SCORED BONE ARTIFACTS—WEDEL AND HILL 95 
specimens recovered archeologically include no notched scapulae 
similar to those reported from the Pueblo area. The great majority 
are of bison rib, and with few exceptions all are characterized by long 
transverse grooves quite unlike the short deep notches on the wooden 
rasps of the southwestern area. Some of our excavated pieces show 
a glossiness along the midline of the scored surface, and in a few in- 
stances the cuts at this zone have been partially rubbed or worn away. 
Conceivably, these were used as sounding rasps. Other specimens— 
and they are probably at least as numerous—do not exhibit such signs 
of wear, and for these we suggest a different function. 
Laboratory experiments made independently at the United States 
National Museum and at the Nebraska State Historical Society have 
shown that many of the scored bone implements, when pressed firmly 
into plasticine, will leave a ridged or corrugated surface similar to 
that on Plains pottery as described above. For example, the rib 
illustrated in plate 7, a, produced the surface shown in plate 8, a; 
the paddle-shaped scapula in plate 7, b, gave the impressions in plate 
8, c; and the neural spine in plate 7, c, gave the ridging in plate 9, a. 
The markings in plate 9, a, as regards prominence, spacing, and form, 
are virtually identical with those along the lower broken edge of the 
specimen in plate 9, 6, a Mandan sherd from North Dakota. Our 
experiments, though not extended, indicate that the various scored 
bones available do not give identical impressions. The ridges may 
be long or short, narrow or broad, prominent or subdued, closely 
spaced or far apart. Similarly, sherds from different vessels show 
considerable variation, though the general technique seems to be the 
same. Some of our bone artifacts leave impressions that are sharper 
and narrower than those usually noted on sherds, but here it is only 
necessary to rub the ridged plasticine surface lightly to duplicate the 
sherd markings. 
In their present condition, the implements available to us are too 
fragile to permit vigorous application. With fresh bones, however, 
it is believed that the native potters could have worked over their vessel 
surfaces swiftly and easily. Used paddle fashion, discontinuous cor- 
rugations and plaited effects could easily have been attained. The 
converging lines on some specimens, as for example the paddle in 
plate 7, 6, would also give a plaited appearance on a plastic surface. 
The rather varied nature of the scored bone artifacts, in regard to 
size, shape, and the details of scoring, may be judged from plates 10 
and 11. With the exception of those in plate 7, 6 and c, and that in 
plate 11, a, all are fragmentary, so that their original size is con- 
jectural. Relatively few of our specimens show any such pronounced 
wear along the midline as would be expected if they had been used for 
