ace. When by a perfectly natural sequence of events--as
will be shown further on--ornamentation by painting came to be applied
first to the plain interiors of the bowls, the smooth outer surface
was found preferable to the corrugated surface, not only because it
took paint more readily, but also because the bowl, when painted
outside as well as inside, formed a far handsomer utensil for
household use than if simply decorated by the older methods. As a
consequence, we find that, while the larger vessels continued to be
corrugated and indented, the smoothed and painted bowl came into
general use. Associated later on with this secondary type of bowls
occurred the larger vessels plain at the bottoms, still corrugated at
the sides. Nor is this surprising, as the bowl, molded on the basket
bottom and there smoothed, could be afterward built up by the spiral
process. When in time the huge hemispherical canteens or water
carriers of earthen-ware replaced the basket bottles, so also the
water jar or _olla_ replaced the handled sitter or pitcher, since it
could be made larger to receive more copious supplies of water than
the strength of the frail handles on the pitchers would warrant.

[Illustration: FIG. 525.--Ancient bowl of corrugated ware.]

The water jar, like the food-bowl, is a conspicuous household article;
for which reason the Zuni woman expends all her ability to render them
handsome. Judging by this, the desire to decorate the water-vessel
with paint, like its constant companion the food-bowl, would early
lead to the attempt to make its surface smooth. This would need to be
effected while the article was still soft; which necessity probably
led to the discovery that ajar of the corrugated or simply coiled type
may be smoothed while still plastic without danger of distortion, no
matter what its size, if supported at the bottom in a basket or other
mold so that it may be shifted or turned about without direct
handling. (See Fig. 526.)

[Illustration: FIG. 526.--Basket-bowl as base-mold for large vessels.]

[Illustration: FIG. 527.--Clay nucleus for a vessel.]

[Illustration: FIG. 528.--Clay nucleus shaped to form the base of a
vessel.]

After this discovery was made, the molding of large vessels was no
longer accomplished by the spiral method exclusively. A lump of clay,
hollowed out (see Fig. 527), was shaped how rudely so ever on the
bottom of the basket or in the hand (see Fig. 528), then placed