, and it has decided relationships with
the ware of the Eastern and Northeastern States. It is not yet time
to draw close distinctions, as sufficiently detailed studies of the
products of the various districts have not been made.

On the shelves of our museums the difference between the two great
families of the middle and Upper Mississippi are strikingly manifest.
The ware of the former district, as already shown, exhibits variously
tinted pastes tempered with coarsely pulverized shells or potsherds;
the vases, as a rule, having full bodies, well rounded bases, and
in very many cases, narrow necks. They exhibit great variety of
decoration and no little care in finish. The northern family shows
a dark paste tempered with sand, often apparently granitic; a rough
fracture, and generally a rude finish. The shapes are comparatively
simple, often long, tapering below, and flat bottomed. The
ornamentation is totally unlike that of the southern variety.
It consists of cord impressions, incised lines, and implement
indentations arranged in figures peculiar to the district. There
are many other features that, like the subtile characters of human
physiognomy, cannot easily be described, but which are of first
importance as indices of relationship or the lack of it.

The best preserved of the Davenport specimens was described and
illustrated in the first volume of the proceedings of the Davenport
Academy. This vessel, Fig. 456, was found in a mound near Davenport
along with human remains, and closely associated with other relics,
among which were several copper implements covered with coarse woven
fabrics. Its height is eleven inches, width of aperture seven and
a half inches, and diameter of base four inches. It is estimated to
contain a little over one gallon.

There is a broad, shallow constriction at the neck. The walls are from
one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch thick, and the margin of
the rim is squared off, showing the full thickness--a strong
characteristic of the northern pottery. The form is nearly
symmetrical, and the surface is hand-smoothed but not polished. The
paste is now dark and crumbling, and shows a rough fracture. A
large percentage of sand was used in tempering. The color is a dark
gray-brown. The entire surface, with the exception of a narrow band
about the base, has been covered with ornamentation. This is executed
with considerable care, and shows a great deal of ingenuity and some
taste. There is