60 



BULLETIN 87, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



The most numerous and the best examples showing the process of 

 cutting wood were found in the Tularosa Cave. The rejected scraps 

 of sticks, with a bunch of shavings at one 

 end, are mute testimonies of the manner in 

 which the cutting was done. In sectioning 

 a stick of tough wood the workman, with a 

 suitable sharp stone flake or hafted knife, 

 pared off strips by scraping pressure, fol- 

 lowing the direction of the grain, until a 

 slender spindle was left, which could be 

 easily broken without slivering. (Figs. 129, 

 130, Cat. No. 246452, U.S.N.M.) In most 



cases a spindle end 



^/^L was desired, as in 



" - ' ' ' ^ pahos and bows, for 



example. A well- 



j#^v-7^//^^£^ H^ finished wooden 



f^Zlii^^^^^Ji Din. the 



pm. 



shavings 



Fig. 130. — Example of sec- 

 tioning WOOD FROM Tula- 

 rosa Cave. 



Fig. 129. — Example of sec- 

 tioning WOOD from Tdla- 

 ROSA Cave. 



left at the upper end 

 and compressed by 

 driving the pin, is 

 shown. (Fig. 131, 

 Cat. No. 2 4 6 4 5 3, 

 U.S.N.M.) In short- 

 grain, brittle wood 

 like juniper, section- 

 ing was done by saw- 

 ing. (Fig. 132, a, h, 



Cat. No. 246453, U.S.N.M. ) Short cylinders were 

 made by scraping as described, the shavings being 

 later removed from the blunt end ; the stick was 

 then reversed and the same process followed with 

 regard to the other end, the splinters and rough- 

 ness cut away with a flint, and the ends rubbed 

 smooth on coarse stone. (Figs. 133, 134, 135, Cat. 

 No. 246449, U.S.N.M. ) In what appears to be the 

 bunt head for a throwing shaft, such as are de- 

 scribed by George Pepper, from Pueblo Bonito, 

 the spinclle end remains. (Fig. 136, Cat. No. 246449, U.S.N.M.) A 

 small block (fig. 137 a, &), probably a die used in a game, shows ex- 



III 



Fig. 131. — Wooden 

 PIN PROM Tula- 

 rosa Cave. 



