ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 95 
urns. The Mound-builders, not content with plain surfaces, often 
decorated the exterior of the vessels with scrolls, chevrons and 
indentations ; they even went further, and modowe the effigies of 
birds, animals, and of the human form he clay, except for 
their coarsest utensils, such as kettles, tian where gravel was often 
introduced, was finely tempered, so that it did not warp and crack 
in burning,— the utensil when completed having a yellowish or 
grayish tint. Most of their pottery was unglazed; but in one 
instance, hereinafter to be described, the additional process of 
glazing was resorted to. 
Warer-sues.— These utensils are quite abundant, and appear 
under a variety of forms. Being unglazed, they would permit 
water to permeate slowly through the pores, and thus, by evapo- 
ration, produce a temperature below that of the surrounding air, 
—a device resorted to, at 
this day, in tropical climates, 
to keep water cool. 
The subjoined figure rep- 
resents two _ water-jugs, 
which are similar in shape 
to the decanters formerly 
furnished the guests of a 
hotel, before the days of 
water-works. They were 
taken from an ancient cem- 
etery in Perry County, Missouri, and were found occupying a 
position near the head of a corpse. Height, 8 inches. 
Figure 12 represents a fine specimen of ancient modelling. The 
body consists of a compressed globe, surmounted by a human 
head. The orifice in the region of the occiput, is about half an 
inch in diameter; the height of the figure is 84 inches. 
n we examine this head critically we are convinced that 
the unknown artist had the skill to impress upon the plastic clay 
the features of his race. Those features are not characteristic of 
the Red man. The facial angle is not as obtuse as in the Euro- 
pean; the eyes have not the obliquity of the Indian; the jaws are 
not extraordinarily prognathous, and altogether, the contour of 
the face is indicative of intelligence. The head is covered with 
Fig. 11. 
Water-jugs from Perry County, Missouri. =}. 
a fillet, the material of which was probably cloth. Have we in this - 
model the characteristic features of the Mound-builder? It is not 
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