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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



fancy. There is besides a large and 

 splendid series of grooved axes, including 

 some fine examples of the ridged grooved 

 axe, found most abundantly in that 

 region. Several excellent celts of pe- 

 culiar form are included, some with 

 triangular longitudinal sections, others 

 with circular cross sections. Some ex- 

 amples have flaring bitts, a not common 

 form. 



Perhaps the most interesting single 

 specimen is an axe with its handle, 

 worked from a single piece of stone. 

 Such axes are rare in North America, 

 but have occasionally been found, espe- 

 cially in the Southeast; while a related 

 form occurs on the northwest coast, 

 about Puget Sound particularly. A 

 single specimen from within fifty miles 

 of New York City is known to the 

 writer. It is in the hands of a private 

 collector. This type of axe is found in 

 northern South America and in the West 

 Indies (the Museum has a specimen from 

 Caicos Island in the Bahamas), and 

 forms a connecting link between the 

 archfeology of southeastern North Amer- 

 ica and northern South America. 



A beautiful example of the problem- 

 atic polished stone implement called a 

 "spud" is also a much to be desired ad- 

 dition. Another equally fine object of 

 this class, from Kentucky, is in the old 

 Douglass collection. Discoidals, called 

 "chungke" stones from their supposed 

 use in an Indian game of that name, 

 are well represented in the Mason col- 

 lection, and bell-shaped and straight 

 pestles and grooved and pitted hammer 

 stones are present galore. 



There are too few bone and antler 

 implements, only a few awls and needles 



being present, but pottery is represented 

 by quite a number of pieces, mostly 

 from graves. These are nearly all plain, 

 and resemble the ware of the lower 

 Mississippi region more than that of the 

 southern Atlantic coast. No painted 

 examples are found. Several vessels 



Ornaments of carved steatite. Three of 

 these represent mmiature grooved axes 



from graves have holes knocked in their 

 bottoms, presumably in conformity with 

 the Indian custom in that region of 

 "killing" all objects placed with the 

 dead, so that the spirit of the utensil 

 may accompany the soul of the deceased 

 on its long journey to the other world. 



