In a series of eight former articles, published elsewhere, the writer has described the designs on many of the prehistoric pottery vessels in the collection of the Museum of Archaeology of The Western State College of Colorado Of these eight articles, the last three1 have dealt with the designs on Mimbres vessels. Of the thirty-four vessels of this culture illustrated in these three papers, all but eight show naturalistic art in their decoration. The present, and subsequent papers will deal with geometric forms exclusively.

The Mimbres culture developed in southwestern New Mexico in the valley of the Mimbres River and adjacent regions. It is one of the smallest of the more or less definitely delimited southwestern culture areas. From the standpoint of variety of design, the black-on-white type of pottery reached its greatest degree of specialization in this region in prehistoric times.

In gathering data for this paper it was discovered that publications containing information on the subject have described inadequately specimens found, especially in regard to the materials of which they are composed and their sources. For example, in describing arrowheads made of obsidian the sizes and shapes have been dealt with at great length, but the writers have neglected to state the qualities of the obsidian itself, viz., whether it was mottled, opaque, black, etc. Metates likewise have been described as being made of granite, limestone, sandstone, and lava, most writers deeming that information sufficient. Such a description is not enough, and ultimately it may lead to a false interpretation of the data gathered. A single example may suffice to show what may occur. In a very well known publication dealing with archaeology in the Northern Periphery, metates of granite have been reported from near Willard, Utah.

The Tlingit Indians occupy all of Southeastern Alaska from Dixon's Entrance to Cape St. Elias except the southern half of Prince of Wales Island, which is Haida, and Annette Island, which is a Tsimshian reservation. Formerly all of this region was Tlingit.

Throughout this entire district and extending into the southern half of the Northwest Coast culture area, petroglyphs abound. These inscriptions in their simpler forms have much in common with those of widely separated regions of the earth. There are simple cups, rings, spirals, concentric circles, etc. But the typical petroglyphs of this area are as original as the well-known decorative art of the Northwest Coast and apparently closely affiliated with it in both form and meaning.

It is the goal of this article to present tangible evidence that these petroglyphs originated from (a) natural effects and (b) depressions worn in rock in the process of tool-making.

The ceramic complex of the Middle Mississippian phase in northeast Arkansas is comparatively well known, though its origin and relationships are still obscure. Holmes and Moore described and classified this ware, but were unable to place it chronologically. Vaillant later pointed out certain striking analogies between the vessel forms from this area and those from Mexico, Central and South America, but his study was made from the standpoint of horizontal distribution.

Although the examples which he illustrates are quite suggestive of a Latin American origin, Vaillant's hypothesis is most strongly supported by specific types which have a composite silhouette. It is true that these forms are characteristic of the Arkansas Middle Mississippian complex; but they are complemented by a great number of simple vessels which are either plain or have elementary intaglio and relief designs.

Archaeologically, the east coast of Hudson's Bay is an unexplored area. There never has been scientific excavation undertaken in this region, although the Eskimo inhabitants have been plundering the “Tunit” graves and old tent sites for many years. However, some archaeological information based upon collections from the Belcher Islands and Port Harrison, is available. In 1921-24 Dr. Knud Rasmussen and Dr. Therkel Mathiassen obtained, collections from the Belcher Islands and Port Harrison for the Fifth Thule Expedition. Mr. J. Kenneth Doutt of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, secured additional artifacts from the Belcher Islands in 1938, which have been described and analyzed by Dr. Diamond Jenness. In the summer of 1939, the writer secured archaeological materials from Eskimos on Tukarak and Inetelling Islands in the Belcher Group.

Although all of the artifacts from the east Hudson's Bay region have been excavated by Eskimos, the reasonably specific provenience, and lack of other data lend some scientific value to these collections.

Mr. A. T. Jackson, in his extensive report on picture-writing of Texas Indians, calls attention to twenty-three square-shouldered human figures found in the course of his survey. According to the report, thirteen Texas counties and one New Mexico county possessed this type of figure. It is mentioned that several hundred miles separate the Texas sites from the typical Southwestern culture with which they appear to be linked. The farthest east that pictographs have been found is Concho County, Texas.

In March, 1939, the writer published a report on a prehistoric rock-shelter site in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. The most outstanding feature at this site was a squareshouldered figure in one of twenty pictographs which adorn the shelter walls. It is likewise the best preserved of the group. It was suggested in the report that a Southwestern influence was responsible for the figure. Five hundred miles separate the Pontotoc County site from Concho County.

Notations on the discovery of a figure of Kokopelli, the hunch-backed flute player, on a Pueblo I sherd in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and speculations on the place of this figure in the prehistoric pantheon, brought forth a series of items of hitherto unpublished and illuminating data. It is hoped that this note on a second find of a human figure on a sherd in Chaco Canyon may likewise lead to some controversy and new information.

This new figure, discovered during the 1937 field season of the University of New Mexico, was that of a woman with squash-blossom headdress, the old fertility symbol of the Hopi maidens. The potsherd was of La Plata Black-on-white, a typical Basket Maker III type, dating probably some time before 700 A.D. Similar figures with the squash-blossom headdress have been noted from time to time as petroglyphs on boulders or on cliff walls in the northern part of the Southwest; but the Chaco sherd provides the best opportunity that I know of for dating this interesting coiffure.

Serrated edges, and wonderful chipping techniques, are commonly displayed on chipped stone objects of the Pacific Coast region from California to British Columbia, but the greatest ultimate perfection of serration obtains in the so-called Stockton type points, peculiar to the delta and flood plain region near the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. The distribution of these specialized forms seems to approximately conform with this great flood plain, which is, generally speaking, not much above sea-level. This area was called by the early Spaniards the “Tulares,” because a great part of it was an impenetrable swamp, covered by a rank growth of tule reeds.

In view of the fact that barbed bone “projectile” points are extremely rare in the Southwestern archaeological area and because such artifacts have a generally northern and arctic distribution in North America, the present specimen from Utah is offered in the hope that other material of a similar nature from the Southwest may be published and that, perhaps, someone may be attracted to the elucidation of the problems implied. The present writer is unaware of other published specimens of bone projectile points from this area, although, of course, bone artifacts of several other types are fairly numerous.

The present specimen was recovered in the summer of 1937 by the Peabody Museum-University of Utah joint expedition, of which the writer was field director. The point was found at a site, near Ephraim, Utah, locally known as Witch's Knoll.