ANCIENT PUEBLOS OF UPPER GILA REGION. 



17 



this character are quite rare in this region, except on the upper 

 GiUi, where they take the forms shown in figure 11. (Cat. No. 98695, 

 U.S.N.M. ; diameter, 5^ inches; height, 

 1|- inches.) 



SMOOTHING STONES. 



Fig. 14. — Stone vessel from uppek 

 San Francisco River. 



Fig. 15. — Polishing stone 

 FROM Apache Creek. 



Important implements of every 

 Pueblo household, ancient and modern, 

 were polishing stones, w^hich had their 

 most extensive use for work in clay, 

 whether in producing a fine surface on pottery or in polishing the 

 mud floor. The polishing stone is essentially a woman's tool, since 

 work in clay has always been her specialty. 



One of these (fig. 15) is of an extremely 

 fine-grained yellow stone, beautifully worked 

 into the form desired by the potter and highly 

 polished. This was, no doubt, a prized object, 

 and was found in a grave containing human 

 remains. (Cat. No. 245942, U.S.N.M.; width, 

 1 inch; length. If inches; thickness, |f inch; 

 N. H. Eanch, Apache Creek, Socorro County, 

 New Mexico.) 



A smoothing stone from the Spur Ranch, Luna, New Mexico, is 

 formed of hard, fine-grained stone resembling limestone (fig. 16). 

 On one side is a flat, highly polished area 

 which indicates its use on some soft ma- 

 terial, though probably not for pottery 

 finishing. (Cat. No. 231963, U.S.N.M.; 

 diameter, 3 inches; thickness, 1^ inches.) 

 In the Tularosa Cave, New Mexico, was 

 found a block of very coarse sandstone 

 (fig. 17) , on one face of which is a groove 

 for the purpose of rasping wooden rods. 

 In the process the stone has become more deeply grooved 

 No. 246471, U.S.N.M.; dimensions, 4| by 2 inches.) 



Another specimen has two grooves crossing 

 at right angles. (PL 3, fig. 7.) 



Grooved smoothing stones for arrows and 



rods are not plentiful in the region. They 



are also simple in form compared with those 



of the Pueblo Vie jo Valley on the upper 



.Gila. The material is very fine-grained stone, 



usually limestone. The groove is polished 



and is probably designed more for smoothing 



wood than for abrading it. Some of these stones show evidences of 



heat and some are cracked by having been subjected to fire. One of 



14278°— Bull. 87—14 3 



Fig. 16. — Smoothing stone from 

 Spur Ranch. 



(Cat. 



Fig. 17. — Stoxe rasp from 

 Tularosa Cave. 



