14 
BULLETIN OP THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
preparing this mud for use, these women of the Stone Age 
picked out the coarser stones and gravel and many of the 
shells before moulding and baking their pots. But in conse- 
quence of the imperfections of the material used as the basis 
of their pottery, and the very imperfect firing to which the 
ware was subjected, it was exceedingly fragile. The coarse- 
ness of the clay used in the manufacture, as well as these 
defects in the material, and the imperfect baking, compelled 
these potters to make their ware quite thick, in order to obtain 
the necessary strength. Their vessels were seldom' less than 
three-eighths of an inch thick in any part, except near the 
rim, and the bottoms were usually about half an inch thick. 
As I have already remarked, the women appear to have been 
slovenly in their housekeeping, and as an added instance of 
this trait I may mention that the charred remains of their 
pottage still clings to the fragments of their vessels. In the 
fine charcoal and ashes around the fire-place of hut bottom A 
were found numbers of parched peas or vetches and of a round 
seed of the size of those of the radish, as well as grains appar- 
ently of some kind of grass. The peas were about the size and 
appearance of Beach Peas (Lathyrus maritimus , Big.), a plant 
which now grows plentifully at high-water mark on the 
beach in front of the village site. 
But while animadverting upon the carelessness these peo- 
ple in some respects, it is only just to give them credit for a 
considerable amount of rude taste in the ornamentation of 
their pottery. Upon the fragments found at the three hut 
bottoms we examined there are no less than ten distinct de- 
signs or patterns impressed upon the surface of the ware. 
Some of them are quite ornamental. A favorite style of or- 
namentation consisted of continuous parallel lines made with 
pointed tools ; but a more elegant pattern was a chevron, con- 
sisting of rows of short diagonal lines impressed in this 
manner. We did not meet with any of the tools by means of 
which these patterns were impressed upon the pottery. A 
small implement with a square point seems to have been in 
common use, and another is indicated with several teeth by 
winch certain rows of scolloped indentations were made. 
