The collection of pottery from this mound is of much interest. There
is but one entire vessel, but the fragments are so plentiful and well
preserved that many interesting forms can be restored, and a very good
idea of the ceramic work of this locality be formed.
_Form._--I have spent much time in the examination of these fragments,
and have assigned each to the form of vessel to which it belonged. Where
large pieces are preserved, especially if the rim is included, we have
little trouble in reconstructing the entire vessel, without fear of
being seriously wrong. The lower parts of the bodies of all forms are
round or slightly flattened, and but a small fragment of the rim is
needed to tell whether the vessel was a bottle, pot, or bowl.
I find, however, that the forms merge into each other in such a way that
a complete graduated series can be found. Of first importance, are the
round or globular vases with more or less constricted necks.
_Ornamentation._--The inside of all forms is plain with the exception of
accidental markings of the fingers. The rim is square, sharp, or round
on the edge, and sometimes slightly enlarged or beaded on the outer
margin. A collar is attached to many forms, which at the lower edge
overhangs. It is added to the body with the rim, or as a strip afterward
attached. It is often notched or indented with a stick, bone, or reed,
or with the fingers.
The necks of vases and pot-shaped vessels have a great variety of
handles, knobs, and ornaments. Some of the latter seem to be atrophied
handles. In some cases a low horizontal ridge, from 1 to 4 or more
inches in length is placed near the rim, in place of the continuous
collar. In other cases a narrow, crescent-shaped ridge is attached,
the points reaching down on the shoulder, the arch lying upon the neck.
Still others have one or more handles which connect the rim with the
neck or shoulder of the vessel, leaving a round or oblong passage for
a cord or vine.
These handles were added after the vessel was completed. They are never
ornamented. In one case an arched handle, like the handle of a basket,
connects the opposite sides of the rim. This is the only entire vessel
recovered from the mound. It was associated with the upper layer of
skeletons. Diameter 4-1/2 inches. Fig. 118.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.]
The body of these vessels is sometimes quite plain, but is more
frequently covered with cord markings. These, with one or two
exceptions, seem to be made by a series of fine cords, approximately
parallel, but without cross-threads of any kind. There is little
uniformity of arrangement. In the upper part, and about the base of the
neck, the indented lines are generally vertical. On the bottom they are
quite irregular, as if the vessel, in making, had been rolled about on a
piece of netting or coarse cloth. The cords have been about the size of
the ordinary cotton cord used by merchants. One exception is seen in a
fragment of a large, rudely-made vase, in which we have the impression
of a fabric, the warp of which, whether wood or cord, has consisted of
fillets more than one-fourth of an inch in width, the woof being fine
cord.
This is what is frequently spoken of as the ear-of-corn impression.
No incised or excavated lines have been noticed in these fragments of
pot-shaped vessels. Some of the most elegant vessels are without upright
necks. The upper or incurved surface of the body is approximately flat,
forming, with the lower part of the body a more or less sharp peripheral
angle. The base is rounded, and, so far as we can judge from the
examples, the bottom is slightly flattened. Vessels having vertical
or flaring rims are generally somewhat more shallow.
The incurved upper surface is often tastefully ornamented with patterns
of incised or excavated lines which are arranged in groups, in vertical
or oblique positions, or encircle the vessel parallel with the border.
One specimen has a row of stamped circles, made by a reed or hollow
bone.
Bowls of the ordinary shape are variously decorated. In one case we
have on the outside of the rim, and projecting slightly above it, a
rudely-modeled grotesque face. A notched fillet passes around the rim,
near the lip, connecting with the sides of this head.
In another case a rude node is added to the rim. The only bowl having a
flaring rim is without ornament.
We have only one fragment of a bowl in which the body has been marked
with cords.
_Composition._--The clay used in the pottery from this mound is
generally fine in texture, and of a light-gray color. Many of the
fragments have been blackened by burning subsequently to their original
firing, and some may have been originally blackened with graphite. The
prevailing colors seen in the fragments are yellowish and reddish grays.
The percentage of powdered shell used in tempering has usually been very
large, forming at times at least half the mass. The flakes of shell are
very coarse, being often as much as one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
In many cases they have been destroyed by burning, or have dropped out
from decay, leaving a deeply pitted surface.
_Pipes._--There are a number of pipes in the collection, most of which
were found near the surface of the mound. In some cases they resemble
modern forms very closely. The most striking example is made of a
fine-grained clay, without visible admixture of tempering material.
The color is a reddish gray. It is neatly and symmetrically formed,
the surface being finished by polishing with a smooth, hard implement,
and shaving with a knife. The bowl is 2 inches high, and the rim is
bell-shaped above, with a smooth, flat lip, one-fourth of an inch wide.
The diameter of the opening is nearly 2 inches. The base is conical.
The stem part is one-half an inch long and one-half an inch in diameter.
The bowl and stem are both conically excavated.
Another specimen is made of clay mixed with powdered shell. The bowl is
cylindrical, being a little larger at the rim, which is ornamented with
rows of punctures. The elbow is ornamented by a rosette of indented
lines. The mouth piece has been broken away.