486 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



of tlie chase, and make invocations and prayers to them preparatory to 



going- on a hunt. Mr. Deming has represented such a scene. 



Masls. — Not infrequently aborigi- 

 nal s(;ulptures have been found, some 

 among the savages of the United 

 States, but in greater numbers in 

 Mexico, which have been called 

 masks, being made of ilat and com- 

 paratively thin stone with human 

 features sculptured thereon. Similar 

 masks are reproduced on the Pacific 

 coast, far north, in wood with various 

 painted decorations, and also form 

 part of the discovery of Mr. Gushing 

 on the southwest coast of Florida. 



Fig. 137 represents a mask roughly 

 carved from sandstone. It is 12 

 inches high, 7.^ inches broad at the 

 ears, and weighs nearly 9 pounds. 

 As usual, it is slightly concave at the 

 back. It was found while i)lowing 

 near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Figs. 

 138 and 139 are face and profile views 

 of a mask of sandstone found in Bel- 

 mont County, Ohio, nearly opposite 



Wheeling. Neither of these have any marks or holes in the back for 



suspension or attachment. The similarity of the art work of these with 



that of fig. 140 will be apparent at a glance, and it may be queried 



whether the similarity of appearance 



may not have some application to race, 



but ui)on the latter proi^osition no 



opinion is expressed. 



Fig. 140 is a small stone mask from 



Gambler, Ohio. It displays better 



art in the working of the material 



than in its representation of the 



human face. The stone is quite 



hard, it can only be wrought by 



pecking or battering and then rub- 

 bing or grinding to make it smooth. 



The horns projecting from the head 



are for an unknown purpose; the ears 



are too low on the side of the head; 



the nose and mouth are impossible in 



the human subject, but with all these 



l)eculiarities the stone has been well wrought and nicely polished. 

 Fig. 141 is a mask of grotesque appearance; it is of pot- stone from 



Fig. 137. 



SANDSTONE MASK, RUDELY REPKESENTING 

 HCMAN FACE. 



Lawrenceburg, Indiana. 



Cast, Cat. No. 10018, U.S.N.M. 



Figs. 138, 139. 



STONE MASK, HUMAN FACE, FRONT AND SIDE 

 VIEWS. 



Belmont County, Ohio. 



Cast, C.it. No. 31)014, U.S.N.M. }■, nalnral 



