ABT OF EARTHWORK BUILDEKS— WILLOUGHBY. 499 



STONE RINGS. 



The beautifully fonned stone rings shown oh plate 12 «, c, d, and 

 in cross section in figure 2, are among the most interesting objects 

 recovered from the Ohio mounds. Similar rings were found by 

 Squier and Davis and others. Those illustrated were taken, with 

 fragments of others, from the altars of the Hopewell group. 



These are probably ear plugs. Some of them are perforated lat- 

 erally with four or eight holes as shown in the side views, c and d. 

 It is not improbable that these perforations were for attaching 

 feathers or other ornaments placed within or hanging from the 

 central opening of the ring. Most of these are made from the brown 

 micaceous mineral called " gold stone " by Squier and Davis, and 

 are beautifully polished. 



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Fig. 2. — Cross-sections of rings on plate 12, a, c, d. 



The most remarkable thing about them, however, is their sym- 

 metry. Their outlines form true circles and their surfaces are pre- 

 fectly symmetrical. They could not have been made without some 

 mechanical device based upon the lathe principle. The only other 

 evidences of the use of the principle of the lathe by this people that I 

 have been able to find is shown by a beautifully finished perforated 

 disk of fossil ivory from a mound in Indiana and by certain shell 

 beads that are altogether too sj^mmetrical to have been made by any 

 other knoAvn process. The fourth ring shown in the plate, 5, was 

 made by the writer from a piece of slate. The only implements used 

 were stones such as may be picked up on almost any field, and two or 

 three rude chipped knives. After roughly forming and perforating 

 the slate disk, a stick about 6 inches long was fitted tightly in the 

 perforation and its ends rounded and hardened in the fire. The 

 stick was then placed between adjoining limbs of a tree, its ends 

 being inserted in depressions cut into the limbs. With the aid of an 

 improvised bow, the stick bearing the ring was revolved back and 

 forth, and the ring finished by the use of the stone knives held 

 against a crossbar. Sand, water, and ashes Avere used for polishing. 

 The above device formed, of course, a rude lathe, but it was merely 

 the adaptation of the boAv drill which Avas knoAvn to the Eskimo and 

 some other American tribes in prehistoric times. 



TEXTILE FABRICS. 



The textile fabrics of this people did not differ materially from 

 those of many other tribes of the United States. They appear to be 

 principally of the twined-woven variety which was so widespread 



