paper is to present the reader with a description of the relics and pottery found in each stratum of the shell-heap, beginning at the foundation and ending at the top, and from a comparison of the various styles which mark the march of progress and improvement, to hazard a conjecture as to the time which elapsed from the beginning of the shell-heaps up to the advent of the European.
In all the large shell-heaps examined hitherto I have invariably found pottery in the lowest stratum of shell, and, in many instances, in the soil beneath the foundations, which I regard as conclusive evidence that the aborigines were acquainted with the art of fabricating earthenware pots long before they began these vast accumulations of shell. The art however was in its rudest state. The fragments are thick, heavy, and coarse, the composing clay often containing a mixture of coarse sand or small pebbles. The utensils were of large size and rudely fashioned, as shown by the curves of the fragments, and they were destitute of all attempt at ornament. The rims were plain, and were not thickened or re-enforced to increase their strength. This style is found generally for about three or four feet in height, and may be said to represent the first stage. Above this a gradual change is perceptible, the two styles overlapping, so that it is difficult to say where one begins and the other ends.
The second stage however as we ascend, soon becomes plainly marked. The walls of the utensils become thinner. The rims are turned outward and slightly thickened. Dots and straight lines are cut into the sides of the vessel by way of ornament, and the thickened rims are sometimes "pinched" like pie-crust with the fingers. During this stage the savage artist first began to mold his wares in rush baskets, which were subsequently burned away, leaving the vessel curiously checked as though it had been pressed while wet with coarse cloth. The use of sand or gravel is totally abandoned during this stage, and the quality of the pottery is in every way improved. Implements of shell and bone are sometimes found, but they are generally few in number and rude in manufacture.
This brings us to a portion of the shell-heap corresponding in position with the two-feet stratum of soil shown in the diagram, and that stratum marks the transition period between the middle and modern styles of Indian pottery. Immediately below this layer of soil we find the curved line introduced in ornamental designs on the utensils, and a few fragments of the rims of pots show that ears began to be attached to them for the convenience of suspension, and that the thickness of the ware was reduced by the employment of better materials. Immediately over the stratum of soil all the fragments show improvement on those below. New patterns are introduced, and we begin to find fragments of dishes, bowls, cups, as well as those of jars and pots, many of them of elegant design and of a superior quality of ware. Stone axes, arrow-heads, bone and shell implements are of frequent occurrence.
