CYLINDRICAL PLUMMETS. 113 Figure 122 represents a piece of smoothly dressed steatite from Deslia

rOWKEI

CYLINDRICAL PLUMMETS. 113

114 STONE

AET. ^{[ETH.ANN. 13} one(figure 123)ofsteatitefrom Bradleycounty, Tennessee,audanother (figure 124) of hematite from

Loudon

^{county, in the}

same

state; one (figure125)ofcompactquartzitefrom a

mound

ⁱⁿOglecounty..Illinois,

FiQ.125.— Cone. Fig.126.— Cone.

anda fourthspecimen(figure 120) of granitefrom

Kanawha

valley.

West

Virginia.

The

distributionis as follows:

inshi.'t.

FowKE]

PAINT AND CEREMONIAL

STONES.

115 The

specimenillustratedin figure 128 (yellow quartz,from a

mouud

in

Kauawha

valley) is intermediate betweeu cones

and

hemispheres.

The

sides are polished, while the flat bottom

aud rounded

top are roughened.

As

^it has taiut red

£'"-^

'illiHHi ^{st^i^s, it}

may

have been used asapaint-muller.

ipl' «ii' Paint Stones.

^'^i-S-

The

articles

known

as paint stones scarcely

come

Fio i28.-nuiiu^i.i.ii.i under the headof implements.

Some

^of the hema-

titepiecesare incipientcelts, hemispheres, or cones; but mostof

them

were used merelyto furnish paint, at

any

rate untilrubbed

down

quite small.

They

are of every degree of firmness,

some

being as brittle as dry clay,others like iron.

Most

pieces in the collection are from

Kanawha

^valley, but others are fiom south- easternTennessee, northeasternArkansas,

and

Caldwell county, North Carolina.

From

the last-named section, as well as from Chester

county, South Carolina, and

McMinn

county, ^{*''° i29.-Pamistone} Tennessee,

come

pieces ofgraphite

more

or less rubbedj

and

one has been sentin from

Elmore

couuty,

Alabama.

The

specimen illustrated in figure 129, from a

mound,

is a good

example

of the

manner

in which the harder hematite

was

ground.

Ceremonial Stones.

FunctionsamdPurposes.

The

so-called "ceremonial stones" are variously subdivided and

named by

different writers.

They

aresupposedto have been devoted to religious, superstitious,medical,emblematic, or ceremonialpurposes

;

to bebadgesofauthority,insignia of rank, tokens of valorous deeds, or perhaps

some

sortof heraldic device; in short, the uses towhich they might, in their different forms, be assigned, are limited only by theimagination.

AccordingtoNilsson the ancieutScandinavians wore^"victory stones"

suspended around tlieir necks,'

and

the

Eskimo wear charms

and amulets to bring success in fishing

and

hunting.^ Adair (1775) says that the

American

Archi-magus

wore

a breastplate

made

^of

a

white conch-shell, with

two

holesbored in themiddle ofit,through which he put theendsof an otter-skin strap

aud

fastened a buck-hornbuttonto the outside ofeach.^{^}

An

explanation of thepurpose of

many

of the smaller perforated stones also

may

be found inNilsson'sremark'' that the smallovoid or ellipsoidones were used as buttons; a stringbeing tiedtothe robe atone end, run throughthe bole

and

tied in a knot.

'StoneAge,p 215.

2Abbott: Primitive Industry,p. 408.

*AmericanIndians,p. 48.

*Stone Age,p. 83.

116 STONE

ART. Ietb.ann.13

The

variousIndians of

Guiana

in their leisure hours oftenfashion highly ornameutal

weapons and

iiiiplenients which they never use except ceremonially, but keep proudly at

home

forshow.

'

So, too,the

Yurok and Hupa

Indians of California, as wellas

some

ofthetribesofOregon,

have

very large spearheads or knives, whicli are notdesigned foruse, but onlyto bepi'odneed 07ithe occasionof a great dance.

The

larger

weapons

are

wrapped

in skintoprotectthe

hand

; the smaller ones are glued ^to a handle.

Some

are said to be 15 inches long.'^

The Oregon

Indians believed the possession of a large obsidianknifebrought long ^life and pro.sperity tothetribe

owning

it.^

Some

^{of the wild tribesof} the ^interior

have

somethingwhich they regard as the

Jews

did the

Ark

of the Covenant. Sometimes^{it is}

known

^; againitiskeptsecret.

The Cheyenne had

abundleofarrows;

the

Dte

a little stone image,

and

the

Osage

a similar stoue.^

The Kiowa

had a carved

wooden

image, representing a

human

face; the Cte captured it,

and

the

Kiowa

oflered very great rewards for its return; but the Ute, believing the

Kiowa

powerless to

harm them

so long asit

was

retained,refused to giveit up.''

The

North Carolina Indians,

when

they

went

to war, carried with

them

^{theiridol, of} which theytold incredible stories

and

askedcoun-

sel;'' and asatoken of rank or authority, the "Virginia Indians sus

pended

on their breasts,

by

a stringofbeads abouttheirneck, asquare plateof copper.' These were

worn

as badges of authority.

The

na- tive tribes,fromour firstacquaintancewith them, evinced a fondness for insigniaofthiskind."

Simply forconvenience the ceremonial stonesin the

Bureau

collec- tion will herebe divided into

two

generalclas.ses.

The

^first, compris ing those pierced through the shortest diameter,will becalledgorgets, which name, ^likethat ofcelt,hasno particular meaning, butisin

com mon

use.

The

second class will comprise all others, which will have

some name

that

may

or

may

notbesuitable to theirform, but by which they areusuallycalled. In this class are included boat-shape stones, banner stones, picks, spool-shape ornaments,

and

bird-shape stones, as wellas engravedtabletsor stones."

OORQETS.

The

^relics

commonly

calledgorgets

have

been foundin Europe; they

may

be convex on oneside, concave ontheother,

and

are supposed to 'nnThurn

m

^{Jour.Anth.Inst.Gt.Br.andTrd..}vol. si. p. 445.

^Powers; Contributions^to N.A.Eth.,vol. rn,pp. 52and79.

Cha.so;MS.Kept,onShellMoundsofOregon.

'Dodge; Our WildIndi.ius, p. 131.

^Abbott; Primitive Industry,p. 373.

'Brickell,John;Nat.HistoryofN.C,p. 317.

'Wyth,GrapliicSketcbes,partI,plate8.

'Schoolcraft inTrans.Am.Etb.Soc,vol.I,p. 401,pi.i.

'Iam informedbyProl'.Cyrus Tliomasthat lienoticed in the collection ofMr.Nelf.Gambler.

Ohio, a" boatsliiipestone" attachedto the underside ofa stone ))ipo, which theownerinformed hiiiiwasthus attachedwhenfound.

FOWKEJ

GORGETS AND THEIR

USES.

117