SMITHSONIAiT ARCH^OLOGICAL COLLECTIO^'. 



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arm their arrows with stone jjoiiits of diiierent forms, tlie shape of the arrow- 

 head being witli them merely a matter of individual taste or of convenience. 

 It is here only intended to present the characteristic types of these weapons. 

 Yet any such arrangement must he arbitrary to a great extent, owing to the 

 many intermediate forms in which the distinguishing peculiarities are Avanting, 

 and the same difficulty is met in the classification of stone articles in general, 

 may they be chipped or ground. 



ARKOW-IIEAUS (i). 



a. Leaf-shaped, base pointed or rounded (Fig. 4, gray semi-opal, Califoniia). 



Those with a pointed base imperceptibly pass over into the lozenge form, 

 which is not very frequently met. 



b. Convex-sided with truncated base (Fig. 5, transparent obsidian, Mexico). 



Specimens of this description often approach the triangular shape. 



c. Triangular, forming an equilateral or isosceles triangle (Fig. 6, gray jasper, 



l!seyv York). Perfectly triangular arrow-jioints are less frequent than 

 those of the folloAving class. 



d. Straight-sided with more or less concave base. In some the concavity 



assumes the character of a deep indentation by which barbs are produced 



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