ets, the pointed ends of which unite on opposite sides of
the vase.

[Illustration: FIG. 434.--Bottle: Arkansas.--1/2.

[_National Museum._]]

The handsome vase shown in Fig. 434 is of a somewhat different type
from the preceding. It was obtained, along with many other fine
specimens, from mounds near Little Rock, Arkansas. It is of the dark
polished ware with the usual fire mottlings. The form is symmetrical
and graceful. The neck is ornamented with a band of incised chevrons
and the sloping upper surface of the body, viewed from above, has a
cruciform arrangement of stepped figures engraved in the plastic clay.

One of the most striking of the bottle-shaped vases is shown in Fig.
435. It is symmetrical in shape, well proportioned and well finished.
The color is now quite dark and the surface is roughened by a
multitude of pits which have resulted from the decay of shell
particles. The paste crumbles into a brownish dust when struck or
pressed forcibly.

[Illustration: FIG. 435.--Engraved bottle: Arkansas.--1/3.

[_National Museum._]]

By far the most remarkable feature of the piece is the broad, convex
hood-like collar that encircles the neck and spreads out over the body
like an inverted saucer. This collar is curiously wrought in incised
lines and low ridges by means of which two grotesque faces are
produced. The eyes are readily detected, being indicated by low knobs
with central pits surrounded each by three concentric circles. They
are arranged in pairs on opposite sides. Between the eyes of each
pair an incipient nose and mouth may be made out. The face is outlined
below by the lower edge of the collar and above, by a low indented
ridge crossing the collar tangent to the base of the neck.

The most expanded part of the body is encircled by an incised pattern
consisting of five sets of partially interlocked scrolls--an ornament
characteristic of the pottery of Arkansas.

Modifications of the simple outlines of bottles exhibit many
interesting peculiarities. Compound forms are not unusual and consist
generally of imitations of two vessels, the one superimposed upon or
set in the mouth of another. A good example in the ordinary plain dark
ware is given in Fig. 436. Similar shapes are suggested by lobed forms
of the gourd.

[Illustration: FIG. 436.--Bottle: Arkansas.--1/3.]

Other specimens may be seen in which there is only a gentle swelling
of the neck, but all gradations occur between this condition