286 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1S95. 



MORTARS AND PESTLES. 



These implwnents were iq common iiae by the 

 aborigines tbrougbout the Tiiited States. Nearlj- 

 every material -was utilized for mortars, but 

 stone was usual. One has been found in Cali- 

 fornia niado of a fossil wbale vertebra. Those 

 of wood are not infrequent. The metate of 

 Mexico is similar in purpose. Tliese objects are 

 important in this, that while they have continued 

 in ii.se within the knowledge of persons still liv 

 iug, they have been found in the auriferous grav- 

 els of C'alifornia at such depth and with such 

 associations as to be assigned to the Quaternary, 

 or even Tertiary, geologic period. If this be 

 true, they are the earliest known smoothed stone 

 implements made or used by man. Mortars are 

 not exhibited in this collection. (Handbook, pji. 

 (i59-660, iigs. 32, 33.) 



Pestle.— Sandstone. 



Santa Barbara County, Cal. 



Cast, No. 30545. in V. S. National Museum ; 



original collected by Stephen Bowers. 



Pestle. 

 South "Westport, Mass. 

 Cast, No. 35284, in U. S. National Mu- 

 seum ; original collected by Mrs. R. L. Smith. 



DRILLED TABLETS. 



These objects, which form a numerous class, 

 are of various shapes and careful finish, pierced 

 with one, two, or more lioles. They are u.snally 

 made of slate, but other material was used. Dif- 

 ferent purposes have been ascribed to them, 

 but nothing certain is known. They may have 

 been pendants, amulets, or badges of distinction. 

 They are never brought to a cutting edge, and, 

 except in rare cases, show no signs of use. They 

 have been found on the breasts of skeletons of 

 antiquity in the United States. (Handbook, 

 p. 650, fig. 24.) 



Drilled Tablet.— Porphyritic syenite. 



White County, III. 

 Cast, No. 42915, in U. S. National Mu- 

 seum; original collected by W.M. Locke. 



Drilled Tablet. — Clay ironstone. 

 Morehouse County, La. 

 Original, No. 29173, in U. S. National Mu- 

 seum; collected by Benj. H. Brodnax. 



Drilled Tablet.— Slate. 

 Western Reserve, Ohio. 



Original, No. 6863, in V. S. National Mu- 

 seum ; collected by J. H. Devereux. 



Drilled Tablet.— Striped slate. 

 Portage County, Ohio. 



Cast, No. 42914, in U. S. National Mu- 

 seum; original collected by Dr. S. M. Luther. 



Drilled Tablet.— Striped slate. 

 Western Reserve, Ohio. 

 Original, No. 6850, in V. S. National Mu- 

 seum; collected by J. H. Devereux. 



INSCRIBED TABLETS. 



These are extremely rare and are j)rincipally 

 found in mounds. Their inscriptions have never 

 been read, and the pretended translations are not 

 approved by students of prehistoric archa'olosy. 

 A number of tablets have been reported of which 

 some are without doubt genuine, but tliomajority 

 are believed, or are contended to be, frauds. The 

 presumption would be against any newly found 

 tablet, and its genuineness must bo established. 

 The best known tablets believed or accepted as 

 genuine are the Cincinnati Tablet (S. I. Contri- 

 butions to Knowledge, Yol. i, p. 274 et seq.) ; 

 Davenport Tablet, Short ("North American,Indi- 

 ans of Antiquity," p. 38, et seq.) ; Grave Creek' 

 Tablet, McLean ("The Mound Builders," p. 91, 

 et seq). 



Inscribed Tablet. — Fine-grained sand- 

 stone of a light-brown color. 



From a mound, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



Cast, No. 7250, in U. S. National Mu- 

 seum : original in the possession of Rob- 

 ert Clark, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



SINKERS, PENDANTS, OR CHARMS. 



This series shows various, though notall, kinds 

 of the objects. These are made of hematite or 

 hard stone, and are flnelj- poli.shed . Some sinkers 

 not shown are smooth, flat, shore jiebbles, broken 

 on the edge so as f o easily take and hold the line. 

 One has a hole in the top by which a line can be 

 attached ; others have a groove, though very 

 slight; while some have neither groove nor hole. 

 Objects similar to these have been found with a 

 truncated butt. Their distribution throughout 

 the interior in greater numbers than on the lake 

 or sea shores adds to the difficulty of their clas- 

 sification and a knowledge of their ])urpo8e. 

 (Handbook, p. 653, fig. 26.) 



Sinker, Pendant, or Charm. 

 Eastport, Me. 



Original, No. 11624, in U. S. National 

 Museum ; collected by Rev. Eugene 

 Vetromile. 



Sinker, Pendant, or Charm. 

 From a mound. Manatee County, Fla. 

 Original, No. 30119, in V. S. National Mu- 

 seum ; collected by John 1'. Wall. 



Sinker, Pendant, or Charm.— Hematite. 

 Hancock County, 111. 



Original, No. 59580, in V. S. National Mu- 

 seum; collected by M. Tandy. 



