214 ANCIENT MONUMENTS. 



blocked out, and the deposit extended indefinitely on every side. (See page 158.) 

 Some of these are represented in the accompanying engraving. They are ncces- 



Fi( 



sarily much reduced. The originals are about six inches long and four broad, 

 and weigh not far from two pounds each. Some specimens from this deposit are 

 nearly round, but most ai-e of the shape of those here figured. We are wholly at 

 a loss respecting their purposes, unless they were designed to be worked into the 

 more elaborate implements to which allusion has been made, and were thus roughly 

 blocked out for greater ease of transportation from the quarries. With these relics, 

 were found several large nodules of similar material, from which portions had been 

 chipped ofi', exposing a nucleus, around which the accretion seems to have taken 

 place. These nodules are covered to the depth of half an inch, with a calcario- 

 silicious deposit, white, and of great hardness. Such nodules are found in the 

 secondary limestone formations. 



Several localities are known from which the material may have been obtained. 

 One of these, named " Flint Ridge," exists in the counties of Muskingmii 

 and Licking, in Ohio. It extends for many miles, and countless pits are to be 

 observed throughout its entire length, from which the stone was taken. These 

 excavations are often ten or fourteen feet deep, and occupy acres in extent. It 

 is possible that the late, as well as the more remote races worked these quarries. 

 Like the red pipe-stone quarry of the Coteau des Prairies, this locality may have 

 been the resort of numerous tribes, — a neutral ground, where the war-hatchet for 

 the time was buried, and all rivalries and animosities forgotten. 



Knives and other Cutting Instruments. — Knives of flint and obsidian have 

 been taken from several of the mounds. Some are identical with those of Mexico, 

 most if not all of which were made of obsidian. That material, as also some varieties 

 of flint, breaks with a very clear, conchoidal fracture. With skill and experience 

 in the art, the mound-builders, as well as the Mexicans, succeeded in striking off 

 thin, narrow slips, with edges sharp as razors. Clavigero states that so skilful 

 were the Mexicans in the manufacture of obsidian knives, that a single workman 

 could produce a hundred per hour. These answered many of the purposes for 

 which the more delicate cutting instruments of the present day are used, such as 

 shaving, and incising in surgical operations, not to mention the part which they 



