pottery exhumed from a mound on Fain island, Jefferson county,
Tennessee. The threads of the woof are quite close together, those of
the web being far apart.

[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Twined fabric, with patterns, Ohio valley.]

[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Net from ancient pottery, District of
Columbia.]

That the native love of decoration had a marked influence on the
weavers' art in its simplest and rudest as well as higher forms is well
evinced even in the meager vestiges brought to light by researches in
the mounds. Decorative borders and fanciful combinations of strands are
shown in some of the preceding cuts, and figure 26, copied from a
pottery fragment obtained in the Ohio valley, indicates a more ambitious
attempt at embellishment. The fabric was evidently of ornate design and
the execution excellent.

[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY THIRTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IX BITS
OF FABRIC-MARKED POTTERY, WITH CLAY CASTS OF SAME]

Plate IX is intended to convey a clear notion of the nature and
appearance of fabric-marked pottery and of the manner of securing
positive impressions in clay. Three bits of pottery from Illinois are
placed at the left, and the three casts appear at the right. All
illustrate open fabrics of comparatively simple pattern done in the
characteristic twined style.

[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Net from ancient pottery, North Carolina.]

Nets were in use by the Indians of Florida and Virginia at the time of
the discovery, and the ancient pottery of the Atlantic states has
preserved impressions of innumerable specimens. The piece shown in
figure 27 is from a small fragment of pottery picked up in the District
of Columbia. The impression is so perfect that the twist of the cord and
the form of the knot may be seen with ease. Most of the examples from
this locality are of much finer cord and have a less open mesh than the
specimen illustrated. The net illustrated in figure 28 is from a
specimen of North Carolina pottery. Netting of this class was still in
use among the natives of the Chesapeake region when the English colonies
were founded.

The lesson of the prehistoric textile art of eastern United States is
simple and easily read, and goes far to round out the story of native
occupation and culture. Colonial records furnish definite knowledge of
the woven fabrics and weaving of the nations first encountered by the
whites. Graves, mounds, and caves give us an insight into the
pre-Columbian stat