40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 
pottery. As a preliminary to a correct interpretation of the chrono- 
logical development of man in the area before we had documentary 
history to guide us it is important to classify these buildings and pot- 
tery and arrange them in such groups as would enable us to determine 
their chronological sequence. These different groups are either dis- 
tinct geographical regions called culture areas, or are sometimes 
superimposed one on the other by stratification in the same area. In 
coordinating the classification and arrangement of groups geographi- 
cally or stratigraphically the archeologist follows the same methods 
as the paleontologist. Geographical ceramic areas or distribution of 
pottery are determined by the form, technique, colors, and symbolic 
or other decorative elements of pottery. Chronological ceramic 
strata are determined by superimposition. Of the several character- 
istics of pottery, technique, color, and symbolic decoration, the last 
mentioned is the most highly specialized, and in its highest develop- 
ment most localized and distinct. Pottery of the same form, color, 
and technique is, on the other hand, most widely distributed. <Al- 
though a determination of ceramic areas from the data afforded by 
symbolic decorations is a tedious work, these symbols open the door 
to an understanding of the inner life of a long-forgotten people. A 
small fragment of a bowl may, through picture writing, become a 
means by which the thoughts of a people are transmitted, even as in 
the case of inscriptions on ostraca. 
The article entitled “ Designs on Prehistoric Hopi Pottery,” by Dr. 
J. Walter Fewkes, is an attempt to define from ceramic symbolism 
and in a certain manner the culture of the prehistoric Hopi in north- 
eastern Arizona who reached the highest phase of development in 
aboriginal ceramic art. 
The first fruits of the effort to make more widely known the ethnol- 
ogy, native songs, and rich poetry of the Hawaiian Islanders, for 
which appropriations have been made by Congress, was a valuable 
article published as Bulletin 38 under the title “ Unwritten Literature 
of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula,” by Dr. Nathaniel B. 
Emerson. This is now followed by a second of the series, entitled 
“The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai,” by Miss Martha Warren 
Beckwith. This work, undertaken as the author says in her preface, 
“out of love for the land of Hawaii and for the Hawaiian people,” 
is not only a monument to her enthusiasm, but also indicative of the 
literary attainments of Haleole, a highly gifted Polynesian, eager 
to create a genuine national literature. Aside from its great ethno- 
logical value the plot of this fascinating story will appeal to lovers 
of fiction. 
JessE Waiter FEwKES, 
Chief. 
Avcust, 1918. 
