NO. 10 SECOND REPORT ON FOLSOM COMPLEX ROBERTS 23 group frequently retain part of the siliceous crust of the nodule from

NO. 10

SECOND

REPORT

ON FOLSOM COMPLEX

ROBERTS 23

24

SMITHSONIAN M

(SCKLLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 95

The

end scrapers arc

more

variable andnondescript in

form

than the types just described.

They

constitute only 2.4 percent of the series, which might be taken asan indication that they vi^ere not as widely used as theother forms. Such

was

not necessarily thecase, however,as

numerous

implements included in the side scraper class because their predominant features pertain to that

form

also have an endscraper.

So

faras shapeis concerned,thistool adheresto no particularj^attern.

Any random

flakeseemstohavesufficed for such an implement. Its

main

feature is a scraping edge at one or both ends of the flake.

The

sides and lateral surfaces generally remain untouched.

The

ends differ

from

those of the ^"snub-nosed^" group inthatthey are not thickandbulky, but are

more

chisellike in form.

They

are eitherstraight across, slightly convex, or have a sweeping curvenot unlike present-day blunt-endtable knives.

The

size range varies between an example with a length of 35

mm,

a breadth of 18

mm,

anda thickness of 5

mm, and

one witha length of48

mm,

a breadth of22^

mm,

anda thickness of4

mm.

Tlie ^"thumbnail^" scrapers are not

numerous

in the collection.

Only

1.6percent of the scrapers are listed underthis classification.

They

constituteadefinite type, however.

The name

is derived

from

theclose resemblance between their shape and that of the ordinary thumbnail.

They

arethin, roughly rectangularinoutline witha con- vexscraping edge. Fragments

from

channelflakesseemtohave been favored as material

from

which to

make

these implements.

The

size range is notgreat.

Examples

in the collection are

from

14 to 15

mm

inwidth, 15to17

mm

in length,and2to3

mm

inthickness.

The

broken series or scraper edges comprise 13.4 percent of the scraper group.

Most

of the specimensare probablyportions of side scrapers,but as previouslymentionedthey are notsufficientlyclearcut in

form

towarrant

more

definite classification.

A

curiousimplement,theonlyoneofitskind thus far foundatthe site, isone which can betermeda core scraper (fig.4). It

was made from

a smallcore,not

from

aflakeaswerethemajority of thetools.

The

long, slender facets

where

chips were

removed

in the shaping process

show

that the

maker was

possessed of great skill.

Whether

the object

was

the])r()ductof abitofexperimental

work

or belongsto adefinite, although minor, type isaquestion which canbeanswered onlybyadditionaldigging. If

no

other*examplesare foundina

com-

parable series of specimens, it unquestionably should be considered unique. Core scrapers have been found in parts of Alaska and in

some

sections of Siberia. This implement is not correlative to the types from those places, however, and it

may

be that in the last

NO. lO

SECOND

KKI'ORT

ON

KOLSOM

COM

I'l.KX

—

^ROBERTS 2$

analysis it should be rci,^'irdc(l as an aberrant form of end scraper or ^"snub-nosed^" scraper.

One

type of scra])er

—

^{the turtieback"}

—

^{found durint,^ the i«^^^4}

excavationsisnot represented in the collectionobtained in 19,^5.

The

failuretoobtain additional exanii)les indicates that itmust have Ixcn a very minor form.

No

sug^'esti(jnsasto]K)Ssil)leuses forthe various types of scrapers have been

made

in foregoing paragraphs. Thereisnodefiniteknowl- edge on the subject, but to judge from the later Indians, such tools must have been absolutely essential in the domestic life of their makers. That they constituted an important ]xirt of the implement groupisshow^nbythefactthat almosta third of thesjKximensbelong in this category.

They

no doubt functioned in the dressingof skins, the remo\ing of llesh from l)ones, for cutting bones, and for the

-Xoduk- scraper, (.\ctiial size.)

snujothing of s])ear and arrow shafts.

The

^"snub-nosed ^'' scrapers would be particularly well adaptedto the scrajMug of

marrow

from

split long bones.

The

convex scrapers, such asfigure 3, b, are just thetype oftoolneededinthe sha])ing of

wooden

shafts.

ORAVERS

AND

C¹¹ISEI.-(;RAVERS

The

toolsin thesetwo gnnips aresimilar in

many

respects (pi. (j).

Although they are definitely related and the terms used to designate

them

overla])to

some

extent, there isadistinctionbetween thes])eci-

mens

inthesegroups.

The

gravers constitute 5.6 percent of thecol- lection.

They

are of particular interest because they suggest that themakersof the

Folsom

pointswerealsoadeptat

some form

of the engraver'sart.

As

yet there isonly

meager

evidence of the character of this type of delineation, but the 1935 investigations established thefactthatmarkingswere

made

onboneandsoft stone. Fragments from

two

objects of i)olishedbone,burned inafire,exhibit finelycut lineswhich appeartohave been comjjonents of

some

kind of decora- tion.

A

^{bonedisk witha series}of short grcjoves borderingtheedges

Roberts, 1935,p.24.

26

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS

COLLECTIONS VOL. 95 onboth faces (pi. 9, e),suggests theuse ofanimplement suchasone of the so-calledgravers.

A

fragment

from

a similarly

marked

bone

was

found bythe

Denver

party,anda portion of a correspondingly shaped andcut object

made from

soapstone

—

found by Maj. R. G.

Coffin

—

shows that materials other than bone were subjected to ornamentationof a typewhichcouldbeexecutedonlybyuse of such atool.

Anotherpossiblefunction for thegravertype of point has occurred to the writer, namely, its use intattooing. This custom prevailed to agreater orlessextentthroughoutthecountry

among

thelaterIndians and

may

have been oneof thetraitsof

Folsom

man.

The

small,very sharptips

would

readilypuncture the skin for the application of pig- ment. Unfortunately,the "canvas^"onwhich suchdesigns are

drawn

is highly perishable, and there is little likelihood of finding direct evidence that tattooing

was

done.

Most

of thegravers consist ofchance flakesmodified only by the presence of short, needlelike points on one side or end.

Any

piece of stone, provided it

was

thin enough,

was

suitable. Sometimes a channel flake (pi. 9,a),

was

employed, and occasionallya fragment

from

a broken scraper.

On

the whole, however, nondescript scraps

from

chipper's debris were all that the

maker

required.

The

small sharppointswerenot fortuitous:theyweredefinitelychipped.

They

dififer

from

theusualdrillinthatone face of the pointisflat,andthe otheris beveledalong the edges andhas a slight bevel atthe tipof thepoint. Drillsarechippedonallsides.

The

gravers

may

have

from

oneto fivepointsonasingle flake.

The

implementsin thisgroup range in sizebetween one witha length of 19

mm,

breadthof 13

mm,

and thicknessof 3

mm,

and another with a length of 55

mm,

breadth of 33

mm,

andthicknessof6

mm. The

actualgraverpointsdonotvary greatly in size.

They

consistently range between 1.5 and 2

mm

in length and i and 1.5

mm

inwidth atthebase.

The

chisel-gravers are

more

definitely shaped than the gravers.

They

are not asnumerous, the type forming only i percent of the totalcollection,butthey nevertheless are adistinct tool (pi.9,k,I,

m).

They

also were

made from

flakes. In contrast to the gravers, the pointsarebroaderand

more

elongated. Thereisa pronouncedbevel onthetip,

and

theendof thelatterisastraightedge, convex onrare examples,rather than asharppoint. These implementsexhibit better

workmanship

than that on the simple gravers.

The

chipping is not confinedtothe pointsbut as a ruleextendsalong the edges,sometimes evenaroundthebase.

The

chisel-graversrange

from

25 to37

mm

ⁱⁿ

length,

from

13to27

mm

inbreadth,

and from

3 to8

mm

inthickness.

NO. 10

SECOND

REPORT

ON FOLSOM COMPLEX

ROBERTS 2"]

The

pointsrange between3and10

mm

inlength,

from

4to 7

mm

in widthatthebase,and

from

2to 3

mm

^inwidthatthe cutting end.

Both gravers and chisel-gravers are found in combination with othertools. Thereis a definitegroup of ^"snub-nosed^" scrapers ex- hibiting the feature, and not a

few

side scrapers have one or the other type of pointonasideoranend.

Such

specimenssuggest that the small points

may

have served a utilitarian as well as an artistic l)urpose,although itis hardtopostulate

what

such a functionmight have been.

Most

of

them

are too small to have served as awls or perforators.