SOAPSTONE — BUSHNELL 



475 



The more compact and softer the stone the easier it could be 

 worked, and consequently the more symmetrical the finished vessel, 

 but, conversely, the more impure and less uniform the stone the more 

 irregular and misshapen the vessel. This is proven by typical speci- 

 mens recovered from widely separated quarries. Thus the nature of 

 the stone rather than the skill of the workers often determined the 

 quality of the utensils produced. 



The majority of vessels from many quarries are rather long and 

 narrow, having a length greater than the width, and being less in 

 depth, with rounded sides and bottom. Handles extend from the 

 narrow ends, some being placed well below the upper edge while 

 others are at or very near the top. The two forms, restored diagram- 

 matically, are shown in figure 1. 



FIGUEE 1. — Two types of handles shown diagrammaticaUy. 



Soapstone vessels varied in form and size as will be shown by 

 photographs of specimens brought together from many sites and 

 now preserved in the collections of the United States National Mu- 

 seum. However, some types found in other collections are not in- 

 cluded in these illustrations, and many quarries, both large and small, 

 are not mentioned in the text. 



The first quarry to be described in detail, some 60 years ago, was 

 located in Virginia, and later discoveries proved it to have been 

 typical of others in Virginia and elsewhere. 



Quarries in Virginia will now be briefly described, to be followed 

 by references to some northward to New England, after which 

 material from south of Virginia will be mentioned. 



