324 PROCEEDIiSIGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 55. 



As to the derivation of the sling in South America there is, I think, 

 but very little doubt that it was one of the cultural elements brought 

 from Central America by the first settlers on the Peruvian coast, and 

 that it spread from there inland, and over large parts of the 

 continent. 



A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PERUVIAN SLING. 



An examination of the Hrdlicka collection together with other 

 available specimens, reveals the presence of two distinct types of 

 sling. The differentiation rests upon the structure of the part of the 

 weapon upon which the missile was placed, which is called the cradle. 

 The cradle is, of course, the most important part of the sling. In the 

 Peruvian specimens it is usually oblong or oval in shape, and from 

 each end depend one or two cords. In the collection under discussion 

 the two types of cradle provide the basis for classification. One type 

 is that which I shall call " the solid-cradled type " ; that is^ the cradle 

 is one continuous compact strip of fabric. The other sort of cradle 

 is "the ribbed type " ; in it the ribs, running parallel with the length 

 of the cradle and encased in a binding of fine threads, not only make 

 apparent the method of its construction, but they also form an im- 

 portant part of the decoration of the sling. Among the four sites 

 represented in the Hrdlicka collection the two sorts of sling are thus 

 represented ; 



Nasca: Four solid-cradled slings (Nos. 301001-301004, inclusive); 32 ribbed 

 slings (Nos. 301005-301035, inclusive). 



Coyungo: No solid-cradled slings; 23 ribbed slings (Nos. 301124-301143, in- 

 clusive, and Nos. 301153-301155, inclusive). 



Lomas: Twenty-four solid-cradled slings (Nos. 301046-301069, inclusive) ; 49 

 ribbed slings (Nos. 301070-301118, inclusive). 



Acarf: No solid-cradled slings; 9 ribbed slings (Nos. 301144-301152, in- 

 clusive). 



It is seen that the two types are not universally present or equally 

 common. 



To the basis presented by the cradle and attached cords additional 

 features are sometimes added in the form of tassels. The cord may 

 be round or flat in cross section. The decoration of the cradle in a 

 class of the flat slings are divided into three distinct parts. 



Tassels are frequent in all the sites save Acari (where the slings 

 were generally poorer in quality than elsewhere), but the habit of 

 combining the flat or partly flat cord with the tripartite subdivision 

 of the decoration of the cradle is distinctive of Coyungo (see Nos. 

 301124-301135, inclusive), only one other example of it, No. 301022, 

 from Nasca, occurring elsewhere. 



Aside from the major varieties of the sling, the solid-cradled type 

 and the ribbed type, there are in the collection several groups of slings 



