A liEPOSIT OF AGRICULTURAL FLINT IMPLEMENTS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 



DY CIIAKLE9 UAU. 



In an article puLlisliod in the Smithsonian report for 18631 gave, for tlio first 

 time, an account and drawings of certain North American flint im])lements of 

 largo size and superior workmanship, which weix' evi- 

 dently used h\ the ahorio-ines for cultivatinsf the soil 

 and other digging purposes, and hence, according to 

 their shape, classified In- me as shovels and hoes. 'I'he 

 annexed figures represent hoth kinds of implements. 

 I described the shovels (Fig. 1) as oval plates of flint, 

 flat on one side and slightly convex on the other, the 

 outline heing chipped into a sharp vdixc The sj)eci- 

 men here figured mcasuies above a foot in length, a 

 little more than five inches in its greatest breadth, and 

 is about three-(juai1;er.s of an inch thick in the middle. 

 Others are na^ro^ver and not quite as heavy. The 

 shape of the hoes is illustrated by Fig. 2. This speci- 

 men is seven and a half 

 inches long, nearly six 

 inches wide, and about 

 half an inch tliick in 

 the middle. The roun- 

 ded part forms a sharp 

 edge. Tlie material 

 of which these imple- 

 ments are maile is a 

 peculiar kind of l)hush, 

 gray or brownish flint, 

 of slightly conchoid 

 fracture, and capable 

 of sjditting into largo flat fragments, I never 

 succeeded in discovering this stone in sifu. Tlu; 

 agricultural implements of my collection were all 

 found in St. Clair county in southern Illinois, 

 with the exception of one shovel, which was dug up in ISGl in St. Louis, duiing 

 the construction of earthworks for the protection of the city. Both shovels and 

 hoes were, doubtless, attached to handles, those of the latter ])robubly furmiug 

 a right, or even an acute angle with tlie stone blade, which is always pn)vided 

 with two notches in the ui)per jiart to facilitate tlie fastening.* 



* I quoted a passage from Du Pralz, which is, perhaps, referable to the lioes. According 

 to this author, the natives of Louisiana had invented a hoc, (pioche) with the aid of which 

 they prepared the soil for the culture of maize. "These hoes," he says, " are shaped like a 

 capital L ; they cut with the edge of the lower part, which is entirely flat.'' — liistuire de lu 

 Louisiani., I'aris, 175d. Vol. 11, p. 17(1. 



Plate XXI, in vol. II of Dc Unj, (Krankfort, l.'iO I,) represents Florida Indians of both 

 se«es engdged in field labor, tlie men using the hoc and the women sowing. The Latin text 

 (by Lc Moyue) accompanying the engraving states that the hoes are made of fish-bone, 

 {ligonrs e pisciittn ossibus) and j)rovided with wooden handles. The women sow bcau.s anj 

 uuiizo — ' fcmince fabas Sf milium sice Mayzum scrunt," 



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