98 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



and the deer. Certain artifacts, such as awls and bodkins, are ver); 

 similar to those made from bone, and their segregation according to 

 material used is more or less artificial. 



One long, perfectly round awl of ground-down antler is 154 mm 

 long by 7 mm in diameter (pi. 6, fig. I, h) . A smaller bodkin (pi. 6, 

 fig. i,j) is 85 mm long by about 8 mm in diameter. Both are perfectly 

 round in cross-section and have delicately tapering sharp points. The 

 shorter specimen is complete, but the longer awl appears to be broken 

 off at the butt end. The latter is also characterized by a gradual out- 

 ward curve toward the point, whereas the shorter artifact is perfectly 

 straight. 



In addition to the above well-worked specimens are three antler tips 

 of either small elk or large deer. They have been cut off at the base 

 but are otherwise unworked. In one case this cutting is very neatly 

 done and the slender tine has clearly been used as a tool of some sort. 

 In the other two specimens the cutting is very rough and they show 

 but little sign of use. The longest and best worked of these is 215 mm 

 in length with a diameter of 26 mm at the base (pi. 18, fig. i, d). 



There are also three cylindrical sections of deer antler, two of which 

 appear to have been used in flint working. In all three cases the base of 

 the antler has been preserved, and a neat cut has been made at the other 

 end. The longest of these artifacts is 180 mm with a diameter of 

 33 mm at the large end (pi. 6, fig. i, c). The surface is rough, natural 

 antler, but one small tine has been cut off the side. One end of this 

 artifact has the swelling characteristic of the base of the antler, and the 

 opposite end has been neatly cut oft'. In the cut-oft' end is a funnel- 

 shaped cavity about 13 mm deep. This cavity, in conjunction with the 

 rather extreme curve of the implement, suggests that this particular 

 specimen may represent a handle of some sort rather than a tapping 

 tool. Two somewhat similar specimens from prehistoric earth lodges 

 near Omaha are in the Gilder collection in the Omaha Public Library, 

 one (303 h) serving as the handle for an end scraper, the other (278) 

 for a small stone knife. It is said that these artifacts were found so 

 mounted in situ. It may be that we have here a similar handle, although 

 it should be noted that in the two Gilder specimens, as well as in the 

 present implement, the holes for mounting are extremely shallow. The 

 main evidence for each use rests on the reported finding in situ of the 

 combined specimens. 



The two remaining artifacts of this sort from house i are straighter 

 and show no sign of having been employed as handles. The specimen 

 figured (pi. 6, fig. i, d) is 120 mm in length by 25 mm in diameter. 

 The utensil has been rubbed smooth and the rough original surface of 



