260 SMITHSONTAX MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. q^ 



Sterns and l)y the Survey parties. The bent tul)ular pottery pipe pre- 

 dominates, and modehng and incision ru'e both employed on such 

 pipes. Stone pipes are rather uncommon and in form suggest either 

 those from Upper Repubhcan culture sites or types more common 

 in the eastern United States. 



In sketching in the outlines of the remaining artifact complex 

 characteristic of the Nebraska culture the specimens obtained by the 

 Survey parties, already described in detail, will be used as a basis and 

 additional tyi)es. described by Gilder and Sterns from similar sites, 

 will l)e included. Artifacts of ground stone are not especially numer- 

 ous in the Nebraska culture ; they include a very few polished and 

 jmrtially jjolished celts (no grooved axes), discoidal hammerstones, 

 ]:)itted anvil stones, rectangular and " butTer " type shaft polishers of 

 sandstone (the latter described by Sterns as the " ideal " type in this 

 culture), small sandstone and pumice slabs used for grinding, lime- 

 stone anvil for pottery (only one reported), and a few perforated 

 pieces of limestone and calcite. Ground-down pieces of hematite and 

 limonite " paint " are rather common. Chipped stone artifacts are 

 numerous, chipped celts, arrowpoints, knives, delicately chipped plano- 

 convex end scrapers, ovoid side scrai>ers, numerous sharp flakes used 

 as knives, and a few T-shaped chipped drills are represented. The 

 arrowpoints fall into two main types, a rather heavy triangular point 

 (NBa) and a small, delicately chipped point (also NBa), which 

 is often notched (NBa 1-4) (table 2). b>om his Nebraska culture 

 sites Sterns collected 117 unnotched points (mainly NBa). 16 with 

 2 notches (NBai), 5 with 4 notches (NBa4), and 9 with 5 notches 

 (NBa3). An examination of his collection reveals the same division 

 into large and small NBa tyi>es, and the same thing is shown in the 

 points obtained by Gilder in a typical site on Ponca Creek (near 

 Omaha )."'^ Stemmed points occasionally occur in Nebraska culture 

 sites but are very rare. Knife blades are about evenly divided between 

 ovoid and diamond-shaped forms, only a few of the latter type being 

 beveled. Sterns found two oval knives with small stems at one end. 



Bone and antler artifacts are also abundant. Bison scapula hoes are 

 fairly common, some of these having side notches near the blade end, 

 indicating, according to Sterns, that they were fitted with straight 

 hafts and used as spades. Many reworked fragments of broken 

 scapula tools have apparently been employed for other purposes, such 

 as skin scrapers. Sterns reports one digging tool made from a portion 

 of bison skull, and Gilder (1926. p. 21) found one bison-horn spoon. 



"■^ Gilder, 1907, p. 713, fig. 48. The Gilder collection in the Omaha Public 

 Library contains the same two main types of points. 



