120 ABORIGINAL PUTTEKY OF EASTERN UNITED STATES [ktii. anx.20 



the dead Ls confined, niuinly at least, to Florida and the Gulf coast, 

 and further that these practices pertain to comparatively recent 

 times. It is also observed that articles of European make — Vene- 

 tian beads, Spanish olive jars, articles of metal, etc. — are found in 

 many UKiunds of this region, indicating the very general practice of 

 mound-building during a considerable period following the arrival of 

 the Spanish — a period extending over a hundred years or more. It 

 is suggested, therefore, that possil)ly this whole group of extraordi- 

 nary mortuary practices may have s]irung up in post-Columbian times. 

 The most prolific sources of gain known to the Spanish were the 

 cemeteries of the aborigines, and tht> seekers of El Dorado and the 

 Fountain of Life were the princes of grave robbers. It would be 

 but natural that people possessing the ready resources of the southern 

 Indians, finding the graves of their fathers ruthlessly desecrated by 

 the invaders in their mad search for gold and pearls, should, while 

 still preserving the spirit of their mortuary customs, cease to consign 

 to the ground any articles of real value. It will be conceded that the 

 inroads of hordes of avaricious and merciless strangers nuist have 

 exercised a powerful influence on the habits and customs of the native 

 tribes, and such phenomena as these mentioned might result natu- 

 rally. The fact, however, that gi-aves containing these objects are 

 very numerous and often contain other articles of real value, as has 

 been pointed out by Mr Moore, seems to render this theory untenable. 

 Second, a somewhat more satisfactory explanation ma,y be found in 

 the idea of substitution for purely economic reasons; perhaps the 

 demands of mortuary sacrifice grew burdensome to the people, or 

 possibly the practice of the art in its normal phases fell into disfavor 

 or gradually gave way to some other form of vessel-making art, 

 while the practice of making ceramic offerings kept on in conformity 

 with the persistent demands of superstitious custom. At an^^ rate, 

 the practice of hastily making sacrificial offerings of clay came into 

 great favor and a study of the objects, many of which arc illustrated 

 in accompanying plates, shows that they embody in their rude way 

 all varieties of form and decoration known in Florida, and shows, 

 beside this, that the imagination ran riot imitating objects of many 

 classes and conjuring up forms entirely new to the art. 



The use of earthen vessels as receptacles for human remains has not 

 been noted by Mr Moore in his extensive explorations on the Florida 

 peninsula, although the practice was common in Georgia and other 

 sections to the north and west. 



Examples 



midden ware of the st .tohns 



The shell mounds of the St Johns fuinish \arieties of ware said to 

 be confined almost exclusively to these deposits, and supposed espe- 

 cially to characterize the middle pei'iod of their accumulation, the 



