Illustrated Catalogue of a Portion of the Collections Made During the Field Season of 1881Third Ann | Page 5

The stem end is 4 inches in length
and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The bowl has a deep, conical
excavation. The same is true of the stem-end also.
MOUND AT THE JUNCTION OF THE PIGEON AND FRENCH
BROAD RIVERS.
ARTICLES OF CLAY.
62870. The mound from which these fragments were obtained was
located 3 miles from Newport. It was 12 feet square and 6 feet high.
The original height was probably much greater. The pottery was mixed
with ashes and débris of what appeared to be three fire-places. No
human remains were found. The fragments are not numerous, nor do
they indicate a great variety in form. There is, however, considerable
variety in decoration.

Material.--The clay is generally gray or dark-reddish gray in the mass,
and is apparently quite siliceous or sandy, numerous grains of quartz
being visible. There is generally a sprinkling of finely-powdered mica,
but no shell matter can be detected. When much weathered the surface
is quite gritty.
Form.--The leading form is a round-bodied, pot-shaped vase. There is
one small hemispherical bowl. The outlines have been quite
symmetrical. The mouths of the pots are wide, and the necks deeply
constricted. The lip or rim exhibits a number of novel features. That of
the larger specimen, of which a considerable segment remains, is
furnished on the upper edge with a deep channel, nearly one-half an
inch wide, and more than one-fourth of an inch deep. First section, Fig.
117. Others have a peculiar thickening of the rim, a sort of collar being
added to the outside. This is about 1 inch in width, and is thicker below,
giving a triangular section. Third section, Fig. 117.
[Illustration: Fig. 117.]
The walls of the vessels are usually quite thin. The bottoms were
probably round, or nearly so. No fragments, however, of the lower parts
of the vessels were collected. There is but one example of handle, and
this presents no unusual features. Middle section, Fig. 117.
Ornamentation.--The ornamentation is in some respects novel. The
double or channeled rim of the larger specimen, the mouth of which has
been 13 or 14 inches in diameter, is embellished with a line of flutings,
which seem to be the impressions of a hollow bone or reed. The whole
exterior surface is embellished with a most elaborate ornamental design,
which resembles the imprint of some woven fabric. If a woven fabric
has not been used, a pliable stamp, producing the effect of a fabric, has
been resorted to. The fact that the sharply concave portions of the neck
are marked with as much regularity as the convex body of the vessel,
precludes the idea of the use of a solid or non-elastic stamp.
The pattern consists of groups of parallel indented lines, arranged at
right angles with one another, the puzzling feature being that there is no
evidence of the passing of the threads or fillets over or under each other,

such as would be seen if a woven fabric had been used. The outer
surface of the triangular collar peculiar to many of the pots has been
decorated with a herring-bone pattern, made by impressing a sharp
implement. The handle in one case is similarly ornamented. This
handle has been added after the figure previously described was
impressed upon the neck of the vessel. One small fragment shows
another style of indented or stamped pattern, which consists of series of
straight and curved lines, such as are characteristic of many of the
vessels obtained from the Gulf States.
A small fragment of coal-black ware is entirely smooth on the outside,
and indicates an unusually well finished and symmetrical vessel.
Another shows the impression of basket-work, in which a wide fillet or
splint has served as the warp and a small twisted cord as the woof. One
interesting feature of this vessel is that from certain impressions on the
raised ridges we discover that the vessel has been taken from the net
mold while still in a plastic state.
Still another reddish porous fragment has a square rim, which is
ornamented with a series of annular indentations.

COLLECTIONS FROM SEVIER COUNTY, TENNESSEE.
THE McMAHAN MOUND.
On the west fork of the Little Pigeon River, at Sevierville, on a rich
bottom, 125 yards from the river, is a celebrated mound, the owners of
which have for years refused to have it opened.
Mr. Palmer spent several days in trying to obtain permission to open it,
and was about leaving in despair, when the owners finally yielded, not,
however, without requiring a number of concessions on the part of the
collector, which concessions were put in the form of a legal document.
This mound is 16 feet high and 240 feet in circumference.
Three feet below the surface, a stratum of burnt clay, 15 feet