NO. 7 ARCHEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN TEXAS ROBERTS 9 



woven back and forth in the usual wickerwork technique. The large 

 ends of the weft leaves were brought out on the under side where 

 they were shredded as in the case of the other sandal. There was 

 also the same tendency to permit the shredded ends of the warp leaves 

 to protrude in a sort of fringe at the toe. No specimens from this 

 region have been found with foot attachments still in place, and it is 

 therefore impossible to tell how these may have functioned. Similar 

 sandals have been found at other sites in the Southwest. Kidder and 

 Guernsey describe the form in their Arizona paper/ and the collection 

 obtained from Bat Cave, 125 miles north of El Paso, by Mr. DeMeir 

 contains an example of the form.^ 



The spear shafts are very interesting (pi. 3). They were made 

 from the flower stalks of the agave, which, although light, is 

 very strong and suitable for such purposes. Their average length 

 varies between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 9 inches. The distal ends 

 of these shafts are the heaviest. They have an average diameter of 

 one-half inch and taper gradually towards the butt ends. The latter 

 average a little less than a quarter of an inch in diameter. In the 

 heavy ends a cone-shaped hole was drilled for the purpose of insert- 

 ing a short foreshaft in which a stone point had been mounted. They 

 were not always equipped with stone points, however, as some of 

 the specimens in the collection of Mr. Stafford had hard, sharp wooden 

 points. In every case the proximal or butt end shows a slight cup- 

 shaped depression, which suggests that the shafts were for use with a 

 spear-thrower or atlatl. The latter object has a small hook at one 

 end which would fit into such a cup-like hole and aid materially in 

 hurling the projectile. The ends of the shafts were bound with sinew 

 wrappings which have disappeared from most of the specimens, al- 

 though the markings which they left are plainly discernible. These 

 wrappings were probably used to prevent the shaft from splitting 

 as a result of the drilling of the hole in its end. 



One rather curious feature about the spears is that they were 

 decorated with streamers, balls, and braids of agave fiber {Agave 

 Icchegnilla Torr).^ These decorations must have been attached for 

 ceremonial purposes, as the spears could not have been of great use- 

 fulness with so much cumbersome material fastened to them (pi. 3). 

 It is possible that they may have been used as wands in the ob- 



^ Idem, p. 158. 



'U. S. Nat. Mus. Cat. No. 215428. 



^ Mr. L. H. Dewey of the U. S. Department of Agriculture kindly identified 

 the material for the writer. 



