND POTS 89 



illustrations appearing in plate vniy and h. The most striking- char- 

 acteristic of these vessels is their ornament, which embodies some 

 unusual combinations of lines deeply and rather boldly incised. Many 

 of the pieces are new-looking, but a small number have been black- 

 ened by use over fire. The hemispheric shape is most common, 

 although there are some shallow forms, and a few of the vessels have 

 daring rims. The paste is yellowish and the surface is roughly fin- 

 ished. A verj' large percentage of shell has been used in tempering. 

 Other bowls of simple though varied form, and having ii variety of 

 incised decorations, are shown in the same plate. All are from graves 

 or mounds in Arkansas, except c and ./'. which are from a mound in 

 southeastern Missouri. 



A second group of bowls is given in plate ix. All these are from 

 Arkansas except ?>, which is from a contiguous locality in Missouri. 

 An exceptionally fine piece of work is illustrated in e. An example 

 of the deep cauldron-like boiling vessels found in some sections is 

 presented in plate x«. A curious casket used for burying the bones 

 of a child is given in plate x h. It is preserved in the collection of 

 the Davenport Academy of Sciences, and was found in a grave at 

 Hales point, Tennessee. One of the largest examj^les ever recovered 

 in a complete state is shown in plate x c. It was obtained from a mound 

 in Jefferson county, Missouri, and is 29i inches in diameter. Most 

 of these specimens have been described in the annual reports of the 

 Bureau of Ethnology. 



POTS 



Plate XI serves to illustrate a very large class of wide-mouthed vessels 

 of pot-like character. The\' are generally darkened by use over fire, 

 and more than any other form prol)ably served as ordinary culinary 

 utensils. The size varies from that of a drinking cup to that of a 

 cauldron of 1.5 or 20 gallons capacity. Two large and fine specimens 

 are given in plate xii. The frequent occurrence of strong handles 

 confirms the theory of their use for boiling and handling food. The 

 specimens illustrated are from Tennessee and Arkansas. 



The rims of these vessels were modified for decorative purposes very 

 much as are the rims of the bowls. The bodies arc sometimes elabo- 

 ratel}' ornamented, mostl}' with incised figures, but often with punc- 

 tures, nodes, and ribs. The incised lines, curved and straight, are 

 arranged to form simple i^atterns encircling the upper part of the 

 vessel. The punctures, made with a sharp point, form encircling 

 lines and various carelessly executed patterns. A rude sort of orna- 

 mentation was produced by pinching up the soft claj^ of the surface 

 between the nails of the fingers and thumb. Relief ornament consists 

 chiefly of applied fillets of clay arranged to form vertical ribs, Rows 

 of nodes are sometmies seen, and in a few cases the whole body is 

 covered with rude nodes or spmes (see plate xi). 



