INDIANS OF MANHATTAN ISLAND 



37 



ing. These are rare, however. Some 

 may have been pottery smoothers. 

 Clam shells have been reported which 

 contained central perforations and 

 were identical in appearance with some 

 shell pottery scrapers and smoothers 

 collected by Mr. M. R. Harrington 

 among the Catawba. Contemporary 

 writers mention the use of knives made 

 of shell. 



Pottery Tempering. This was some- 

 times done with calcined and pounded 

 shells, but was uncommon, considering 

 the abundance of the material at hand. 

 Pounded stone or gravel seems to have 

 been more favored. 



Pottery Stamps. The corrugated 

 edge of a scallop shell was frequently 

 used as a stamp for pottery, as may be 

 seen by examining the potsherds from 

 this region. 



ARTICLES OF BONE AND ANTLER. 



Objects of bone and antler, while 

 perhaps more abundant here than in 

 New England, are far less plentiful in 

 form and number than in the Iroquoian 

 area. Cut bones are frequent in most 

 shell pits and heaps. They were cut 

 probably with a flint knife, by grooving 

 the bone partly through on all sides, 

 and breaking. 



Bone Awls. These utensils are the 

 most common of all bone articles in 

 this region and are found in almost 

 every part of the area. Some are mere- 

 ly sharpened slivers, but others show 

 a considerable degree of work, and are 

 well finished and polished. They are 

 usually made of deer or other mammal 

 bone, but sometimes from the leg bones 

 of birds. 



In some instances, the joint of the 

 bone is left for a handle, but this is 

 often cut off. Grooved, perforated or 



decorated bone awls are extremely rare 

 in this region. While it is generally 

 considered that these bone tools were 

 used as awls in sewing leather, as 

 by modern shoemakers, neverthe- 

 less, they may have served as forks in 

 removing hot morsels from the pot or 

 for a number of other purposes. The 

 latter supposition is supported by the 

 abundance of bone awls found in some 

 shell pits. The Eastern Cree of the 

 Hudson Bay region use a similar bone 

 implement as the catching or striking 

 pin in the cup-and-ball game. 



Bone Needles. These are rare, but 

 found in most localities. They are 

 generally made of the curved ribs of 

 mammals and are six or eight inches 

 long, or even longer. They are gener- 

 ally broken across the eye, which is 

 usually midway between the ends. A 

 few with the perforation at one end 

 have been reported. 



Bone Arrow Points, usually hollow 

 and conical in shape, have been found, 

 especially at Tottenville, Staten 

 Island, in the Burial Ridge. They 

 are rather rare, but this may be due 

 to the fact that conditions are not 

 suitable for their preservation in most 

 localities. Others are flat and triang- 

 ular in shape. 



Harpoons. No actual barbed bone 

 harpoons, such as occur in the Iroquois 

 country have been reported from this 

 region; although the writer has seen 

 what appeared to be part of one from 

 Shinnecock Hills, Long Island, whence 

 comes a harpoon barb of bone, found 

 by the writer, now in the Museum 

 collection which was apparently made 

 to tie to a wooden shaft. While 

 neither of these forms seems to occur 

 within this region, several naturally 

 barbed spines from the tail of the sting- 



