INDIAN POTTERY. 355 



of tbe nrns are painted with yellow or red earths, or a black color, the latter pig- 

 ment being sulphuret of molybdenum. May not the same substance, which 

 occurs in many localities of the United States, have been used by the Indians 

 for blackening their pottery ? An analysis would easily decide the question. 

 The same parallel and zigzag lines, or rows of dots, which decorate Indian ves- 

 sels, are also seen on the ancient pottery of the north of Europe, and of other 

 parts of that continent. They constitute the simplest elements of ornamentation, 

 and have, therefere, everywhere been employed by man when he made his first 

 attempts in the art of decoration. On the surface of a few ancient vases or urns 

 found in Germany I noticed those markings which present the appearance of 

 basket-work ; I was, however, in doubt whether they were impressions pro- 

 duced by the inside of baskets, or simply ornamental lines traced on the wet 

 clay. Yet, even in the latter case, it would seem that this kind of ornamenta- 

 tion was suggested by the former practice of modelling vessels in baskets. I 

 further saw some apparently very old specimens of pottery with rounded bot- 

 toms. The oldest vessels ot all nations, who practised the potter's art, probably 

 exhibited that shape, the model of which was furnished by nature in the gourd 

 and other fruits presenting rounded outlines. A flat bottom, therefore, would 

 denote a progress in the ceramic art. Other particular features common to the 

 pottery of both, the ancient inhabitants of Germany and the aborigines of North 

 America, might be pointed out ; but the fictile fabrics of the former exhibit, on 

 the whole, more elegance of outline, and therefore indicate a higher state of art. 

 The similarity in the manufactures of men in various climates is greatest when 

 art is in its very infancy among them. In the course of gradual development, 

 the primitive forms common to mankind become more and more indistinct, and 

 finally emerge into those varied and characteristic shapes which reflect the in- 

 diyiduality of nations. 



