Page:The American Indian.djvu/107

Rh but still the preference is given to two or three forms which may be taken as the distinguishing characteristics of the several areas. For example, in the lower Mississippi Valley the most distinctive forms are the bottle-like vases and effigy bowls. Among the latter are some remarkable human heads.

In the South Atlantic region, the bowl is the prevailing form and one type approaches the olla of the Southwest. In the North Atlantic area is the well-known pointed-bottomed jar of the Algonkin, and inland the highly original Iroquois square-topped pot. Finally, in the upper Mississippi, we find



a simple, globular, narrow-rimmed pot. The greatest variety of form is in the lower Mississippi area, where ceramics rises to the level of a true art.

Proceeding southward, the next great pottery area is southwestern United States, where the leading forms are the shallow bowl and the bulging olla.

Notwithstanding the great complexity of ceramic culture in Mexico and Central America, there is at least one characteristic form throughout, viz., a support of three long legs. There is also a tendency toward flat bottoms and cylindrical bodies in vessels not supported by legs.

In Colombia and Ecuador, hourglass shapes abound, while in Peru, we find the pointed jar, the double jar of which "whistling jars" are an example, and the effigy vase, the latter reminding one of the lower Mississippi group. In southern and eastern Brazil, the most distinctive shape is the bulging burial urn, in some cases with a hood. Frequently, these urns take an hourglass form which is also the leading form for household pottery north of the Amazon. In addition,