14 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



degree in their artistic capacity or skill, that their products are not 

 therefore an exponent of their original artistic capabilities. So exhaust- 

 ive and monographic is this collection that any thorough study of Ameri- 

 can aboriginal pottery must of necessity in great part be based upon 

 this collection. 



In addition to his administrative work, Mr. Holmes, the curator, has 

 been engaged in the preparation of a monograph of a number of collec- 

 tions from the Province of Chiriqui, in Colombia, and in investigating 

 the influence of textile decoration upon the ornamentation of pottery. 



The collections made under the direction of the Bureau of Ethnology 

 in the Mississippi Valley by Dr. Cyrus Thomas are deserving of special 

 mention, as well as those of Col. James Stevenson and Mr. E. W. Nel- 

 son in the Pueblo country of the Southwest. 



The number of specimens in the collection is estimated at 25,000, and 

 during the year 3,234 entries were made in the catalogues. 



DEPARTMENT OF PREHISTORIC ANTHROPOLOGY. 



The system of classification in this department is (1) by material, all 

 objects of stone being placed together, as also of copper, shell, horn, 

 clay, bone, and wood; (2) by form and function, thus, stone pestles, 

 arrow-heads, knives etc., are placed together; (3) by development, in 

 order to show *the gradual progression from the crudest to the most 

 perfect form. 



The total number of accessions has been 2,751, and the more impor- 

 tant of these are treated of on a geographical basis in the report on this 

 department. 



The reserve series includes more than 40,000 specimens. 



In addition to the general collection, there is a special or a local " 

 collection, in which sets of objects obtained from separate localities, such 

 as a single grave, mound, or village site, are installed together. 



During the year one hundred and nineteen of these special collec- 

 tions have been placed on exhibition. This form of special collection 

 is becoming of great importance in the department. 



Through the co-operation of the Bureau of Ethnology a large amount 

 of valuable material has been obtained from West Virginia, Alabama, 

 Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Arkansas. 



Dr. Kau is engaged upon the preparation of an illustrated work on 

 North American pre-historic relics, which is designed to serve as a guide 

 for visitors to the department, and as an explanation of the terminology 

 of North American archaeology. This will bear the title "A Classifica- 

 tion of the North American Pre-historic Eelics in the U. S. National 

 Museum." 



No less than 3,G67 specimens have been added to the exhibition and 

 study series during the year, making a total of 40,281 specimens in this 

 series. The duplicate collection numbers nearly 9 } 000 specimens. Dur- 

 ing the year 647 catalogue entries were made. 



