William Henry Holmes

Age.—The ceramic art of the ancient Pueblos is practically a unit. We find in its remains few indications of distinct periods. There is nothing to carry us back to a remote past. The oldest specimens known are nearly as high in the scale as the latest. In the deposits of caves and burial-grounds we find, so far, nothing more archaic than in the ruins of once populous villages and beneath the fallen walls of hewnstone cliff houses. In methods of manufacture and in styles of ornamentation there is no specific distinction.

Once introduced, there is much in the character of the country to develop this art. The people were sedentary, and thus able to practice the art continuously for a long period; and in a country so arid there was often great need of vessels suitable for the transportation and storage of water.

Material.—Nature was lavish in her supply of the material needed. Suitable clay could be found in nearly every valley, both in the well-exposed strata and in the sediment of streams. I have noticed that after the passage of a sudden storm over the mesa country, and the rapid disappearance of the transient flood, the pools of the arroyos would retain a sediment of clay two or three inches thick, having a consistency perfectly suited to the hand of the potter. This I have taken without tempering and have made imitations of the handsome vases whose remnants I could pick up on all sides. In drying and burning, these vessels were liable to crack and fall to pieces; but I see no reason why, with the use of proper tempering materials, this natural paste might not be successfully employed. It would not be difficult, however, to find the native clay among the sedimentary formations of this district. Usually the clay has been very fine grained, and when used without coarse tempering the vessels have an extremely even and often a conchoidal fracture.

Tempering.—The materials used in tempering do not often come into notice. It appears that, in a majority of cases, fine sand, probably derived from naturally disintegrated rocks, was employed. A large percentage of rather coarse sand is found in the more roughly finished coil-made ware, but vessels intended for smooth finish have little perceptible tempering material.

The speckled appearance of some of the abraded surfaces suggests the use of pulverized potsherds, a practice frequently resorted to by the modern tribes. In some localities, notably in the south, we find a slight admixture of mica, which may have come from the use of pulverized micaceous rock.

Construction.—No one can say just how the materials were manipulated, fashioned into vessels, and baked; yet many facts can be gleaned from a critical examination of the vessels themselves; and an approximate idea of the various processes employed may be formed by a study of the methods of modern potters of the same region or of corresponding grades of culture.

It is evident that the vessels were built and finished by the hands alone; no wheel was used, although supports, such as shallow earthen vessels, baskets, and gourds were certainly employed to a considerable extent. Primitive processes of building have varied considerably. The simplest method perhaps was that of shaping a single mass of clay by pressure with the fingers, either with or without the assistance of a mold or support. The mold would be useful in shaping shallow vessels, such as plates, cups, and bowls. The walls of vessels of eccentric forms or having constricted apertures would be carried upward by the addition of small more or less elongated masses of clay, with no support but the hand or an implement held in the hand. Casting proper, in regularly constructed molds, was practiced only by the more cultured races, such as the Peruvians. A variety of methods may have been employed in the construction of a single piece.

Surface Finish.—A great deal of attention was given to surface finish. In the coiled ware the imbricate edges of the fillets were generally either smoothed down and obliterated entirely, or treated in such a way as to give a variety of pleasing effects of relief decoration. Vessels with smooth surfaces, whether built by coiling, modeling, or molding, very often received a thin coat of fine liquid clay, probably after partial drying and polishing. This took the place of the enamels used by more accomplished potters, and being usually white, it gave a beautiful surface upon which to execute designs in color. Before the color was applied the surface received a considerable degree of polish by rubbing with a suitable implement of stone or other material. Attention was given chiefly to surfaces exposed to view—the interior of bowls and the exterior of narrow-necked vases.

Firing.—The firing of the ancient ware seems to have been carefully and successfully accomplished. The methods probably did not differ greatly from those practiced by the modern Pueblo tribes. The ware is, as a rule, light in color, but is generally much clouded by the dark spots that result from imperfections in the methods of applying the fire. The heat was rarely great enough to produce anything like vitrifaction of the surface, and the paste is seldom as hard as our stone ware.

Glaze.—A great deal has been said about the glaze of native American wares, which exists, if at all, through accident. The surface of the white ware of nearly all sections received a high degree of mechanical polish, and the effect of firing was often to heighten this and give at times a slightly translucent effect; a result of the spreading or sinking of the coloring matter of the designs.

Hardness.—The paste exposed in fractured edges can be scratched with a steel point, and often with ease. Some of the white pottery of ancient Tusayan can be carved almost as readily as chalk or sun-dried clay. At the same time all localities furnish occasionally specimens that through the accidents of firing have the ring and hardness of stoneware. The ancient pottery is generally superior in hardness to that produced by the historic tribes.

Color.—This pottery presents a pleasing variety of color, although the light grays prevail, especially in the more archaic varieties. The general color probably depended greatly upon the natural constituents of the clay and the degree of heat applied, and these conditions varied with the locality and the people. Reds and browns result from the presence of iron, which may have been oxidized in burning, or the red oxides may have been used in rare cases as coloring matter in kneading the clay. The surface is often lighter than the mass; a condition probably resulting from the presence of vegetable matter in the clay, which is destroyed on the surface and remains unchanged within. In the south the colors of the paste are often slightly reddish or yellowish in hue. It is notable that a small percentage of the ware of all localities is red. This gives rise to the suggestion that vessels of this color probably had some especial or sacred use. Color is known to have an intimate connection with superstitious observances among many barbarian peoples.

Form.—In form the ancient ware is universally simple and pleasing. Many shapes known to both civilized and barbarian art are absent. High-necked bottles and shallow plates are of rare occurrence, and pitchers, canteens or lenticular bottles, and vessels with legs and stands are unknown. There is a notable dearth of life forms, a circumstance that would seem to indicate the rather tardy development of a taste for modeling—a condition which may have resulted from the comparatively recent origin or introduction of art in clay.

Vessels with full globular bodies prevail. The bottoms are generally round or a little pointed, indicating primitive conditions of life and suggesting great simplicity in methods of manufacture and in the models copied.

Origin of Forms.—There can be no doubt that ceramic forms are to a great extent derivative, and the search for their originals will constitute a most important feature in our studies. Turning to nature for possible originals, we find them liberally supplied by both the animal and the vegetable kingdom. The shells of the sea shore were probably among the first receptacles for food and drink. We have examples of pottery from the mounds in the Mississippi Valley, representing three or four distinct varieties of shells. The shells of turtles and the horns of cattle and other animals have also served as models.

Fig. 210

Fig. 210.—Origin of forms.

Fig. 211

Fig. 211.—Origin of forms.

The vegetable world furnishes many originals; the gourd, for example, was utilized at a very early date. Its forms are greatly varied, and must have given rise to many primitive shapes of vessels in clay, and perhaps in wicker-work and wood. One of the ordinary forms cut off midway would suggest the series of bowls outlined in Fig. 210. Simply perforated it would give rise to the series illustrated in Fig. 211.

Fig. 212

Fig. 212.—Origin of forms.

Fig. 213

Fig. 213.—Origin of forms.

Fig. 214

Fig. 214.—Origin of forms.

Wide-mouthed vases would be suggested as indicated in Fig. 212, bottles as shown in Fig. 213, and eccentric forms as seen in Fig. 214.

These particular examples are presented in illustration of the manner in which forms may be derived and nothing more, as there are many possible origins of the same forms. In a separate paper I have amplified this topic, and have discussed the relative importance of the influence of natural and artificial products upon the conformation of utensils of clay.

Handles.—In searching for the first suggestions of handles we must certainly go back to the very beginnings of art, when men and women employed leaves or vines to carry their children or their food, or to suspend them for safety from the trees of the forest. The art of basketry would naturally fall heir to this use of handles. Clay, bronze, and iron, when they came into use, would also inherit some of the forms thus developed. There are, however, other sources of equal importance, among which are animal forms, such as horns, and various forms of vegetable growth, such as the gourd. The latter may again serve as an illustration.

By cutting the body of the gourd longitudinally at one side of the axis, we have dippers with straight or curved necks or handles. The primitive potter would in like manner have the suggestion of a handled vessel in clay, which, carried forward by the ever active spirit of improvement, would in time give us the series shown in Figs. 215 and 216:

Fig. 215.—Origin of handles.

Fig. 215.—Origin of handles.

Fig. 216.—Origin and development of handles.

Fig. 216.—Origin and development of handles.

Ornament.—The shapes of vessels are, in a measure, ornamental, but it is difficult to say just how much the necessary or functional characters of particular forms have given way to decorative modifications. Pure ornament is a feature not essential to the vessel. Its ideas may be expressed by three principal methods: by relieved, by flat, and by intaglio figures.

Relief ornament was not extensively employed by the ancient Pueblos. The forms are few and simple, and nearly all are traceable to constructional or to functional features. Thus the ornamental crenulated surface of the coiled ware is constructional, consisting as it does of ridges, resulting from the method of building. The knobs, isolated coils, and festooned fillets are probably, in some cases, atrophied forms of handles.

Intaglio decoration is still more rare. It consists of incised, impressed, and punctured figures. No designs of importance are produced by this method, the most notable being the simple patterns traced by the finger or a sharp implement upon the relieved edges of fillets in the coiled ware.

With these people, the highest class of decoration consisted of designs in color. This topic is fully discussed in a subsequent section.

Origin of ornament.—It is probable that before pottery came into use the decorative art had been cultivated in other fields, and we shall need to look both to nature and to antecedent arts for the originals of many decorative ideas.

From a remote period man has been able to appreciate beauty. The first exercise of taste would probably be in the direction of personal adornment, and would consist in the choice of colors or articles thought to enhance attractiveness, or in the grouping and modification of objects at first functional in character. Later, taste would be exercised on a variety of subjects, and finally it would extend to all things in use. Man may have recognized the comeliness of the first simple articles employed in his humble arts, but when he came to attempt the multiplication of these articles artificially, utility was probably the only thought. In reproducing them, however, non-essential features would be copied automatically, and the work of art would through this accident inherit purely ornamental attributes.

Thus it appears that the first ideas of decoration do not necessarily originate in the mind of the potter, but that, like the shapes of art products, they may be derived, unconsciously, from nature. This is an important consideration. At a later stage new forms of ornament are derived in a like manner from constructional features of the various arts. Invention of decorative motives is not to be expected of a primitive, tradition-following people. Advance is greatly by utilization of accidents.

Use.—A satisfactory classification of this pottery by functional characters will be most difficult to make. In the early stages of its manufacture it was confined chiefly, if not solely, to the alimentary arts. A differentiation of use would take place when certain vessels were set aside for special departments of the domestic work. Thus we would have vessels for eating, for cooking, for carrying, and for storage. When vessels came to be used in superstitious exercises, certain forms were probably set aside for especial ceremonies. With some peoples, particular forms were dedicated to mortuary uses, but we have no clew to any such custom among the ancient Pueblos, as the same vessel served for food both before and after death, and cinerary vessels were not called for. Certain classes of the ruder and plainer ware are found to be blackened by smoke. These were evidently cooking vessels. The painted pottery rarely shows evidences of such use. Bowls were probably employed chiefly in preparing and serving food. The larger vessels were devoted to carrying and storing water, fruits, grains, and miscellaneous articles. Smaller vessels were used as receptacles for paint, grease, and the like. The ancient people had not yet devoted their ceramic art to trivial uses—there are no toys, no rattles, and no grotesque figures.

Classification.—In treating a subject covering so wide a field, and embracing such a diversity of products, a careful classification of the material is called for. Three grand divisions of the ceramic work of this province may be made on a time basis, namely: prehistoric, transitional, and modern. At present I have to deal chiefly with the prehistoric, but must also pay some attention to the transitional, as it embraces many features common both to the archaic and to the modern art. In discussing the prehistoric pottery I find it convenient to consider it under the three heads, coiled ware, plain ware, and painted ware. This classification is unsatisfactory, as it is based upon somewhat imperfectly differentiated characters. The smooth vessel is in many cases a coil-built one with obliterated coils, and a painted vessel a smooth one with the addition of designs in color. Very little of the pottery was left plain, but the coiled and painted varieties are fully represented in every locality.

I place the coiled ware first because to all appearances it is the most archaic variety and one which is rarely made at the present day. I suspect that the pieces made by modern potters serve to supply the wants of the collectors rather than to meet the requirements of traditional art. Among the collections in the National Museum are found many crude attempts to manufacture this ware by potters who did not comprehend the secrets of its construction, or who thought to produce the coiled effect by the cheap device of scarifying and indenting the surface of a plain vessel.

Close relations are established between the coiled and the painted pottery, not only by the identity of materials, form, color, and time, but by the union of the two methods of finishing, the coiling and painting, in one and the same vessel, as may be seen in the examples given in in the following pages.

COIL-MADE WARE.

Coiling.—The art of building vessels by means of coils of clay has been practiced by many widely separated communities, and is, therefore, certainly not peculiar to the ancient Pueblos. A careful study of the ceramic field shows considerable diversity in the treatment of the coil. The most striking variation, the employment of the coil as a means of embellishment, is, so far as my observation extends, peculiar to the Pueblo peoples. With others it is a feature of construction simply.

The preliminary steps are with all primitive potters in a general sense the same. The first care is to secure suitable clay and to have it properly purified and tempered. After this the treatment varies greatly.

Coiling of the Pueblos.—The ancient Pueblo potter rolled out long, slender fillets or ropes of clay, varying in width and thickness to suit the size and character of the vessel to be constructed. They were usually perhaps from one-fourth to one-half of an inch in thickness. When they were properly trimmed and smoothed the potter began by taking the end of a single strip between his fingers and proceeded to coil it upon itself, gradually forming a disk, as shown in Fig. 217, which represents the base of a large vase from the San Juan Valley.

Fig. 217

Fig. 217.—Beginning of the coil.

Fig. 218

Fig. 218.—Section of coil-made vessel.

At first the fillets overlapped only a little, but as the disk grew large and was rounded upward to form the body of the vessel, the imbrication became more pronounced. The fillet was placed obliquely, as shown in the section, Fig. 218, and was exposed on the exterior side to probably one-half of its width. Strip after strip of clay was added, the ends being carefully joined, so that the continuity might not be broken until the vessel was completed. The rim generally consisted of a broad strip, thickened a little at the lip, and somewhat recurved. The exterior imbricate edges were carefully preserved, while those on the inner surface were totally obliterated, first by pressure, and finally by smoothing down with an implement, or with the fingers, imprints of the latter being frequently visible. So thoroughly were the fillets pressed down and welded together that the vessels seldom fracture more readily along the lines of junction than in other directions.

The fact that the spiral ridges of the bottom are frequently without abrasion, as shown in Fig. 217, suggests an idea in regard to the manipulation of the coil. While building the upper part of the vase the base would necessarily rest upon some sort of support and the soft ridges would suffer from abrasion. In preventing such defacement, an interior support, such as a mold or the base of another vessel, must have been used, in which case the vessel was necessarily built in an inverted position. At the same time it is clear that this would be practicable only with bowls or with very wide-mouthed vessels, as the mold, if rigid, could not be removed through a restricted aperture.

In pressing the coil down, in welding it to the preceding turn, internal support would be necessary, as otherwise the strain would warp the walls. A curved trowel or a rounded pebble could be used as long as the aperture would admit the hand, but no support excepting the fingers, or an implement shaped for the purpose, could be used beyond this stage. The whole process was a most delicate one, requiring patience and skill. In this respect it contrasted strongly with the coiling of other peoples. As indicated by numerous specimens, the coil was sometimes laid on the inside of a shallow basket or bowl, the surface of the vessel showing a combination of basket-markings and nearly obliterated spiral creases. This device served a good purpose in starting the vessel, the upper part being completed by free-hand coiling.

Coiling of other peoples.—The art, as practiced by the Indians of Louisiana, is graphically described by Dumont. The following paragraph is translated from his work:

"Moreover, the industry of these (savage) girls and women is admirable. I have already alluded to the skill with which, with their fingers only, and without a wheel, they make large pieces of pottery. The following is their method of work: After having collected a quantity of the proper kind of earth, and having cleaned it thoroughly, they take shells which they break up and reduce to a very fine, loose powder; they mix this fine dust with the earth which they have collected, and, moistening the whole with a little water, work it with their hands and feet into a paste, from which they make rolls six or seven feet long and as thick as they may desire. If they wish to make a dish or a vase, they take one of these rolls by the end, and marking on this lump with the thumb of the left hand the center of the vessel, they turn the roll around this center with admirable rapidity and dexterity, describing a spiral. From time to time they dip their fingers into the water, which they are always careful to have near them, and, with the right hand, they flatten the inside and the outside of the vase, which without this would be uneven. In this way they make all kinds of earthen utensils, dishes, plates, bowls, pots, and jugs, some of which hold as much as 40 or even 50 pints. This pottery does not require much preparation for baking. After having dried it in the shade, they make a large fire, and as soon as they think they have enough embers they clean a place in the middle, and, arranging the pieces of pottery, cover them with charcoal. It is thus that the pieces are given the necessary heating (cooking), after which they are as strong as our pottery. There is no doubt but that we must attribute their strength to the mixture which these women make of powdered shells with the earth which they employ."[1]

Professor C. F. Hartt has furnished many facts in regard to the manufacture of pottery by the Brazilian Indians. According to his account the women of Santarem model the bottom of a vessel from a lump of clay in the usual way. Then "a piece of clay is rolled under the hand into a long, rope-like cylinder. This rope is then coiled around the edge of the bottom of the vessel, being flattened sidewise 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 manner, 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 shell, with which alone the vessel may receive not only an extremely regular form, but also a very smooth surface. * * * 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."[2]

Prof. Hartt states, also, on the authority of Dr. de Magalhaes, that the pottery of the several tribes of the Araquaya River is always made by coiling, the surface being worked down by the hand and water and the aid of a spoon-like trowel made of bamboo. Humboldt makes a similar statement in regard to the tribes of the Orinoco.

Mr. E. A. Barber[3] relates, on the authority of Captain John Moss, a resident, for a long time, of southwestern Colorado, that the Ute Indians manufacture pottery at the present time, and that they probably follow the methods of the Mokis, from whom they learned the art.

Captain Moss states that "They use marl, which they grind between two rocks to a very fine powder. They then mix this with water and knead it as we would dough. Afterwards they roll it out into a rope-like state about one inch in diameter and several yards in length. They then commence at the bottom of the jar, or whatever vessel they may be making, and coil the clay-rope layer on layer until they have the bottom and three inches of the sides laid up. The tools for smoothing and joining the layers together are a paddle made out of wood and perfectly smooth, and an oval-shaped polished stone." Both of these tools are dipped in the water (salt water is preferred), the stone is held in the left hand and on the inside of the vessel, and the paddle is applied vigorously until the surfaces are smooth. The method thus described by these authors was, probably, almost universally practiced.

Fig. 219

Fig. 219.—Ordinary superposition of coils. Section.

I have specimens from a number of the Eastern and Southern States that fracture along the line of junction, showing clearly the width of the fillets and the manner of their attachment. I picked up a small specimen at Avoca, North Carolina, which has broken along the line of junction, giving the section illustrated in Fig. 219. It will be seen that there is no overlapping as in the Pueblo work, the attachment being accomplished by pressure and by drawing both edges of the coil down over the convex edge of the preceding coil. I have similar specimens from the modern Pueblos, from Florida, from Mexico, and from Brazil. It will readily be seen that this method of building differs essentially from that practiced so successfully by the ancient Pueblos.

Origin of the Coil.—This use of the coil is but a refinement of the most simple possible method of construction, that of building by the addition of small masses of clay. A disk or shallow cup can be formed successfully by the fingers alone from a single lump of clay, but to carry the wall upward by pressure or by blows from a paddle would result in a weak, frayed edge. To counteract or prevent this tendency small elongated masses are used, which are laid one upon another along the growing margin. From this, in the most natural manner possible, we arrive at the use of the long, even rope or fillet. The imbrication or overlapping of the coil practiced by the Pueblos may have originated in the effort to secure a more stable union of the parts which had to be welded together by pressure. It would also almost necessarily arise from the attempt to lay the coil upon or within a mold or support. There is a possibility that it may have been suggested by features of construction observed in other arts—the overlapping parts of a roof, of a plate or scale garment, or of a coiled basket. The latter is especially suggestive, since we must generally look for the origin of features of the ceramic art in the features of closely associated arts.

The Coil in Ornamentation.—Ordinarily the coil has not been expected to contribute to the beauty of the vessel, but the Pueblo tribes made it a prominent feature in decoration. The primitive potter as he laid his rude coils noticed that the ridges thus produced served to enhance the appearance of the vessel. He also observed that the series of indentations left on the outer surface of the fillet in pressing it down gave a pleasing effect, and made use of the suggestion. Improving upon the accidents of manufacture, he worked out a variety of decorative devices.

In some cases the coiled ridges are confined to particular parts of the vessel, the other parts having been worked down or originally constructed by plain modeling. Numerous examples have the body quite plain, the collar alone retaining the spiral ridges of the coil. Fig. 251 illustrates a very good example of this peculiarity.

Fig. 220

Fig. 220.—Coiled and plain surface. Section.

The fragment shown in Fig. 220 is from the neck of a pot-shaped vase. The surface has been plain below and the fillets of the upper part have been pressed down evenly with the thumb, leaving the extreme edge of the overlapping band in sharp relief, as shown more clearly in the section.

The whole coil is sometimes left plain, as in Figs. 221 and 222, in which cases the edges have been carefully pressed down and smoothed with the fingers.

Fig. 221

Fig. 221.—Rib like coil. Section.

Fig. 222

Fig. 222.—Rib like coil. Section.

A great variety of devices were resorted to to diversify and decorate the ribbed spirals, and in this the innate good taste of the Indian exhibits itself to much advantage. The coil is often indented or crimped throughout, from the center of the bottom to the rim of the vessel. At times a few turns at the beginning are left plain, as shown in Fig. 217, while again alternate bands, consisting of several turns each, are not crimped, as clearly brought out by an example from Southern Utah, illustrated in the Art Review for July, 1874, by F. W. Putnam, and also by two fine specimens recently collected by E. W. Nelson near Springerville, Arizona.

The decided taste of this ancient people for ornament is still further indicated by attempts to elaborate more intricate patterns by means of thumb-nail indentations. The idea may have been borrowed from basketry. The fragment given in Fig. 223 illustrates the method of procedure. We have some very fine vessels of this class from Springerville, and others from the province of Tusayan in which the entire surface is covered with checkered or meandered patterns. An excellent example is shown in Fig. 253. We shall appreciate the cleverness of this work more fully when we remember that the separate thumb indentations forming the figures of the pattern are made in each coil as it is laid and pressed into place and before the succeeding turn is made.

Fig. 223

Fig. 223.—Indented pattern.

Fig. 224

Fig. 224.—Nail indentions.

These curious decorative effects were still further elaborated by diversifying the character of the indentations of the coil. In Fig. 224 we have a most successful effort in this direction. The fillets are alternately crimped and plain. The thumb, in pressing down the one, has been applied with such force that the nail has cut entirely through it, indenting the plain layer below and causing the two to coalesce. This specimen was obtained from the caÑon of the Rio Mancos.

Certain districts are particularly rich in remains of this peculiar ware and furnish many examples of crimped ornament. The remarkable desert-like plateau lying north of the Grand CaÑon of the Colorado contains many house and village sites. At intervals along the very brink of the great chasm we come upon heaps of stones and razed walls of houses about which are countless fragments of this ware. These are identical in nearly every character with the pottery of Saint George on the west, of the San Juan on the east, and of the Gila on the south. A few miles south of Kanab stands a little hill—an island in the creek bottom—which is literally covered with the ruins of an ancient village, and the great abundance of pottery fragments indicates that it was, for a long period, the home of cliff-dwelling peoples. In no other case have I found so complete an assortment of all the varieties of coil-ornamentation. All the forms already given are represented and a number of new ones are added.

Fig. 225

Fig. 225 .—Wave-like indentions.

Fig. 226

Fig. 226 .—Wave-like indentions.

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In the example given in Fig. 225 the fillets are deeply indented, giving a wave-like effect. Another pretty variety is seen in Fig. 226.

Fig. 227

Fig. 227.—Impressions of finger-tips.

Fig. 228

Fig. 228.—Implement indentations.

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One of the most successful of these archaic attempts at relief embellishment is illustrated in the fragment shown in Fig. 227. The raised edge of the fillet is pinched out at regular intervals, producing rows of sharp-pointed "beads." Over the entire surface impressions of the fine lines of the finger-tips are still distinctly visible. The dotted lines show the direction of the coil.

The indenting was not always done with the thumb or finger-tips, but a variety of implements were used. The vase, of which Fig. 228 shows a small fragment, had a figure worked upon it by indenting the soft coils with a sharp implement.

Fig. 229

Fig. 229.—Nail markings.

Fig. 230

Fig. 230.—Incised lines.

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In the specimen illustrated in Fig. 230, incised lines are drawn across the ridges of the coil.

The coil ridges were sometimes worked down into more regular forms by means of an implement and were left plain or were interrupted by transverse lines. Lines of nail marking are shown in Fig. 229. These lines are occasionally combined in rude patterns.

Fig. 231

Fig. 231.—Incised patterns.

Other varieties of ornament.—I have already remarked that certain styles of decoration are confined to somewhat definite geographic limits. In the ancient Pueblo district we find that painted designs and coil ornaments are co-extensive, while within this area there are but rare examples of incised designs, stamped figures, or cord-marking. We find basket indentations, but these are in all cases the accidents of manufacture. The coil has often been laid upon the inner surface of a basket.

The fragment shown in Fig. 231 was picked up on the site of an ancient Pueblo village near Abiquiu, New Mexico. It is a portion of the neck and upper part of the body of a small vase which was covered by a simple pattern of intaglio lines, produced with a bone or wooden stylus.

Ornaments in relief, aside from the coil and forms resulting directly from its use, were sparingly employed and are of comparatively little interest. They consist of straight, curved, or crimped fillets, applied to the surface of the vessel as shown in Fig. 232. Additional examples are given in Figs. 233, 234, and 235.

Nodes, cones, and other forms are also used as seen in Figs. 236, 237, and 238. These are usually placed about the neck of the vessel, occupying the places of the handles.

Fig. 232.—Applied fillet.

Material.—The clay used in this ware was in some sections tempered with a large percentage of rather coarse silicious sand, which gives to the surface a rough, granular look. In the south the paste seems to be finer grained than in the northern districts.

Color, etc.—The color of the paste is generally gray, but in the province of Tusayan it is frequently yellow. In some cases the surface has received a wash of fine liquid clay, and a few bowls from the Little Colorado and Gila Valleys have designs in white paint covering the exterior surface. This ware is always well baked and extremely hard.

Form.—The forms are not nearly so varied as are those of the painted ware. The leading variety is a round-bodied, wide-mouthed olla or pot, with flaring rim. Bottles are of rare occurrence, and bowls are not nearly so plentiful as in other varieties of pottery. Life and eccentric forms are occasionally found. Many small vessels of the more elongated shapes are furnished with handles, which are in most cases placed vertically upon the neck, and consist of single or double bands or ropes or of two or more strands twisted together.

Use.—As a rule the forms are such as have been devoted by most peoples to culinary uses, and in many cases the entire exterior surface is coated with soot. Plain vessels of similar outlines are used by the modern tribes of this province for cooking and serving food. Examples having very neatly or elaborately finished surfaces have apparently not been used over a fire. Those of large size doubtless served for the transportation and storage of water.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF VESSELS.

As it is my desire to give this paper something of a monographic completeness, I shall present a typical series of the best preserved vessels of this class along with some notices of the circumstances under which they were discovered. The treatment by districts or localities is for convenience simply, and has no reference to distinctions in the character of the ware.

DISTRICT OF THE RIO SAN JUAN.

Our first expeditions into the land of the cliff-dwellers were full of interest. We were not, however, the first explorers. The miners of the silver-bearing mountains to the north had made occasional excursions into the sinuous caÑons of the plateau district, and failing to bring back the coveted gold, told tales of the marvelous cities of the cliffs, and speculated upon discovering in the dÉbris of ancient temples and tombs a portion of the fabled gold and jewels of the provinces of Cibola and Tusayan.

Notwithstanding our entire freedom from expectations in this direction, the thought gave color to our anticipations, and it was not an uncommon occurrence to hear, about the slumbering camp fire, half jocular references to the "great pots of gold moons" that some one had whispered might be hidden away in the inaccessible cliffs that overshadowed us.

I shall not soon forget the incidents connected with the discovery of a pair of fine water-jars—one of which is illustrated in Fig. 239. On the occasion of our first passage down the caÑon of the Rio Mancos[4] I made the discovery of a group of fine cliff-houses on the south side, far up in the vertical walls. On our return I made it a point to camp for the night directly below these houses, although a dense growth of underbrush had to be cut away to give room for our beds by the side of the sluggish stream.

The two finest houses were set in shallow, wind-worn caves, several hundred feet above the valley. One was almost directly above the other, the upper being reached by a number of notches picked in the nearly vertical rock-face.

I had ascended alone and was busily engaged in studying the upper house and tracing the plans of its fallen walls, when I heard a voice echoing among the cliffs. Descending hastily to the lower house I found that one of my men had followed me and was excitedly scratching with a stick among the debris of fallen walls. He had just discovered the rim of a buried pot, and was fairly breathless from the anticipation of "piles of moons." By the aid of my geologic hammer we soon had the upper part of the neck uncovered, but hesitated a moment with bated breath before venturing to raise the rough stone lid. But there was no treasure—only a heap of dust. I was content, however, and when by a little further search we came upon a second vessel, a mate to the first, the momentary shades of disappointment vanished.

These vessels had been placed in a small recess, where the falling walls had not reached them, and were standing just as they had been left by their ancient possessors. The more perfect one, which had lost only a small chip from the rim, I determined to bring away entire. This I succeeded in doing by wrapping it in a blanket, and by means of straps, slinging it across my back. I carried it thus for a number of days over the rough trails of the caÑons and plateaus. The other, which was badly cracked when found, was pulled apart and packed away in one of the mess chests. It is now with its mate in the National Museum, perfectly restored.

The unbroken vessel is shown in Fig. 239 about one-third its real height. Its capacity is nearly four gallons. The clay is tempered with a large portion of sand, some grains of which are quite coarse. The color of the paste is a light gray, apparently not having been greatly changed by the baking. A few dark contact clouds appear on the sides of the body. The walls are quite thin for a vessel of its size and are of very uniform thickness. The entire weight hardly exceeds that of a common wooden pail of the same capacity. The mouth is wide and the rim, which is made of a plain rough band, is one inch wide and abruptly recurved. The vessel can hardly be said to have a neck, as the walls round gradually outward from the rim to the periphery of the body, which is full and nearly symmetrical. The narrow strands of clay have been coiled with something less than average care, the exposed surfaces being wide in places and in others very narrow. The thumb indentations have been carelessly made. Two small conical bits of clay are affixed to the neck as if to represent handles. These may have been intended for ornaments, but are as likely to owe their presence to some little superstition of the archaic artisans.

The companion vessel has also a capacity of about four gallons. Its form differs from that of its mate, being considerably more elongated above and having a more pronounced neck. The material is about the same, but the color is darker and the workmanship is superior. The surface is coated with soot, indicating use over a fire in cooking food or in boiling water. The coil was laid with a good deal of care and the indentation was done in a way to produce a series of sharp points along the margin of the coil. The interior of the rim was finished with a polishing stone. A small cord of clay was neatly coiled into a double scroll and attached to the narrowest part of the vessel, corresponding in position to the knobs in the other example. This ornament, though small, is nevertheless effective. Similar scrolls are found upon vases from many parts of the Pueblo Province.

It is an interesting fact that this vessel had been successfully mended by its owners. A small perforation near the base had been stopped by cementing a bit of pottery to the inside with clay paste. These vases were evidently the most important of the household utensils of the cliff-dwellers, especially as in this place water had to be carried, at least during a part of the year, from the creek five hundred feet below. It is probable that baskets and skins were sometimes used for carrying water, and that the earthen vessels were used as coolers, as are similar vessels among many primitive peoples. That they were used for carrying water up the cliffs is indicated by the fragments that lie upon the slopes and point out the location of houses invisible from the trails below.

A large fragment of a similar olla was picked up in the valley of Epsom Creek, southeast Utah. This vessel was larger, neater in finish, and more elegant in shape, than either of those described. A sufficiently large fragment was discovered to show satisfactorily the character of the rim, the outline of the body, and the details of surface finish. (Fig. 240.) The rim is but slightly recurved and the neck is high and upright. The body swelled to a diameter of about eighteen inches at the greatest circumference. The paste, as usual, indicates a gray clay tempered with coarse sand. The inside is smooth and the walls are remarkably thin for so large a vessel, being about one-fourth of an inch in thickness. The coil is very neatly laid and indented, a variety to the effect being given by leaving occasional plain bands. This vessel is described by W. H. Jackson in the Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, Vol. II.

Fragments of this class of ware are found throughout the caÑoned region of southern Utah and for an undetermined distance into Nevada. I have already described fragmentary specimens from Kanab and therefore pass on to the west.

DISTRICT OF THE RIO VIRGEN.

The most notable collection of this coiled ware ever yet made in any one locality is from a dwelling-site tumulus near Saint George, Utah, nearly three hundred miles west of the Rio Mancos.

About the year 1875, the curator of the National Museum obtained information of a deposit of ancient relics at the above locality, and in 1876 a collector was sent out to make an investigation. The result, so far as collections go, was most satisfactory, and the account furnished gives an insight into the customs of this ancient people not yet obtained from any other source. On the Santa Clara River, a tributary of the Rio Virgen, about three miles from the Mormon town of Saint George, a low mound, which I suppose to have been a sort of village-site tumulus, was found. The outline was irregular, but had originally been approximately circular. It was less than ten feet in height, and covered about half an acre. One side had been undermined and carried away by the stream. The work of exhumation was most successfully accomplished by means of water. A small stream was made to play upon the soft alluvium, of which the mound was chiefly composed. The sensations of the collector, as skeleton after skeleton and vase after vase appeared, must have been highly pleasurable.

It is thought that the inhabitants of this place, like many other primitive peoples, buried their dead beneath their dwellings, which were then burned down or otherwise destroyed. As time passed on and the dead were forgotten, other dwellings were built upon the old sites, until quite a mound was formed in which all the less perishable remains were preserved in successive layers.

Following the customs of most primitive peoples, the belongings of the deceased were buried with them. Earthen vessels were found in profusion. With a single body, there were sometimes as many as eight vases, the children having been in this respect more highly favored than the adults. There seems to have been no system in the arrangement either of the bodies or of the accompanying relics.

The majority of the vases were either plain or decorated in color, but many of the larger specimens were of the coiled variety. About sixty vessels were recovered. Those of the former classes will be described under their proper headings.

The shapes of the corrugated vases are of the simplest kind. The prevailing form corresponds very closely with the Cliff House specimen illustrated in Fig. 239. One unusually large example was brought back in fragments, but has since been successfully restored. It stands nearly seventeen inches high and is sixteen inches in diameter. The plain part of the rim is one and one-half inches wide, and the lip is well rounded and strongly recurved. The lines are quite graceful, the neck expanding below into a globular body which is just a little pointed at the base. The color is dark, from use over the fire. The fillets of clay were narrow and very neatly crimped. Roughly estimated, there were at least three hundred feet of the coil used. The vessel has a capacity of about ten gallons.

Vases of this particular outline may be found, varying in size from these grand proportions to small cups an inch or two in height. Of a somewhat different type is the vessel shown in Fig. 241. The outline is symmetrical. The neck is comparatively high and wide and swells out gently to the widest part of the body, the base being almost hemispherical. A band about the neck is coiled and roughly indented, while the body is quite smooth. The plain band about the mouth is broad and sharply recurved. The coils are wide and deeply indented. They have been smoothed down somewhat while the clay was still soft. The vase shown in Fig. 242 is characterized by its upright rim, elongated neck, round body, and plain broad coils. The fillets are set one upon another, apparently without the usual imbrication. This latter feature occurs in a number of cases in the vessels of this locality.

The bottle given in Fig. 243 is quite comely in shape. The neck expands gracefully from the rim to its junction with the body, which swells out abruptly to its greatest fullness. The coil is not neatly laid. The indentation began with the coil, but was almost obliterated on the lower part of the vessel while the clay was yet soft. The fillets are not so well smoothed down on the interior surface as usual, a ridged appearance being the result. This comes from the difficulty of operating within a much restricted aperture. The color is gray, with a few effective clouds of black, the result of firing. Another, of similar form, was taken from the collection by unknown persons.

The only example of coiled ware from this locality having a handle is a small mug. Its body is shaped much like the larger vessels, but it is less regular in outline. The single vertically placed handle, now partially broken away, was attached to the side of the body near the top, and consisted of a rough cord of clay less than half an inch in diameter. The Saint George tumulus furnished a number of vessels with smooth, unpainted surfaces, very similar in form and size to the coiled vessels. They are generally blackened by use over fire, and, like the large coiled pots, were evidently used for culinary purposes. A few smaller vessels of the same style of finish exhibit forms characteristic of the painted ware, as will be seen by reference to the illustrations of these two groups.

From the same source we have two bowls of especial interest, as they have coiled exteriors and polished and painted interiors. One of these is illustrated in Fig. 244. They form an important link between the two varieties of ware, demonstrating the fact that both styles belong to the same age and to the same people. A similar bowl, found in possession of the ZuÑi Indians, is illustrated in another part of this paper, Fig. 254. Another was obtained at Moki. Fragments of identical vessels are found occasionally throughout the whole Pueblo district. One piece from the San Juan Valley has figures painted upon the coiled exterior surface, the interior being polished and unpainted. Specimens from the vicinity of Springerville, Arizona, have designs in white painted over the coiled surface. A large number of well-made, hemispherical bowls from this locality have a coiled band about the exterior margin, but are otherwise plain and well polished. Some are brownish or reddish in color. Many of them have been used over the fire.

The ceramic remains of Utah present some puzzling features. As we go north from the Rio Virgen there is an apparent gradation from the typical Pueblo ware to a distinct group characteristic of Salt Lake Valley. The interesting problems suggested by this condition of things cannot be discussed in this place, and I will stop only to present a specimen of the coiled ware from Parowan, which is in some respects the finest example known. The form, so far as it is preserved, seems unusually graceful, and the laying and indenting of the coil is surprisingly perfect. This vase is in the Salt Lake Museum, and the cut, Fig. 245, is made from a photograph furnished by Prof. Marcus E. Jones. Vessels with similar finish have recently been obtained from graves at Fillmore, Utah, by Dr. H. C. Yarrow, and, singularly enough, identical work is seen in some very fine pieces obtained by Mr. Nelson from ruined pueblos in middle eastern Arizona.

An interesting little cup, said to have been found in central Utah, illustrates some of the peculiar characters of the more northern examples of this ware. The vessel has apparently been built with coils, as usual, but the surface is worked over in such a way as to obscure the spiral ridges. The rim is upright and plain. The high, wide neck has a series of narrow, vertical flutings, made with a round-pointed implement, or possibly with the finger tip. A band of four channels encircles the middle of the body, the lower part of which is covered with oblique markings.

The handle is large and round, and is attached above to the top of the rim, and below to the middle of the body. This cup is now in the museum at Salt Lake. The photograph from which the engraving is made was obtained through Professor Jones.

DISTRICT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO.

The region now inhabited by the Pueblo tribes seems to have been a favorite residence of the ancient peoples. Ruins and remains of ceramic art may be found at every turn, and it is a common thing to find ancient vessels in possession of the Pueblo Indians. This is especially true of the ZuÑis and Mokis, from whom considerable collections have been obtained. These vessels have apparently been culled from the sites of ancient ruins, from cave and cliff-houses, and possibly in some cases from burial places. Recently, since they have become valuable in trade, the country about Moki has been ransacked by both Indians and whites, and many valuable specimens have been acquired.

Within recent years a number of expeditions have been sent into this region. To these the caÑons and cliffs have yielded many specimens. Both Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Victor Mindeleff have brought in excellent examples, a few of which have already been illustrated in the publications of the Bureau of Ethnology. I must not fail to mention the very extensive collection of Mr. T. V. Keam and his associate, Mr. John Stephen, examples from which I am permitted to illustrate in this paper.

Most of the pieces described by Mr. Stevenson are small and not at all pleasing in appearance. They comprise ollas and handled mugs of an elongated scrotoid or sack shape, the widest part of the body being, as a rule, near the base, while the upper part is elongated into a heavy neck, to which a recurved rim has been added.

A number of examples, illustrated in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, were obtained from the ZuÑi Indians, and are thought by Mr. Stevenson to have come from the CaÑon de Chelly.

A large, very badly constructed specimen is given in Fig. 247. The rim is roughly finished, the body unsymmetrical, and the bottom slightly flattened. The coils differ greatly in width, and are carelessly joined and unevenly indented. The rudeness of workmanship noticed in this case is characteristic of many of the specimens from ZuÑi.

A rudely constructed cylindrical cup, of the wide-mouthed, narrow-bodied variety, is illustrated in Fig. 248. The bottom was flattened by contact with some hard, scarred surface before the clay hardened. Two round, tapering, serpent-like fillets of clay have been fixed in a vertical position upon opposite sides of the vessel.

There are a number of handled vessels of this class. They are mostly rather rudely made and unsymmetrical. They are small in size and were probably devoted to ordinary domestic uses. A good specimen from the Keam collection is shown in Fig. 249. The handle in this case is a large loop made of three ropes of clay placed side by side. In one case there are three strands set side by side, and joined near the ends. In another case the strands have been twisted, giving a rope-like effect. These forms closely resemble wicker handles in appearance and manner of attachment, and are probably to some extent derived from them, although there is no reason why the ropes of clay, in constant use by potters, should not be joined in pairs, or even twisted, if greater strength or variety were desired.

Vessels from the province of Tusayan may often be identified by their color, which, like that of the transition and modern wares of the same region, is often a rich yellow, sometimes approaching an orange. This color is probably a result of changes in the natural constituents of the clay employed.

An excellent example of the yellow coiled vases is illustrated in Fig. 250. It has a new look, and probably belongs to a later period than the light gray ware of the district. It is symmetrical, and the coil is neatly laid and indented. Portions of the sides and base were blackened in firing.

There are a number of fine specimens of this class in the Keam collection, all obtained from the ancient province of Tusayan. A small, wide-necked pot is shown in Fig. 251. The surface is smooth, with the exception of a narrow band or collar about the neck, formed of a few indented coils. Other vessels closely resembling this in style are much larger and heavier.

A vessel of very archaic appearance is illustrated in Fig. 252. In form, color, and finish it differs from the preceding example. The mouth is almost as wide as the body at its greatest circumference, the color is gray, and the coils are narrow and regularly indented. A minute coiled fillet is attached to the rim for ornament.

The vessel illustrated in Fig. 253 is one of the most noteworthy of its class. In form and construction it does not differ essentially from specimens already described, but the decoration is superior. The coils are indented in such a way as to produce a pattern of triangular figures, which is carried over the entire surface of the vessel. It belongs to the Keam collection, and comes from the province of Tusayan.

From Cibola we have a bowl, the exterior of which is coiled and the interior polished and painted. It is undoubtedly of the most archaic variety of ware, and is almost a duplicate of the example from the Saint George tumulus, shown in Fig. 244. The interior is encircled by a series of five triangular volutes in black lines, and the exterior exhibits a very neatly laid and indented coil. Fig. 254.

PECOS AND THE RIO GRANDE.

In New Mexico, upwards of four hundred miles east of Saint George, in the handsome upland valley of the Rio Pecos, we have the most easterly of the ancient Pueblo remains. The site was occupied at the time of the conquest, but is now wholly deserted, a small remnant of the people having gone to dwell with their kindred at JÉmez.

The site of this village has been thoroughly examined by that learned gentleman, Mr. A. F. Bandelier. It is his opinion that the remains show at least two distinct periods of occupation, the first being marked chiefly by a stratum of ashes, pottery, etc., of great horizontal extent. This underlies more recent deposits which belong to the people found in possession, and whose arts are nearly identical with those of the existing Pueblos.

The underlying stratum is characterized by great quantities of fragmentary coiled ware uniform with that of more western localities. At the same time there is almost a total absence of painted pottery.

The conclusion reached by Mr. Bandelier is that probably the coiled pottery wherever found marks the occupancy of a people antecedent to those who made painted ware. It is my impression, as already stated, that the coiled form may be the most archaic of the ancient Pueblo pottery, yet I think it best to notice two things in regard to the conditions at Pecos.

In the first place, it should be remembered that the painted pottery found by Mr. Bandelier is said to resemble that of Nambe of to-day, nothing being said of the painted ware characteristic of the ancient ruins of the west, and which is always found associated with the coiled fragments, as at Saint George, in the same graves and even in the same vessel, Fig. 244. We would not expect in Pecos, or in any other place, to find modern Pueblo ware like the more recent pottery from Pecos intimately associated with the ancient ware either painted or corrugated. The only strange feature at Pecos is that the coiled fragments are not associated with ancient painted ware as in other places.

Mr. Bandelier advances the idea that this deposit of corrugated ware may represent the site of an ancient pottery, where the vessels were laid out in heaps surrounded by fuel and burned as by the modern Pueblo potters, the broken pieces being left on the ground, forming finally a considerable stratum. If this is correct, then the true explanation probably is that on this spot only the one variety of pottery was made, the painted pottery of the same locality, if such was in use, being made by potters in other parts of the village. Unless there is an actual superposition of the ancient painted ware upon deposits of the coiled variety, we learn nothing of chronological importance.

The valley of the Rio Grande has furnished but few specimens of the coiled ware, although it is known to occur along nearly its entire course through New Mexico.

DISTRICT OF THE RIO GILA.

The broad area drained by the Gila River and its tributaries abounds in ruins and relics, but its exploration is yet very incomplete. Coiled pottery identical, in nearly every respect, with that of the more northern valleys is abundant, but it is sometimes associated with painted wares very different in style from those of the cliff-house districts. It will probably be found that the ceramic products of the Rio Gila and the Rio Grande are much less homogeneous than those of the Colorado Chiquito, the San Juan, and the Rio Virgen.

IMITATION COIL-WARE.

I have already mentioned the occurrence in the Pueblo towns of modern coiled pottery, and also that there are seen, occasionally, vessels in which the coiled effect is rudely imitated by means of scarifying and indenting the plastic surface. Specimens of the latter class are generally small rude bottles with wide recurved lips and slightly conical bases. They are very rudely made and clumsy and are but slightly baked, and on account of the omission of proper tempering material are extremely brittle. They are new looking, and in no case show indications of use, and I have seen no example worthy of a place upon our museum shelves save as illustrating the trickery of the makers. It is possible that they are made by the Mokis, but if so by very unskilled persons who have neither understood the methods nor employed the same materials as the professional potters. I consider it highly probable that some clever Navajo has thought, by imitating archaic types of ware, to outwit collectors and turn an honest penny.

PLAIN WARE.

All the groups of pottery furnish examples of plain vessels. These are generally rudely finished and heavy, as if intended for the more ordinary domestic uses, such as the cooking of food and the storing of provisions and water. The material is coarser than in the nicely finished pieces and the surface is without the usual slip and without polish or applied color.

The characters of these utensils are quite uniform throughout very widely separated districts, so that it is more difficult to assign a single vessel to its proper family than in the case of decorated wares.

We have from Saint George and other localities examples of plain vessels that belong, without a doubt, to the coiled variety, the resemblance in material, color, shape, and finish being quite marked.

These vessels are plentiful in the province of Tusayan, and many of them, as indicated by their color, construction, and texture, belong to the yellow and orange groups of ancient coiled ware. There is in many cases an easily discernible gradation from the wholly coiled through the partially coiled to the plain ware. In some cases the coil has been so imperfectly smoothed down that obscure ribs encircle the vessel indicating its direction, and in other cases fractures extend along the junction lines, separating the vessel when broken, into its original coils. These vessels are large and heavy, with wide mouths and full bodies, which are occasionally somewhat compressed laterally, giving an oval aperture.

Similar pithoi like vessels are in daily use by the Mokis and also by the ZuÑis, Acomas, Yumas, and others. They are employed in cooking the messes for feasts and large gatherings, for dyeing wool, and for storing various household materials. The modern work is so like the ancient that it is difficult in many cases to distinguish the one from the other.

Besides the typical pot or cask there are many varieties of plain vessels, some of which appear to be closely related to, or even identical with, the classes usually finished in color. These include bowls, pots, and bottles. I present three examples from the tumulus at Saint George, Utah. The little bottle, shown in Fig. 255, is remarkable in having a subtriangular shape, three nearly symmetrical nodes occurring about the most expanded part of the body. An interesting series of similar vessels has been obtained from Tusayan, some of which are decidedly askoidal in shape.

Similar to the last in general outline is the curious vessel given in Fig. 256. It was obtained in Southern Utah, and is now in possession of the Salt Lake City Museum. The three nodes are very prominent and curve upwards at the points like horns. An upright handle is attached to the side of the neck.

A large bottle-shaped vessel from the same locality is illustrated in Fig. 257. The neck is short and widens rapidly below. The body is large and globular, and is furnished with two small perforated ears placed at the sides near the top. There are a number of similar examples in the collection from this place. We have also a number of handled cups, mostly with globular bodies and wide apertures. All are quite plain.

Examples from this and other sections could be multiplied indefinitely, but since the forms are all repeated in more highly finished pieces it is needless to present them.

PAINTED WARE.

Preliminary remarks.—It is with a peculiar sense of delight that we enter upon the study of a group of art products so full of new and interesting features. Every object of antiquity has its charm for us, but there is an especial fascination about the works of a people like the "cliff-dwellers," whose long forgotten history takes the form of a romance in our imaginations. In the study of these relics we have the additional charm engendered by a contemplation of new forms of beauty, and we follow the stages of their evolution from the initial steps to the end with ever increasing zest.

The ceramic art of classic and oriental countries has exerted a powerful influence upon existing culture, and is therefore much nearer the heart of the general student than the work of the American races; but it will not do for science to underrate the value of a study of the latter. Its thorough examination cannot fail to furnish many illustrations of the methods by which arts grow and races advance in culture, and, supplemented by a study of the art of the modern peoples, it will serve to illustrate the interesting phenomena attending the contact of widely separated grades of art. In the introductory pages I have considered many of the technical questions of construction and ornamentation. Before entering upon detailed descriptions of the specimens, I desire to give a brief review of the subject of painted decoration.

Color of designs.—The colors employed are doubtless generally of a mineral character, although carbonaceous matter derived directly from vegetable sources may have been used to some extent. They comprised white, black, red, and various shades of brown, and were applied to the surfaces of the vessels by means of brushes not inferior in efficiency to those employed by the potters of more enlightened races.

Execution.—The technical skill of the artist has not generally been of a high order, although examples are found that indicate a trained eye and a skilled hand. The designs are painted upon the show spaces of the vessels, which have been tinted and polished with especial reference to their reception. Large apertured vessels, such as dishes, cups, and bowls, are decorated chiefly upon the inner surface. The design often occupies only a band about the rim, but not infrequently covers the entire inner surface. High or incurved rims have in some cases received figures upon the exterior margin.

Vessels with constricted necks have exterior decorations only. The placing of the designs was governed, to a great extent, by the contour of the vessel, although there was no fixed rule. The grouping of the figures is possibly a little more irregular in the more archaic forms, but in nearly all cases there is a tendency toward arrangement in zones horizontally encircling the vessel. This feature is suggestive of the use of the wheel or of the influence of wheel-made decoration; but there is probably a pre-ceramic reason for this peculiarity, to be sought in the decoration of antecedent vessels of more pronounced surface or constructional characters, such as basketry. This arrangement may also be attributed in a measure to the conformation of the vessel decorated. It will be observed that generally the neck furnishes the space for one zone of devices and the body that for another, while the shoulder, where wide or particularly accentuated, suggests the introduction of a third. In vessels of irregular form the figures take such positions as happen to have been suggested to the decorator by the available spaces, by the demands of superstition, or the dictates of fancy pure and simple.

It appears that the artist never worked in a hap-hazard manner, yet never by rule or by pattern. The conception of the intended design was well formed in the mind, and the decoration commenced with a thorough understanding of the requirements of the vessel under treatment and of the effect of each added line upon the complete result. The vessels, being for the most part free-hand products, are necessarily varied in form and proportion, and the mobility of method in decoration is therefore a necessary as well as a natural condition. In accommodating the ordinary geometric figures to the variously curved and uneven surfaces, there were no erasures and, apparently, no embarrassments. This feature of the art shows it to be a native and spontaneous growth—the untrammeled working out of traditional conceptions by native gifts.

Stages of ornament.—In the transmission of a nation's art inheritance from generation to generation, all the original forms of ornament undergo changes by alterations, eliminations, or additions. At the end of a long period we find the style of decoration so modified as to be hardly recognizable as the work of the same people; yet rapid changes would not occur in the uninterrupted course of evolution, for there is a wonderful stability about the arts, institutions, and beliefs of primitive races. Change of environment has a decided tendency to modify, and contact with other peoples, especially if of a high grade of culture, is liable to revolutionize the whole character of the art. The manufactures of our modern tribes show abundant evidence of the demoralizing effect upon native art of contact with the whites. There are no such features in the prehistoric art.

First stage.—In the early stages of art the elements used in embellishment are greatly non-ideographic, and the forms of expression are chiefly geometric. The elements or motives are limited in number and are in a measure common to all archaic art. They embrace dots, straight lines, and various angular and curvilinear figures, which in their higher stages become checkers, zigzags, chevrons, complex forms of meanders, fretted figures, and scrolls, with an infinite variety of combination and detail. At the same time there is no confusion. The processes by which the parts are segregated are as well regulated as are the processes of natural growth. This phase of decoration seems to be the prevailing one in the earlier stages of Pueblo art.

Second stage.—A second phase or stage is marked by the free introduction of ideographic devices of pictorial origin into decoration. These are drawn, to a great extent, from that most prolific source of artistic conceptions, mythology. This stage is the second in Pueblo art. The period or stage of culture at which such elements are introduced varies with different peoples. It is possible that ideographic and non-ideographic devices may enter art simultaneously. This is certainly to be expected in the ceramic art, which comes into existence rather late in the course of progress.

Third stage.—In strong contrast with the preceding stages is the state of modern Pueblo decoration. Contact with the whites has led to the introduction of life forms and varied pictorial delineations. These conditions belong to a stage in advance of the position reached in the natural course of growth. Ideographic, non-ideographic, and purely pictorial characters are combined in the most heterogeneous manner in the decoration of a single vessel. The decorator has ceased to work under the guidance of his instincts as a rule unerring, and now, like the mass of his more highly civilized brethren, he must grope in darkness until culture shall come to his aid with canons of taste—the product of intellect.

Classification of ware.—In the treatment of this great group, or rather collection of groups, of pottery a scheme of classification is the first thing to be considered. In glancing over the field we notice that a whitish ware, having a certain range of material, finish, form, and decoration, is very widely distributed, that, in fact, it is found over nearly the entire area known to have been occupied by the Pueblo tribes. We find, however, that within this area there are varieties of this particular group distinguished by more or less pronounced peculiarities of color, form, and ornament, resulting from dissimilarity of environment rather than from differences in time, race, or method of construction. This group is associated, in nearly every locality, with the archaic coiled ware, and together they are especially typical of the first great period of Pueblo art. Its makers were the builders of the cliff dwellings, of the round towers, and of countless stone pueblos.

Distinct from the preceding, and apparently occupying an intermediate place in time and culture between the primitive and the recent wares, we have a number of pretty well defined groups. At least two of these are peculiar to the ancient province of Tusayan. The vessels of one of these groups are noticeable for their rounded symmetrical bodies, their finely textured paste, and their delicate creamy shades of color. The designs are well executed and display unusual refinement of taste.

Another, and probably the more important variety, is characterized, first, by peculiarities of form, the body being doubly conical and the bottom deeply indented; second, by richness of color, orange and yellow tints prevailing; and, third, by the striking individuality and remarkable execution of the painted designs.

In the valley of the Little Colorado and extending southward to the Gila, we find remnants of a group of highly colored pottery differing from the preceding and, in many respects, from the widely distributed red ware of the north, specimens of which occur in connection with the white ware. The surfaces are painted red and profusely decorated in white, black, and red lines and figures.

Still another variety is obtained from this region. As indicated by collections from Saint John and Springerville, it consists greatly of bowls, the colors, forms, and decorations having decided points of resemblance to corresponding features of the cream-colored ware of ancient Tusayan. There are still other groups, probably of intermediary periods, whose limits are not yet well defined, examples of which are found in possession of the Pueblo Indians.

At Pecos the art was practiced long after the advent of the conquerors, and later specimens show the archaic decorative ideas worked out in Spanish glaze. The deserted pueblos of the Rio Grande furnish antique forms that show wide distinctions from the ancient wares of the west. Another variety peculiar to the southwest shows indications of having been carried down to the present in the work of the Indians of the Lower Colorado Valley. Each of these groups and such new ones as may be discovered will be made the subject of careful study.

The remainder of this paper will be devoted to a single group—the first mentioned in the preceding list.

WHITE WARE.

The coiled ware has already been presented in some detail. Most nearly related to it in material, form, color, and distribution is the archaic white ware, the pottery par excellance of the "Cliff-Dwellers." It is easily recognized, even from small fragments, whether found in the valley of the Colorado, of the Rio Grande, or of the Gila, although each locality has its slight peculiarities of texture, tint, shape, and ornamentation. As a rule the material is a fine-grained clay, tempered with fine sand, the surfaces of the vessels being coated with a thin wash of very fine white clay. The ware is nearly always well baked and hard, breaking with a saccharoidal, rarely with a conchoidal, fracture. The surface is, as a rule, well polished, but often slightly undulating. The color of the paste is generally gray within the mass and white upon the surface. Associated with the white ware in most localities we find a small percentage of red ware nearly identical in all save color with the white ware.

The forms are comparatively few and simple, a full, well-rounded body, as with the coiled ware, being a strong characteristic. The ornamentation is generally in black paint, exceptionally in red and white, and consists to a great extent of geometric figures, often rather rudely drawn. Very rarely we observe an attempt to delineate a life form—human or animal, never vegetable.

Classification by form.—The ware of each province is conveniently presented in form-groups, beginning with the more simple shapes and advancing to the more complex.

Bowls.—Bowl-shaped vessels have been in great favor with all the Pueblo peoples, and in ancient times, especially in the north and west, predominated very decidedly over all other forms. This is naturally a favorite shape with primitive peoples, as it is the most simple and probably that first developed. A long experience would be necessary for the evolution of narrow-necked or complex forms.

Our collections contain many examples of ancient bowls, perfectly preserved, but if this were not the case the shapes are so simple that it would be an easy matter to make satisfactory restorations from fragments. There is considerable diversity of outline, yet all may be conveniently classed under two heads: the hemispherical and the heart-shaped. The former are much more plentiful and were probably the favorite food vessels of the people. As a rule they are plain segments of spheres. The rims are, in rare cases, oval in outline, and a few are elongated at the ends.

Heart-shaped bowls are characterized by a somewhat conical base and a deeply incurved rim, sometimes much depressed about the contracted mouth. The forms are often elegant, and the painted designs are generally well executed and pleasing to the eye.

Ollas.—Between bowls and pot-shaped vases or ollas there is but a step—the addition of an upright or recurving band forming a neck. In vessels of the latter class the body is almost universally globular, often tapering a very little below. Occasionally there is a slight flattening of the bottom and very rarely a concavity. The neck is seldom high, but varies greatly in size and shape. These vessels correspond to the water vases of the modern tribes.

Bottles.—Bottle-shaped vessels are very widely distributed. They differ from the ollas in one respect only—the necks are narrower and higher. They are rarely flattened, as are the modern Pueblo bottles known as canteens.

Handled vessels.—Smaller vessels of nearly all shapes are at times furnished with handles. The origin of certain forms of these has received attention in the introductory pages. They vary in style with the shape of the vessel to which they are attached. Bowls exhibit two well-marked varieties—a cylindrical form and a simple loop. Those of the former often imitate the handle-like neck of a gourd, and archaic specimens from various parts of the Pueblo province are so literally copied that the small curved stem of the gourd is represented. This feature in some cases becomes a loop at the end of the handle, serving to suspend the vessel, like the ring attached to our dipper handles. Specimens from the headwaters of the Colorado Chiquito have the ends of the handles modeled to represent the head of a serpents or other creatures. A loop sometimes takes the place of the cylindrical handle, and is attached to the side of the bowl in a vertical or a horizontal position. It may be long or short, wide or narrow, simple or compound, and is not always evenly curved. In certain forms of cups the vertically-placed loop occupies the whole length of the vessel, suggesting well-known forms of the beer-mug.

High-necked cups, vases, and bottles have rather long, vertically-placed loops, giving a pitcher-like effect. These may consist of two or more strands placed side by side or twisted together. Rarely an animal form is imitated, the fore feet of the creature resting upon the rim of the vessel and the hind feet upon the shoulder. Perforated knobs often take the place of the loops, and unperforated nodes and projections of varied shapes are not unusual. Some of these, placed upon the upper part of the neck, represent the heads of animals.

A novel handle is sometimes seen in the ancient vases of Cibola and Tusayan. While the clay was still soft a deep abrupt indentation was made in the lower part of the vessel, sufficiently large to admit the ends of two or three fingers, thus giving a hold that facilitated the handling of the vessel. I have seen no looped handles arching the aperture of the vessel, as in the modern meal baskets of the ZuÑis.

Eccentric and life forms.—The simple potter of early Pueblo times seems barely to have reached the period of eccentric and compound forms, and animal and grotesque shapes, so common in the pottery of the mound-builders of the Mississippi valley, the Mexicans, and the Peruvians, are of rather rare occurrence. The last section of this paper is devoted to life and eccentric forms.

For convenience of treatment, the following illustrations will be presented by districts, beginning at the northwest.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

DISTRICT OF THE RIO VIRGEN.

Under the head of coiled pottery I have given a detailed description of the remarkable dwelling-site tumulus at Saint George, Utah, which has furnished such a complete set of the fictile works of the cliff-house potter, the first collection of importance known to have been made by exhumation. I will now present the painted ware and point out its very interesting local peculiarities. All the ordinary shapes are present excepting the olla. Vessels of this form are all of the plain or coiled varieties. The paste is gray and the surface color is usually a light gray. A small percentage of the vessels are painted or stained red. The designs are all executed in black, and are for the most part nicely drawn. They differ slightly in a number of ways from those of other districts, their relationships being, with a few exceptions, more intimate with the ware of the Rio San Juan. A characteristic of this pottery is the thinness of the walls and the hardness and tenacity of the paste. In form a striking feature is the occurrence of bowls of oval form, and in one case such a bowl has sides cut down or scalloped and ends prolonged. The oval form is sometimes seen in other districts, and the elongation of portions of the rim is a feature especially characteristic of the Pima and Mojave work of to-day.

Bowls.—I have already shown in Fig. 244 a small bowl from this locality, in which a coiled exterior is combined with a polished and painted interior. This is an unusual combination, the exterior commonly being plain. The following examples are grouped, as far as possible, according to their painted designs. A usual and very widely distributed decoration consists of a belt of figures encircling the inner margin. In its simplest condition it is only a single broad line, but more frequently it is elaborated into a tasteful border so wide as to leave only a small circle of the plain surface in the bottom of the vessel. The figures present much variety of effect, but combine only a few elements or ideas, as the following figures will amply show. All are rectilinear, or as nearly so as the conformation of the vessels will permit. No example of exterior decoration occurs. As my illustrations are necessarily limited to a few pieces, those having the simpler combinations of lines are omitted, and such only are given as exhibit the decorations of this district to the best advantage.

The bowl shown in Fig. 258 may be regarded as a typical example.

Fig. 258.—Bowl: tumulus at Saint George.—¹/₃.