24 



BULLETIN 87, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Fig. 34. — Chalcedony drill 

 FROM Spur Ranch. 



A thorn, a thornlike branch, a cactus spine or a sliver of obsidian or 



chert might be used, the cutting end requiring to be of even caliber 



for a very short part of the length of the drill, as only thin pieces of 

 stone were usually perforated, and commonly 

 the bead blank or small object was drilled 

 until the point appeared on the underside 

 when it was turned over, the point set in the 

 minute orifice, and the work completed. So 

 far as can be known, the small points were set 

 in a rod which was twirled between the palms. 

 The delicate, sharp-pointed fragment of 

 white chalcedony 1 inch long from the Spur 

 Ranch, Luna, New Mexico, is a type of 

 the unworked drill. (Fig. 34, a and h.) A 



specimen (fig. 35) made from a thin spall of fine chalcedony, the 



base flaring for purchase in the fingers, shows more work. (Cat. 



No. 231973, U.S.N.M.; length, 1\ inches; Spur Ranch, Luna, New 



Mexico.) Other specimens from the same locality 



are milky chalcedony, the work only showing on 



the blade. (Fig. 36; Cat. No. 231816, U.S.N.M.; 



length, 1 inch; width, f inch.) A better specimen 



is made of reddish-brown chert and has a neatly 



chipped blade and ovate finger grip. (Fig. 37; 



Cat. No. 232017, U.S.N.M.; length. If inches; | 



inch wide. Spur Ranch, Luna, New Mexico.) 



The finest specimen, an excellent example of flint 



chipping (fig. 38), was found at Spur Ranch, 



Luna, New Mexico. It is 2^ inches in length and was doubtless 

 originally hafted. (Cat. No. 231874, U.S.N.M.) 



BEADS AND ORNAMENTS. 



Nowhere in America was the bead maker's art more 

 developed than in the Pueblo region, and there is 

 observed also in different parts of this area a diver- 

 sity in skill and in the extent to which the work was 

 carried. In general the zone of superior beadwork 

 and minute stone carving lies between the Little 

 Colorado and Gila Rivers, with extensions to the 

 south in Sonora. In this zone the beadwork is 

 greatly in advance of that in any other portion of 

 this hemisphere, and it is probable that nowhere 

 else in the world was as great proficiency displayed. This assertion 

 regards the accuracy of calibration and of drilling, apparent ease 

 with which minute beads and astonishingly fine perforations were 



Pig. 35. — Chalcedony 

 drill from spur 

 Ranch. 



Fig. 36. — Chalce- 

 dony drill FROM 



Spur Ranch. 



