igo SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



ored its preservation in complete form. The tempering is fine grit 

 containing considerable mica. It is a small, compact little vessel 14 cm 

 high, 10 cm in greatest diameter, and 8 cm across the neck opening. 

 As will be brought out shortly, the old ground level rises at A (fig. 24) 

 and typical Sterns Creek culture potsherds have been found in the 

 gully walls at a depth of only 3 feet from the surface (pi. 19, fig. 4). 

 There is every reason to believe, therefore, that the present com- 

 plete pot was washed out of the same stratum and pertains to the 

 same culture. 



The only other pottery artifact recovered from the deep strata is 

 a fragment of a tubular tobacco pipe (pi. 16, fig. 2, i). This specimen 

 is made of hard, grit-tempered gray pottery and is conical, both ends 

 being broken. It is 43 mm long with a diameter at the large end of 

 20 mm and of 11 mm at the small end. The conical section is trans- 

 versed by a perfectly round 4-mm hole, which is blackened from use. 

 There is no indication of any curve or elbow, and the complete 

 artifact would appear to have been straight. Sterns (1915 a, II, p. 

 188) found three fragments of an identical type of pipe, including one 

 which composed the entire upper part of the bowl. 



Work in Ground Stone 



The most striking artifact of this type is the butt end of a small 

 polished stone celt (pi. 17, fig. 2, h). It is broken and the blade is 

 missing. The remaining portion measures 37 mm in length, 48 mm 

 in width, and 26 mm in thickness. The hard stone has been carefully 

 ground and shaped and the butt end is flat. There is no trace of any 

 groove. Polished celts are not common in Nebraska (except as sur- 

 face finds), and this is the only specimen of its kind from the deep 

 strata. One hammerstone composed of burned limestone was re- 

 covered. It is 35 mm long and 30 mm across, having a cylindrical 

 form. One end is heavily battered, and each side there is a pecked 

 depression for grasping it. Another fragment of limestone with a 

 flat polished surface and worn edges suggests a broken muller or 

 grinding stone. Sandstone shaft polishers and paint stones, so com- 

 mon in the Nebraska culture, have not been reported from the deep 

 strata of the Sterns Creek culture. Sterns mentions no ground stone 

 artifacts from the lower strata. 



Work in Chipped Stone 



There are surprisingly few artifacts of this type known from the 

 Sterns Creek culture, and these few are remarkable for their crudity. 

 Sterns (1915 a, II, p. 188) found only two chipped flint arrowpoints. 



