DISTRIBUTION.--It must not be inferred that there is perfect
uniformity in the pottery of this, or any other, extended region;
local peculiarities are always to be found. The products of contiguous
districts, such, for example, as those of Mississippi County,
Arkansas, and New Madrid County, Missouri, have much in common, and
will at once be recognized as belonging to the same family, yet the
differences are so marked that the unskilled observer could point them
out with ease.
As indicated by decided family resemblances, the wares of this group
extend over the greater part of the States of Missouri, Arkansas,
and Tennessee, cover large portions of Mississippi, Kentucky, and
Illinois, and reach somewhat into Iowa, Indiana, Alabama, Louisiana,
and Texas. The types are better marked and the products more abundant
about the center of this area, which may be defined roughly as
including contiguous parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, with
a pretty decided focal center, at least in the abundance of relics, at
Pecan Point, Arkansas.
The borders of the district are necessarily not clearly defined.
The characters of the art products blend more or less with those of
neighboring sections. This is a usual phenomenon, and is probably
due to a variety of causes. The mere contact of peoples leads to the
exchange of ideas, and, consequently, to similarities in the products
of industry. A change of habitat, with its consequent change of
environment, is capable of modifying art to a great extent. Groups of
relics and remains attributed by archaeologists to distinct stocks of
people, may, in cases, be the work of one and the same people executed
under the influence of different environments and at widely separated
periods of time.
Mixed conditions in the remains of a locality are often due to the
presence of different peoples, synchronously or otherwise. This occurs
in many places on the outskirts of this district, a good illustration
being found in East Tennessee, where three or four distinct groups
of ware are intermingled. As would naturally be expected, the
distribution is governed somewhat by the great water-ways, and pottery
of this province is found far up the Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas
Rivers.
HOW FOUND.--All peoples have resorted, at some period of their
history, to the practice of burying articles of use or value with the
dead. It is to this custom that we owe the preservation of so many
entire pieces of these fragile utensils. They are exhumed from burial
mounds in great numbers, and to an equal extent, perhaps, from simple,
unmarked graves which are constantly being brought to light by the
plowshare. Fragmentary ware is found also in refuse heaps, on house
and village sites, and scattered broadcast over the face of the land.
This pottery, at its best, was probably not greatly superior in
hardness to our own soft earthenware, and the disintegrating agencies
of the soil have often reduced it to a very fragile state. Some writer
has expressed the belief that a considerable portion of the ware of
this province was sun-baked merely. This view is hardly a safe
one, however, as clay, unmixed with lime or other like indurating
ingredient, no matter how long exposed to the rays of the sun, would,
from ages of contact with the moist earth, certainly return to its
original condition. I have seen but few pieces that, even after the
bleaching of centuries, did not show traces of the dark mottlings that
result from imperfect firing. There probably was a period of unbaked
clay preceding the terra-cotta epoch, but we cannot expect to find
definite traces of its existence except, perhaps, in cases where large
masses, such as mounds or fortifications, were employed.
The relations of the various articles of pottery to the bodies with
which they were associated seem to be quite varied. The position of
each vessel was determined by its contents, by its symbolic use, or by
the pleasure of the depositor. Uniformity cannot be expected in
this more than in other features of burial. In other sections of the
country the pieces of pottery are said to have been broken before
final inhumation took place, but such was certainly not the practice
in this province.
AGE.--There can be no reasonable doubt that the manufacture of this
ware began many centuries before the advent of the white race, but it
is equally certain that the art was extensively practiced until quite
recent times. The early explorers of Louisiana saw it in use, and the
processes of manufacture are described by Dumont and others.
Possibly Du Pratz had in mind some of the identical vessels now
upon our museum shelves when he said that "the women make pots of an
extraordinary size, jars with a medium-sized opening, bowls, two-pint
bottles with long necks, pots or jugs for containing bear's oil, which
hold as much as forty pints, and finally plates and dishes in the
French fashion."[1]
Vessels were certainly made in great numbers by the Natchez and other
tribes within our period, and it is reasonable to suppose that they
belonged to the great group under discussion. If not, it will be
necessary to seek the cause of their total disappearance, since, as
I have already said, the pottery of this district, as shown by the
relics, is practically a unit.
The introduction of metal utensils was a death-blow to the native
industry, although some of the southern tribes, the Cherokees, for
example, seem to have practiced the art continuously, in a very
limited way, down to the present time. There is but little evidence
of the influence of the art of the whites upon the ceramic products
of this province, although the forms are sometimes thought to be
suggestive of European models. It is certain, however, that the art
had reached its highest stage without the aid of civilized hands, and
in the study of its many interesting features we can feel assured that
we are dealing with purely aboriginal ideas.
The pottery of this province is remarkably homogeneous in character,
and we are warranted in assigning it to a single period of culture,
and, in concluding, that the peoples who developed and practiced the
art belonged to a group of closely-allied tribes. We can also state
without fear of precipitating a controversy that the people who made
this pottery were "mound-builders." At the same time, they were
not necessarily of the same people as the builders of the mounds of
Wisconsin, Ohio, or Georgia or contemporaneous with them.
[Footnote 1: Du Pratz: Histoire de la Louisiane, Vol. II, p.
179.]
USE.--It is difficult to determine the functions of the various forms
of vessels. We are safe in stating that in very primitive times nearly
all were intended for use in the domestic arts, and that as time went
on uses were differentiated--form, as a consequence, undergoing many
changes. Early writers on the Southern States mention a number of
ordinary uses, such as cooking, the carrying and boiling of water, the
manufacture of sugar and salt, and the preservation of honey, oil, and
paint.
Only a small percentage of the vessels, and these generally of the
pot-shaped variety, show indications of use over fire. It is well
known that with most peoples particular forms were devoted to especial
ceremonial uses. The construction of vases exclusively for mortuary
purposes was probably not generally practiced, although a few
examples, notably those illustrated in Figs. 372 and 420, point
decidedly in this direction.
The simple conditions of life with these people are indicated by the
absence of certain forms. Lamps, whistles, toys, bricks, tiles, and
other articles in common use with many barbaric nations, are not found
in this province. Pipes, so neatly shaped by other mound-building
peoples, are here of a very rude character, a point indicating
decided distinctions between the tribes of this province and those of
neighboring sections.
CONSTRUCTION.--The methods of manufacture have evidently been of a
primitive character. The wheel or lathe has not been used. At the
advent of the whites, the natives were observed to build their vessels
by a process known as "coiling," and by modeling over gourds, and over
blocks of wood and masses of indurated clay shaped for the purpose.
It is probable that in many cases the support was not a mold in the
ordinary sense, but was simply a rounded object of small size held in
one hand while the base of the vessel was formed over it by the other.
Rounded pebbles, or the mushroom-shaped objects of clay sometimes
found in the mounds, would have served the purpose perfectly. Trowels,
paddles, stamps, polishing-stones, and other implements were used in
finishing.
Baskets were also used as molds, and pliable fabrics, such as nets and
coarse cloths, were employed in some sections. The methods of baking
have apparently not been described in much detail by early writers,
but the ware itself bears the marks of those simple processes known to
our modern tribes. It is highly probable that the work was done by the
women, and that each community had its skilled potters, who built and
baked the ware in the open air, going through those simple mummeries
that accompany the work among most primitive peoples.
MATERIAL.--The material employed was usually a moderately fine-grained
clay, tempered, in a great majority of cases, with pulverized shells.
The shells used were doubtless obtained from the neighboring rivers.
In many of the vessels the particles are large, measuring as much
as one-fourth or even one-half of an inch in width, but in the more
elegant vases the shell has been reduced to a fine powder. Powdered
potsherds were also used. The clay was, apparently, often impure
or loamy. It was, probably, at times, obtained from recent alluvial
deposits of the bayous--the sediment of overflows--as was the potter's
clay of the Nile. There is no reason for believing that the finer
processes of powdering and levigation were known. A slip or wash of
very finely comminuted clay was sometimes applied to the surface of
the vessel. The walls of the vessels are often thick and uneven, and
are always quite porous, a feature of no little importance in the
storage of drinking-water, but one resulting from accident rather than
from design.
COLOR.--The paste of this ware presents two marked varieties of color,
a dark and a light hue. In a majority of cases it is dark, ranging
from a rich black to all shades of brown and gray. The lighter
tints are usually warm ochrey grays, rarely approaching reddish or
terra-cotta hues. It is highly probable that the differences of color
were, to some extent, intentionally produced, and that the material
or methods of firing were regulated in a way to produce one tint or
another at pleasure. This theory is confirmed by the fact that certain
forms of vases are pretty generally dark, while certain other forms
are as uniformly light--the latter in nearly all cases being used for
the application of color, or of designs in color.
FORM.--This ware exhibits a great variety of forms, many of which are
extremely pleasing. In this respect it is far superior to the other
prehistoric groups of the eastern United States. The shapes are as
varied and elegant as those of the ancient Pueblo pottery, but are
inferior to those of Mexico, Central America, and Peru. They take a
higher rank than the prehistoric wares of central and northern Europe,
but as a matter of course lack the symmetry and refinement of outline
that characterize the wheel-made wares of Mediterranean countries.
As I classify by form farther on, and discuss the origin of form as
each form-group is presented, I shall not make further reference to
this topic here.
FINISH.--The finish, as compared with the work of civilized nations,
is rude. The surface is often simply hand or trowel smoothed.
Generally, however, it was more or less carefully polished by rubbing
with an implement of stone, shell, bone, or other suitable substance,
the markings of these tools being distinctly visible. Nothing
resembling a glaze has been found on pieces known to be ancient. The
surface was sometimes washed or coated with a slip or film of fine
clay which facilitated the polishing, and in very many cases a coat of
thick red ocher was applied.
ORNAMENT.--The ancient potter of the middle province has taken
especial delight in the embellishment of his wares, and the devices
used are varied and interesting. They include, first, fanciful
modifications of form; second, relief ornament; third, intaglio
figures; and, fourth, designs in color.
_Modification of shape_.--It can hardly be claimed that the ancient
peoples of this region had a very refined appreciation of elegance of
outline, yet the simple, essential forms of cups and pots were by no
means satisfactory to them. There are many modifications of shape that
indicate a taste for higher types of beauty, and a constant attempt to
realize them. The aesthetic sentiment was considerably developed.
There is also a decided tendency toward the grotesque. To such an
extreme have the dictates of fancy been followed, in this respect,
that utility, the true office of the utensil, has often taken a
secondary place, although it is never lost sight of entirely. Bowls
have been fashioned into the shapes of birds, fishes, and reptiles,
and vases and bottles into a multitude of animal and vegetable forms
without apparent regard to convenience. All of these modifications of
essential forms were doubtless looked upon as, in a sense, ornamental.
So far as I can determine they were in no case intended to be
humorous.
_Relief ornament._--Decorative ideas of a purely conventional
character are often worked out in both low and salient relief. This is
generally accomplished by the addition of nodes and fillets of clay to
the plain surfaces of the vessel. Fillets are applied in various ways
over the body, forming horizontal, oblique, and vertical bands or
ribs. When placed about the rim or base, these fillets are often
indented with the finger or an implement in a way to imitate, rudely,
a heavy twisted cord--a feature evidently borrowed from basketry.
Nodes are likewise attached in various ways to the neck and body of
the vessel. In some cases the entire surface of the larger vessels is
varied by pinching up small bits of the clay between the nails of the
fingers and thumb. An implement is sometimes used to produce a similar
result.
_Intaglio designs._--The aesthetic tendencies of these potters are well
shown by their essays in engraving. They worked with points upon
both the plastic and the sun-dried clay, as well as at times upon
the fire-baked surface. Figures thus produced exhibit a wide range of
artistic achievement. They illustrate all stages of progress from the
most archaic type of ornament--the use of dots and straight lines--to
the most elegant combinations of curves; and, finally, to the
delineation of life forms and fanciful conceptions.
Generally, when a blunt implement is employed, the line is produced
by a movement that I shall call _trailing_, in contradistinction
to _incision_, in which a sharp point is used, and _excision_ or
_excavation_, which is more easily accomplished with the end of a
hollow reed or bone. _Impressed_ or _stamped_ ornament is of rare
occurrence, and anything like _repoussee_ work is practically unknown.
The practice of impressing cords and fabrics was common among many of
the northern tribes, and nets have been used in the manufacture and
ornamentation of vases at many points within this province. The use of
stamps, especially prepared, was in vogue in most of the Gulf States,
and to a limited extent in northern localities.
_Designs in color._--The colors used in painting are white, red,
brown, and black, and have generally consisted of thick, opaque,
clayey paste, white or colored with ochers. Occasionally the colors
used seem to have been mere stains. All were probably laid on with
coarse brushes of hair, feathers, or vegetable fiber. The figures are
in most cases simple, and are applied in broad, bold lines, indicative
of a strong talent for decoration. The forms are, to a great extent,
curvilinear, and embrace meanders, scrolls, circles, and combinations
and groupings of curved lines in great variety. Of rectilinear forms,
lozenges, guilloches, zigzags, and checkers are best known.
The decided prevalence of curved forms is worthy of remark. With all
their fertility of invention, the inhabitants of this valley seem
never to have achieved the rectangular linked meander, or anything
more nearly approaching it than the current scroll or the angular
guilloche, while other peoples, such as the Pueblos of the Southwest
and the ancient nations of Mexico and Peru found in it a chief
resource. The reasons for this, as well as for other peculiarities of
the decorative art of the mound-builders as embodied in pottery, must
be sought for in the antecedent and coexistent arts of these tribes.
These peoples were certainly not highly accomplished in the textile
arts, nor had they felt the influence of advanced architecture such
as that of Mexico. The influence of such arts inevitably gives rise
to angular geometric figures. Taken as a whole, the remains of the
mound-builders would seem to point to a hyperborean origin for both
the people and their arts.
The origin of decorative ideas, the processes by which they are
acquired by the various arts, and their subsequent mutations of form
and significance are matters of the greatest interest, and a separate
paper will be devoted to their consideration.
CLASSIFICATION OF FORMS.--Form cannot be made a satisfactory basis
of classification, yet within a given group of products, defined
by general characters, a classification by shape will be found to
facilitate description. In making such a classification we must
distinguish essential from non-essential features, that is to say, for
example, that bowls must be placed with bowls, bottles with bottles,
etc., disregarding the various fanciful modifications given to rims,
necks, and bodies for the sake of embellishment. To recognize these
adventitious features, which are almost infinite in variety, would be
to greatly embarrass form classification.
There is also another difficulty in the employment of form in
classification--the nomenclature is very imperfect. We cannot use
Greek names, as our forms correspond in a very few instances only with
the highly developed forms known to classic art. Our own plain terms,
although defective, are better and far more appropriate. All necessary
correlations of form can readily be made when the comparative study of
the pottery of the world is undertaken.
If we take a full set of these primitive vessels and arrange them in
the order of increasing complexity we have an unbroken series ranging
from the simplest cup to the high-necked bottle with perforated foot
or with tripod. A partial series is shown in the upper line, Fig 361.
A multitude of variations from these outlines are found, a few of
which are suggested in the lower line.
[Illustration: FIG. 361.--Scale of forms.]
Compound, eccentric, and life forms are given elsewhere.
In deciding upon the order of arrangement for the various form
groups, I shall be governed by what appears to be the natural order
of evolution--a progress from simple to complex. First then we have
basin-like vessels, such as _dishes_, _cups_, and _bowls_. Second,
vases with wide mouths and somewhat globular bodies, the larger of
which would be very generally recognized as _pots_. Third, vases with
full bodies and narrow mouths, such as are often termed _jars_, but
which are as properly called bottles. Fourth, vessels with high,
narrow necks, universally denominated _bottles_. Vessels that cannot
be grouped with either of these classes will have to be described in
sub-groups, arranged in the order of their complexity or importance.
ORIGIN OF FORM.--The derivation and subsequent mutations of form will
be treated somewhat in detail as the various forms come up, and a
subsequent paper will dwell upon the topic at considerable length.