1879. | Pottery Among Savage Races. 83 
themselves on the ground holding a large ball of clay between 
the feet. On this the vessel is built up, the ball wog afterwards 
cut off, leaving the bottom flat. 
After the bottom is formed, a piece of clay is rolled under the 
hand into a long rope-like cylinder. This rope is then coiled 
round the edge of the bottom of the vessel, being flattened side- 
ways by pinching with the fingers of the left hand, and caused to 
adhere to the bottom. On this, coil after coil is laid in like man- 
ner, each being flattened as before. 
After a few have been added they are worked into shape with 
the fingers, which are occasionally moistened in water, and the 
irregularities produced by the coils are caused to disappear. 
The vessel is formed by the hand alone, and the surface is 
smoothed down by means of a bit of gourd or a shell, which is, 
from time to time, dipped in water. If the vessel be large, it is 
now set away in the shade for a while to dry a little, after which 
new coils are added as above, no other instrument being used 
except the hands and the gourd or sell, with which alone the 
vessel may receive not only an extremely regular form but also a 
very smooth surface. According to Dr. de Magalhaes, “the pot- 
tery of the Carajás, the Carajais, Chambioas, Chavantes, Cher- 
éntes, Guajajaras of the Araguaya river is always made by coil- 
ing, the surface being worked down by the hand and water, 
and the aid of a sort of spoon-like trowel made of bam- 
boo.” The coils are so worked together that from a simple 
inspection of the vessel it is impossible to determine how it was 
built up. I should never have suspected that the pottery of- 
Pacoval had been made by coiling, were it not that I found the 
coils still ununited on the inner surface of the heads of idols. 
The coils still preserve the delicate imprints of the fingers of the 
artist (Am. NATURALIST, v. 1871). 
In building up a vessel, care must be taken to allow it to bar 
den as the process progresses, so as to avoid its settling by its 
own weight, as it is very likely to do, especially if the vessel be 
large. This settling, under the influence of gravity, is, however, 
likely to give rise to graceful curves, and it would be interesting 
to determine how far the beauty of outline of pottery may have 
resulted from the imitation of forms that originated in this way. 
Handles and all prominent ornaments are added afterwards, 
being luted on. Sometimes the: outside of the vessel is orna- 
