98 COOKING POTS AND FOOD VESSELS. 



heat. They had a warped appearance, and no attempt had been made to 

 repair them. 



Fig. 14, Plate VI, represents a flattened, shallow cooking pot, quite 

 similar to the preceding, but somewhat smaller. It is even more irregular 

 in outline, and the bottom not flattened. The rim is well defined, level, 

 and slightly overlapping the sides on the outside, and still more so inte- 

 riorly. The characteristic V-shaped incised lines are very prominent. 

 The measurements of this vessel are : Greatest diameter, 7.8 inches ; height, 

 exteriorly, 3.7 inches ; diameter of mouth, 6 inches. 



Fig. 13, Plate VI, shows the outline of a symmetrical and beautifully- 

 designed example of these smaller vessels. Quite unlike the generality of 

 these steatite cooking pots, this specimen has a small but carefully-flattened 

 base, from which the sides extend upward with a gradual increase in their 

 curvature, and then contracting suddenly, giving something of a flattened 

 top in excess of the mouth of the vessel. There is a well-defined rim pro- 

 jecting* above the level of the surrounding surface, but this has no trace 

 remaining of incised lines, such as are common in this class of stone pots. 

 This specimen contains three large masses of red paint,* and is much dis- 

 colored by it, both outside and within ; but beneath this can readily be 

 traced, upon the exterior surface, especially the bottom, abundant evidences 

 of long and frequent exposures to fire. The measurements of this small 

 specimen are : Greatest diameter, 6 inches ; height, exteriorly, 4 inches ; 

 width of base, 2.5 inches; diameter of mouth, 3.3 inches. 



Fig. 3, Plate VI, represents a still smaller specimen, differing mate- 

 rially from the preceding in having - the mouth of nearly as great diameter 

 as its largest transverse measurements. There is a well-defined rim, formed 

 by a deeply-incised line extending around the opening of the vessel at a 

 uniform distance. This specimen is much more decomposed upon its exte- 

 rior surface, from exposure to the fire, than any of the larger pots, and is 

 also much encrusted with black scales of what appears to be an admixture 

 of asphaltum and ashes or soot. This specimen, in size and general out- 

 line, closely resembles a series of small vessels of serpentine found asso- 



* These masses of paint may have been placed in the pot for transportation simply, as these ves- 

 sels were utilized in that way by the members of the party making the excavations. 



