184 ABORIGINAL POTTKKY oK EASTERN UNITED STATES [ictii. ann/ju 



tile reverse tliiit is. low ridges with slialli)\v rci'tiingulur depi'essionB 

 ill tii(> iiitei'sj)iiees. 'Plie lines vary from H to Iti to the incli. and, when 

 covering- the surface of a vessel, give a hatched or clieckered effect 

 close]}' resembling that made liy imprinting a coarse faliric or a cord- 

 wrapped tool. These tigurc's have occasionally h(>en regarded as 

 impressions resulting from modeling the vessel in a basket or net. 

 but close examination shows that the imprintings are in small, discon- 

 nected areas, not coinciding or joining at the edges where the impres- 

 sions overlap, and tliat tlie arrangement of parts is really not tliat of 

 woven strands. 



The eliaracter of the work is fully elucidated by the Clierokee 

 wooden ])addles which are shown in plate cxiii a. h, c. One side of 

 the })road [)art of tlie implement is covered with deeply engraved 

 lines. ear\ ed no doubt with steel knives, but the work is not so neat 

 and the groujjing is not so artistic as in the ancient work. The effect 

 produce<l by the use of such an implement is illustrated in <l. a modern 

 Cherok(>e pot. collected in LSS'.t liy Mr James Mooney, and referred to 

 already under the iiead Manufacture. 



^^'here an intricate design was employed the partial impressions from 

 tilt? flat surface of tlu paddle are so confused along the margins that in 

 no cast' can the complete pattern be made out. Hy a careful study of 

 a numlier of the more distinct imprints, however, the larger part of 

 the designs may be restored. For several years rubbings of such 

 imjjrintings as came to hand have been taken, and some of the more 

 interesting are presented in plate t'xiT. They consist, for the most 

 l)art. of curved lines in graceful liut formal, and possilily, as here used, 

 meaningless combinations. By far the most common ffgure is a kind 

 of compound fllfot cross, swastika, or Thor's hammei" — that is to sa}', 

 a grouv)ing of lines having a cross with bent arms as a base or center, 

 shown in a and h. The four border spaces are tilled in with lines 

 parallel with the curved arms of the central figure. The effect of this 

 design, as sipplied to the surface of a fine large \essel from a mound 

 on the Savannah river 10 miles below Augusta, is well shown in plate 

 CXY (1. Another excellent example is secii in plate cxvi. 



An interesting result of my recent studies of the pottery of the 

 region, referred to in the preceding section, is the observation tliat 

 the designs stamped on the clay are in many cases closely analogous 

 to designs used by the ancient insular Caribbean peoples. Many of 

 the latter designs are engraved on utensils of wood, and the Appalachian 

 stamps on which the designs were carved were likewise of wood, which 

 suggests contact or intimate relationship of the jieoples in ancient 

 times. Tliere can hardly be a doubt that Antillean influence was felt 

 i n the art of the whole southeastern section of the United States, oi; 

 that, on the other hand, the culture of the mainland impressed itself 

 strongly on that of the contiguous islands. A comparison of the 



