Bowls are the next group of vessels. One is a shallow bowl (FS 25 burial 7) of Neeley’s Ferry Plain ware. It has a rounded lip. It compares very closely with two vessels from Cross County, Arkansas (Phillips, et. al., 1951: Fig. 100 F and G). Another shallow bowl (FS 104, burial 25) is of the same type and general shape. A slightly different bowl (FS 90, burial 24) ([Fig. 16]) has notches around the edge of the lip giving it a pie-crust effect and it is much the same as one from Mississippi county, Arkansas (Evers, 1880, Fig. 100 F and G).
Straight sided bowls (FS 35 burial 12 and FS 61 burial 17) of Neeley’s Ferry Plain ware have relatively straight sides, rounded bases and rounded lips and compare to Sanders Plain (Suhm, et. al., 1954: pl. 60 B, D, E). The bowls are similar to one that is smaller in size that was found in a house on the Lofton Site I, 23SN42, in the Table Rock Reservoir, Missouri (Chapman, personal communication).
Figure 16. Pottery Vessels with Burial 24
Two bowls, marked as field specimen 190, occurred with burial 33. The field notes mention only one bowl and no picture was made of the burial. One bowl is plain (Suhm, et. al., 1954: pl. 60B), and the other is straight sided of Neeley’s Ferry Plain paste which has a series of nodes placed opposite each other, four on three sides and three on one side ([Fig. 14];3). No vessels could be found that were comparable.
A Neeley’s Ferry Plain bowl (FS 36 burial 12) has an incurved side and a somewhat rounded, almost flat base. It compares in shape with a Barkman Engraved bowl shown in plate 4,C (Suhm, et. al., 1954). Also similar in shape is F in the same plate. Several of the engraved types from the Caddoan area have somewhat similarly shaped bowls represented within them and it seems very possible that this bowl shape derives from that general area.
A small bowl (FS 26) is Neeley’s Ferry Plain. It is relatively deep and steep sided with a rounded bottom. It was unassociated with any feature. It is roughly made and nothing could be found to compare it with.
Two jars of the same type but differing in size are of importance in the interpretation. One is a large jar (FS 419, house 3) of globular shape with a recurved rim. The other is a miniature jar of the same type (FS 89, burial 24) ([Fig. 16] right). Both have two bifurcated strap handles. The large vessel seems to be the standard utility ware of the Neeley’s Ferry Plain and of the widespread so-called Mississippi Plain. A vessel very similar is shown in a group of shell tempered ones from Middle Mississippi features at Moundville (Griffin, 1952; Fig. 151: 4). The small vessel associated with the burial was probably made specifically as a grave offering rather than for utilitarian purposes. This tends to support the suggestion made earlier that the whole vessels found with burials are representative of mortuary customs rather than a true representation of the pottery characteristically used domestically.
A decorated pottery vessel (FS 426) was found associated with house 3. It is Neeley’s Ferry paste, has a bifurcated handle and has a decoration that is a series of incised half moon designs on the shoulder, each of three lines similar to Matthews Incised decoration. The incising is crude on the vessel and it is suspected that this might be an influence from the Cairo Lowland area where Matthews Incised is much better done and is more prominent. Another Neeley’s Ferry Plain jar (FS 13) with the bifurcated strap handles has a design on it that is similar to the Matthews Incised and it also has a series of punch and bosses associated with the design. A vessel similar to this is shown in Porter and Evers (1880; pl. 12, center right). On this same plate are two other vessels with the punch and boss impressions both of which are middle Mississippi types from southeastern Missouri. The incised decoration and bosses are also shown on vessels found at the Matthews site (Walker and Adams 1941; p. 116, pl. 15, A and B).
There are three other vessels from the site. One is a water bottle (FS 2, burial 1) which has a raised portion rather than a fillet at the base of the neck and which has a straight long neck slightly tapering toward the opening. Similar to it is a long necked Neeley’s Ferry Plain vessel (FS 125, burial 28) with a carination which is partly filleted. The base is flat. The last of the three is one with a cut base. It is a relatively long straight necked water bottle. There is no information concerning its location on the site.