46 BULLETIN 183, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



thinned and rounded off. The other long edge is ragged, and appar- 

 ently constitutes a fracture line running through an irregular row of 

 ten holes. These holes, like eight others bored scatteringly about 

 the lower half of the piece, vary in diameter from 3 to 4.5 mm. 

 Longitudinal as well as transverse profiles of the object are curved. 

 If the missing portion generally resembled that which remains, a 

 curved scooplike strainer is suggested. The surfaces generally are 

 well worn, particularly on that area occupied by the perforations. 



Among objects of worked bone other than antler, awls comprise 

 the most numerous single class. For these the metatarsus of the 

 turkey seems to have been most frequently used. Awls certainly of 

 mammal bone are rare. Except in one or two types, the bones have 

 been so much altered that positive identification is impossible. 



Following the scheme adopted by Kidder (1932, p. 211) at Pecos, 

 we may classify awls recovered at the Renner site according to "the 

 amount of work done in bringing the awls to their final shape . . ." 

 Thus, disregarding entirely any distinction based on origin of the 

 bones (i. e., whether mammalian or avian), we have the following 

 subgroups : 



(a) Head of bone left intact. 



(&) Head of bone unworked except by original splitting. 



(c) Head of bone partly worked down. 



(d) Head of bone wholly or almost wholly removed. 



(e) Splinter awls. 



(/) Indeterminate and fragmentary. 



Type a is represented by a single small specimen (pi. 10, ^•). Type 

 h includes six examples, carefully made by splitting turkey metatar- 

 sals (pi. 10, i, j). They vary in length from 71 to 100 mm., and com- 

 plete specimens usually show a considerable degree of polish. Two 

 other awl tips, 39 and 27 mm. long, may belong to a seventh specimen 

 of type 6, but cannot be definitely assigned. The longest awl re- 

 covered, 153 mm., appears to be of mammal bone; the tip is missing 

 and the head has been partly worked down (type c). There are 13 

 splinter awls (type e) , made from variously shaped slivers and odd 

 pieces of bone. They range from 61 to 130 mm, in length, and seldom 

 show the wear or care in finishing that characterizes type d. The 

 longest example is shown in plate 10, g. 



The double-pointed implement illustrated in the same plate as A, 

 73 mm. long, is unique in the collections from the Renner site. Ten- 

 tatively classed as a variant splinter awl, it may actually represent a 

 fish gorge. There is no evidence of a groove or notch, nor is the 

 shape especially well adapted to such a use. The size would be no 

 obstacle, since river catfish and other fishes of ample dimensions to 

 take a 3-inch gorge were and are plentiful in the Missouri E-iver. 

 The presence of buffalofish bones and catfish spines at the Renner site 



