102 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



pottery in texture and durability is superior to Algonkian pottery. 

 The body of the pot, in general, is that of a flattened globe with 

 a constructed neck that flares into a wide collar, either round or, 

 more generally, squared with upward projecting tips at each corner. 

 This collar is generally decorated with triangular patterns made of 

 parallel lines. Some of the older potsherds show cord or paddle 

 markings all over the outer surface. 



The parallel lines in triangular patterns seem to imitate por- 

 cupine quill decorations on birch bark and indeed the form of the 

 pot seems to follow the stitching of a birch bark receptacle. The 

 dots or indentations about the base of the neck indeed seem- to 

 point out the place where the upper portion of the bark collar was 

 sewed to the lower portion. This idea was suggested in the early 

 writings of Frank Gushing. As far as has been discovered, how- 

 ever, the New York Iroquois did not use birch bark receptacles. 

 Theirs were of elm bark, a much rougher material but more dur- 

 able. No circular or curved designs are found on Jefferson county 

 Iroquois pottery, the only exception being round dots, punched on, 

 singly or in angular patterns. Jefferson county Iroquois pipes of 

 clay are superior to any found among contiguous stocks. They 

 were molded with their stems and were not designed for long 

 wooden stems. There are several types of pipes as may be seen 

 on the accompanying plate. The simplest forms are the trumpet 

 " pipe " and the pipe with the collar about the top of the bowl, com- 

 posed of several parallel rings, like coiled cord. Other forms are 

 the square topped pipe, the so-called Huronian, and pipes with 

 human and animal effigies on the bowls. These effigy pipes in con- 

 cept and form oddly resemble the pottery of the Mississippi valley. 

 The caps shown on the heads of effigies are shaped like the old- 

 fashioned beehive. Even designs of face painting are shown and 

 the bear or wolf skin robe is shown over the Indian's head. 



Trumpet bowls are found on the early Erie, Onondaga and 

 Mohawk sites, and ringed collar is found on Seneca, Neuter and 

 Huron sites. 



Strangely, Iroquois stone pipes are not similar to their clay pipes. 

 As far as decoration and modeling are concerned, they might have 

 been made by another stock. There may be a few exceptions, but 

 in general, the rule applies. An example is the long-tailed animal 

 effigy pipe bowl, studied with much care by Lieutenant G. E. 

 Laidlaw, and reported in the publications of the Ontario Provincial 

 Museum. Many of these stone pipes appear to have been carefully 

 kept; possibly they expressed the art of the earlier Iroquois and 

 were kept as ceremonials or as heirlooms. 



