HOLMES] MATERIAL AND MANUFACTUHP:, FLuKIDA 117 



wan^ in <>'enoi':il is rudo on iiccouiit of its inuiiut'artuiT J'or tiic prep- 

 aration of food and its exclusive use in that j)rocess. 'I'he pottery of 

 the burial mounds, except the i)eculiar wai'e mentioned above, and 

 of the country in general is of a higher grade, often exhibiting neat 

 finish, varied and refined forms, and tasteful decorations. (_'onsidered 

 as a whole, the ceramic art of the Florida peninsula indicates a state 

 of culture nuicli inferior to that of the middle and lower Mississippi 



valley. 



Materials 



The clay used, considering the whole pcTiinsula, seems to have had 

 a wide range of composition and to liave be(>n subjected to varied 

 methods of treatment. The inferior ])otterv shows ])oorly selected 

 materials and rude treatment, while tlie better product is characterized 

 by finely prepared paste. Much of the ware is of unusually low spe- 

 cific gravity, as if rendered porous by weathering or decay of some of 

 the denser ingredients. 



The tempering materials are also varied. Much of the shell-deposit 

 ware has been tempered wit", 'ibrous vegetal matter, sucili as poiuided 

 grass or bark, thought by Wyman to be palmetto fiber, which burned 

 out in tiring or has disappeared through decay, leaving the paste light 

 and porous. This ware is rude and coarse in texture and is' said to 

 occur only in the older shell deposits. In many places the paste is 

 exceptionally free from tempering ingredients, being fine-grained and 

 c-halky. These conditions may be due to the nature of the availal)le 

 materials rather than to any peculiar local ethnic conditions. The soft 

 paste prevails in the St Johns river region and extends also to the west 

 coast. The gritty paste of the Appalachian provinces reaches south- 

 ward into northern Florida and is found, though (juite randy, down the 

 east and west cioasts. The use of pulverized shell is noted in a few 

 cases along the west coast. 



Manufai-tuke 



The vessels were built up often of wide strips of clay, which, in 

 many cases, were so poorly worked or welded together that the ves- 

 sels fa)l to pieces along the joints. In the ruder pieces the lines of 

 junction ai'c still ti'aceable. (^specially on the inner surfaces, whei-e 

 neat finish was dilKcult or unnecessary. The walls of the ruder 

 ware are thick, clumsy, and uneven; those of the better varieties are 

 thin, uniform, and evenly di-essed. The finish is also varied, ranging 

 from th(> roughest hand-modeled surfaces through those variously 

 textured to well-polished surfaces. In many ca.ses a thin coat of 

 finer clay has been applied to the extei'ior to hide thi^ coarse materials 

 and render the polishing easy. 



The f)aking or firing seems to have t)een of several grades or varie- 

 ties: usualK'. liowe\('r. the surfaces show the mottlings ciiaracteristic of 



