118 ABOEiaiNAL POTTERY OF EASTERN UNITED STATES [eth.ann.20 



the open-air treatment connnon witli the tribes of the United States. 

 The i):iste in the more porous waie.s is often somewhat whitened super- 

 Hcially by voktilization of vej^'etal elements, the interior of the mass 

 remainino- dark or black. In some localities decided reddish and yel- 

 lowish tints are seen, a result probably of oxidization of iron con- 

 tained in the clay. The improvised mortuar}- ^Yares are geucralh' 

 only slightly baked. 



Forms 



The forms of tte ordinary ware, as well as those of the "freak" 

 mortuary pottery, are much diversified. Vessels of the culinary class 

 are apparently not numeroifs; l)ut, being especially subject to break- 

 age, they rarelv appear in collections except as sherd.s. Neittier the 

 pot nor the deep caldron are common. Cups and bowls, the latter 

 often of large size, are very numerous, a subglobular form with con- 

 stricted lip })eing typically Floi-idian. Bottles, or forms approaching 

 the bottle in shape, are rare, while eccentric and compound forms 

 occur in all sections. Bottoms are rounded, conic, or slightly flat- 

 tened. Handles are not an important fer.-ire, while feet or added bases 

 of any kind ai'e rarely seen in the noi'mal ware. Animal forms were 

 modeled with considerable freedom in later times, and occasionally 

 shells of mollusks and the gourd were imitated. The shapes as a 

 whole are inferior to those in the districts to the north and west, 

 although, if we include the improvised mortuary pottery, they are far 

 more diversified. 



Decoration 



Decoration is varied and heterogeneous, so much so that it can not 

 properly be described, except in coimection with illustrations. It 

 rarely includes fabric- and cord-marked surfaces, but the paddle stamp, 

 with varied designs, was used extensively in most sections. Incising 

 and indenting were employed in working out designs of many classes, 

 and especially symbolic subjects. In some varieties of ware the work 

 was very crude, in others it was exti'emel3" skillful. The appli- 

 cation of red ocher was general, and simple designs were executed in 

 this pigment. Decorative efl'ects were also secured by roughening the 

 surface in various ways, as bj^ pinching up tiie soft clay with the fin- 

 ger nails, and by modeling ridges, nodes, and other forms in low or 

 high relief. The lip or rim is often eml)ellished by notching or scal- 

 loping. The subject-matter of • the designs ranges from the simple 

 geometric elements to somewhat lealistic. although ci'ude. delineations 

 of men and animals. Conventional treatment of life forms is often 

 exceptionally refined and eflective, but symbols of special or highly 

 developed types have not been identified. 



CSKS 



The uses to whicli the pottery of Florida was devoted were about 

 the same as among other native tribes. There were vessels to serve 



