Conch Shell Effigy Bowl -- Medium size effigy bowl of dark gray polished ware in shape of a shell with slender pointed protuberance at front; rear decorated with one raised medial node, surrounded by a semicircle of eleven lesser nodes; depression on inner surface opposite medial node. This vessel emulates the shape of conch shell vessels; the conch shells originated in the Gulf of Mexico.
Bell Plain (highly polished) pottery type -- Bell Plain is prevalent at sites along the Mississippi River in Arkansas. It has finely crushed shell temper, a well-polished to highly polished surface, and varies in color from shades of gray to buff to orange (pp 10-12, Hathcock, Roy).
Curatorial Remarks:
Bell Plain (Phillips et al. 2003: Figure 98) Shell effigy bowl with 11 nodes in a semicircle on the exterior with a larger node in the center of the semicircle. Direct rim, flattened lip and irregular flat base.10YR4/1 Dark Gray.
Philips, Philip, James A. Ford, and James B. Griffin. Archaeological Survey in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley 1940-1947. Classics Southeast Archaeology. Tuscaloosa, GA: University of Alabama Press, 2003.