112 



COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 



siori, the holes showing signs of wear, others apparently for a handle, although 

 it would be too small for service as a weapon. Some are soft and fragile, while 

 others are extremely hard. The edges show no signs of use. No early Indian 

 traveler or historian mentioned them, and they had apparently fallen into disuse 

 before the advent of the white man. 



Banner stones (fig. 28) present a great variety of forms and an equal uncertainty 

 of use. They are supposed to have been for ceremony or ornaments, or, with long 

 handles, to have served as badges or insignia of rank (baton de couimandement). 

 They were not weapons, since most of them are of soft material, usually of slate, 

 are fragile and would break under even a slight blow ; have no cutting e ge, 

 while the hole is too small for a serviceable handle. A few are of hard material 



Fig. 29. 



BOAT-SHAPED (?) OBJECTS. 

 134, striped slate, Ohio; 135, greenstone, Kentucky. 



like quartz, jasper, etc., nevertheless they are impracticable alike for battle axes 

 or casse tetes. The specimens show the process of manufacture. They were 

 hammered or pecked into form, and then polished before being drilled. The 

 drilling is excellent. The broken specimens show a secondary use, having been 

 drilled and used since the fracture. They belong principally to the interior, 

 though they have been found on the Atlantic coast line. 



11 



Fig. 30. 



BIRD-SHAPED (?) OBJECTS. 

 210, striped slate, Pennsylvania ; 211, striped slate, Ohio mound. 



Boat-shaped objects (fig. 29). The title indicates our want of knowledge concerning 

 their purpose. Different uses have been assumed for them, such as twine-twisters, 

 handles for carrying parcels, or for tightening cords, but all without evidence. 

 Some of the objects are solid, others are hollowed out like a boat, and are finely 

 finished. Most of them have two perforations equidistant from the center. The 

 material is syenite, chlorite, slate, and galena. They are found principally in 

 the valleys of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Six specimens. 



