Part 3

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

[4] Tenth Annual Report U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, p. 394.

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.