AKCIENT PUEBLOS OP UPPER GILA REGION-. 



21 



N.M. ; diameter, 2f inches; Spur Ranch, Luna, New Mexico.) A 

 block of hard black basalt chipped on two-thirds of its circumference 

 (pi. 4, fig. 6) is also probably a hammer or striking tool. (Cat. No. 

 246462, U.S.N.M.; Tularosa Cave, New Mexico.) An unmodified 

 stone hammer of hard brown stone (pi. 4, fig. 8) is from a small 

 cliff-house ruin near Spur Ranch. (Cat. No. 232065, U.S.N.M.; 

 length, Si inches.) A pitted hammer of triangular shape (pi. 4, 

 fig. 7) is made of coarse basalt. One side is smooth as though the 

 specimen had at times been used as a rubbing implement. (Diam- 

 eter, S^ inches; thickness, 1^ 

 inches; Tularosa Cave, New 

 Mexico.) 



24. 

 Figs. 24-26.- 



25. 26. 



-Stone balls from Spue Ranch. 



CLUBKEADS, BALLS. 



Balls of hard stone of rea- 

 sonably accurate spherical 

 shape are encountered in the ruins, but never as mortuary objects with 

 the dead. It is possible that they are hammerstones worked down 

 from long use, but apparently they were reduced by the ordinary 

 processes of stone working for a definite purpose and, it appears prob- 

 able, were originally inclosed in rawhide for the slung shot or flexible 

 head club, such as is used by the Apaches. No specimens so mounted, 

 however, have been found in archeological sites, such as caves or 

 shelters, where they would likely be preserved. Another suggestion is 

 that these balls are used in games, and probably the smaller specimens 

 had this employment, as this form has survived among the Pueblos 

 and the Pimas, Cocopas, Mohaves, and other 

 southern Arizona and California tribes. 



Some of the stone balls are from Spur Ranch, 

 Luna, New Mexico. (Figs. 24, 25, 26.) These 

 are smoothly made from hard stone and were 

 probably used in games, or, with less probability, 

 as clubheads. (Cat. No. 231958, U.S.N.M. ; diam- 

 eter, 1:^, 1|, and If inches.) 



"What appears to be a clubhead is made of soft 

 stone, is oblong and rounded, and on one side a projection has been 

 formed, evidently for the purpose of hafting. (Fig. 27.) The 

 rounded surface shows pittings, as though the implement were used 

 for hammering. The character of the material, however, does not 

 indicate its use as a hammer. (Cat. No. 231940, U.S.N.M.; length, 3 

 inches; width, 2|; Spur Ranch, Luna, New Mexico.) 



Fig. 27. — Stone ham- 

 mer FROM Spur 

 Ranch. 



The knife of chipped flint or other material is not very common in 

 this region, and it appears probable that its place was taken by the 

 sharp-edged spalls, more or less worked, which are found in abun- 

 dance near the ruins. (See fig. 138.) Occasionally the chipped 



