124 ABORIGi;>fAL POTi'ERY OK EASTERN UNITED STATES [eth.ann.20 

 1MPI!0\ISK1) MORXrAKY WARK OF THE 8T JOHNS 



Explorations on the St Johns have lirougbt to light a form of earth- 

 enware having charafter.s not heretofore observed in any locality, and 

 likely to give rise to considerable discussion. The possible functions 

 of this ware have alreadv received attention. It has been found by 

 Mr iloore and others at varying depths in the liurial mounds, but 

 never in the shell heaps. A few pieces were obtained from ]\Iount 

 Royal at a depth of 12 feet lieneath the surface. It consists of vessels, 

 vessel-lilvc articles, animal figurines, miniature imitations of fruit, and 

 various objects of eccentric shape, nearly all of rude construction and 

 finish. As a rule these objects have the appearance of toys made b^- 

 hands vmskilled in the manipulation of clay and practically untram- 

 meled by the traditions of the normal native art. The clay used was 

 generally crude and untempered. the construction careless and hasty, 

 and the i)aking very slight. Specimens worthy of being called vessels 

 are mostly so crudely made that the\' would be of little s(>rvice in any 

 of the usual offices of a vessel. As a I'ule the bottoms of such speci- 

 mens were perforated while the cla}' was yet soft, the opening being 

 left rough as cut or punched, or dressed down rudely after the manner 

 of the normal opening at the opposite end. They repeat, in a measure, 

 the forms of the real pottei-y, but with many trivial \ariations. 

 Decoration is in all styles, the incised, stamped, relieved, and painted, 

 but in the main it is crude. The animal and vegetal forms are often 

 so graphically suggested, however, that the idea of the modeler is 

 intelligible. The panther, the wolf or dog, the squirrel, the turkey, 

 the turtle, and the fish are more or less forcibly suggested. The 

 size is usually small, and the clumsy forms, modeled with the unaided 

 fingers, are solid or nearly so, the more massive portions having been 

 in cases roughly perforated with a stick to prevent cracking and fall- 

 ing to pieces in the process of baking. Vegetal forms are extremely 

 rare in the normal native art of the eastern United States, the gourd 

 appearing in some cases as a model for earthen vessels; but in this 

 mortuary ware various essays have been made to represent acorns, 

 flowers, buds, ears of corn, and the like. A large number of unclassi- 

 fied forms, quite as rude as the preceding, reseuil)le cylinders, cones, 

 beads, spools, hourglasses, druggist's mortars, etc. On examination 

 of the various cei'amic collections in the United States, there are found 

 occasional examples of small, rudely made, toy-like figures from other 

 localities that may possibly fall into the same general class as these 

 Florida mortuary fantasies. 



The most satisfactory evidence of the close relationship of this pot- 

 tery with the normal wares of Florida is its occurrence in a numl)er 

 of mounds at considerable depths and under varying conditions, and 

 associated intimatelv with a wide range of relics. Besides this, there 



