40 



PECKED, GROUND AND POLISHED STONE. 



locality). Not a few of them, however, are of a remarkably symmetrical shape, 

 and their production, notwithstanding the tractable character of the material, 

 must have been the result of long-continued patient labor. Many measnre 

 more than a foot in height, and nearly twenty inches in diameter at the widest 

 part. They are about an inch and three-fourths thick at the rim, but increase 

 slightly in thickness toward the bottom. The very regular cavity in these 

 mortars reaches a depth of nine and a half inches (Fig. 156, Dos Pueblos). 

 In a nmnber of the mortars the flat rim was inlaid with small i^ieces of 

 shell, some of which are still in place. They were cemented into the stone 

 by means of asphaltum. A mortar of rather small size, but shaped like the 

 larger sjjecimens, exhibits on its outer side a raised zigzag ornamentation 

 (Fig. 157, Santa Cruz Island). 



The mortars thus far described were used in connection with pestles, or, 



perhaps, sometimes with 

 '<^" rounded stones fitting in 



their cavities, and thus form- 

 ing crushing tools rather 

 than pounders. Other uten- 

 sils of a somewhat kin- 

 dred character are trough- 

 shaped, and the grinding 

 operation was performed by 

 pressing a stone of suitable 

 form forward and backward 

 in the elongated cavity- 

 Several specimens of this 

 description are in the col- 

 lection. They were obtain- 

 ed (chiefly through the 

 agency of Major J. "VY. 

 Powell) from Utah Terri- 

 tory, where such utensils, 

 which resemble in general 

 character the Mexican ?He- 

 tate, are still used by the 

 aborigines (Fig. 158, sand- 

 stone) . Instead of the con- 

 cave stone a perfectly even 

 stone slab is employed, in 

 connection with a rubbing- 

 stone with flat faces, by 

 New Mexican tribes (Fig. 159, granite slab, sandstone rul)ber, Navajo Indians). 

 Somewhat partaking of the character of mortars are good-sized stones, 

 mostly solid slabs, exhibiting on one of the faces, or on both, rather irrcgidar 

 cup-shaped depressions, usually jilaced near each other. It is supposed that 



STONES BEARING CUP-SHAPED DEPEESSIONS (">) 



