Fig. 369 illustrates a minute cup rudely made of coarse clay. The outline is oval and slightly pointed at one end, as if intended for pouring liquids.
In Fig. 370 we have another small vessel of rude finish with two pointed lips. A much larger vessel of similar shape may be seen in the Davenport collection. The projecting pointed lip is rarely found in aboriginal pottery, although I see no reason why such a feature may not readily have been suggested to the savage by the prolonged margins of his vessels of shell.
Rectangular vessels are of the rude shell-tempered ware, and, although rare, are widely distributed.
Fig. 371 illustrates a specimen from Pecan Point, Arkansas. The surface is rudely finished and without polish. The color is a dark gray, much flecked with large particles of white shell. Another example has a square rim but a rounded bottom, and is covered with a coat or slip of dark red clay.
Fig. 371.—Rectangular bowl: Pecan Point, Arkansas.—⅓.
A small vessel from the same region as the preceding has the rim pressed in on the four sides, leaving sharp, projecting corners.
One of the most notable vessels in the collection is illustrated in Fig. 372. It is a heavy casket consisting of two parts, body and lid, and is made as usual of clay and coarsely pulverized shell. It is brownish gray in color and bears some marks of the baking. It was obtained by Captain W. P. Hall from a low mound at Hale's Point, Tennessee, and is described by Mr. W. H. Pratt, in the following language: "It is of rude, irregular, quadrangular form, made in two parts. The lower, or case proper, is 12 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 5 inches deep, inside measure, the upper edge being slightly bent inward all around. The upper part or lid is of similar form and dimensions, being very slightly larger, so as to close down over the other part, about one and a half inches, and is somewhat more shallow. As the lid does not fit very perfectly, the joint around the edge had been plastered up with clay. When found, it contained the remains of a very small child reduced to dust, except that some of the bones of the skull, jaws, and limbs retained their form, crumbling rapidly, however, upon removal and exposure to the air. There were also found two or three dozen small shell beads. Excepting the remains described, the case was entirely empty. The case weighs six and a quarter, and the lid just six pounds." This is one of the very few vessels that would seem to have been constructed especially for mortuary purposes.
