24 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 



The turtleback is an interesting form of scraper (pi. 15, i, j) . In 

 the strict sense of the word these objects are not true turtlebacks, 

 inasmuch as they are faceted on only one side, the other being- flat or 

 slightly concave. This feature can be attributed to the fact that they 

 were made from large, thick flakes rather than from complete nodules ; 

 consequently, it was necessary to shape them on only one side. The 

 convex surface of such tools is characterized by large facets suggestive 

 of the back of a turtle. The edges exhibit the fine retouch typical of 

 most of the specimens of the entire complex. If it was not for the 

 latter feature, many of the turtlebacks might be considered as dis- 

 carded cores from which flakes had been removed to be used in making 

 small implements. Or they might even be classed as blanks waiting the 

 specialization which would make them tools. Specimen /, plate 15, has 

 a length of 53.5 mm, a width of 49 mm, and a thickness of 18 mm. 

 The measurements for /, plate 15, are: length 57.5 mm, breadth 41.5 

 mm, and thickness 14 mm. 



There is no definite knowledge about the uses to which the side 

 scrapers and turtlebacks were put, but their functions were no doubt 

 manifold. They could have served for dressing hides, for removing 

 flesh from bones, for cutting bones, for smoothing spear and arrow 

 shafts. In short, they combine in one implement the qualities of a 

 knife, an adze, a gouge, and an abrading or finishing tool. The scraper 

 in its various forms was indispensable in the daily life of the later 

 Indians, and this was no doubt true for the dwellers at the Linden- 

 meier site. The general character of the different kinds of scrapers is 

 well illustrated by the examples shown in the photographs ; hence, 

 more detailed descriptions of their various peculiarities are not neces- 

 sary at this time. 



BEVEL-EDGED TOOLS 



The implements of the bevel-edged type are generally triangular in 

 outline with a small, rounded tip and two chipped edges. The base is 

 smooth and the faces comparatively flat. These tools might well be 

 considered as points, although not in the sense of projectile heads 

 (pi. II, b). Their characteristic feature is the beveled edges. In 

 making such a tool the chipping was all done from one side so that the 

 cutting edge slanted obliquely to the opposite face. The stone was 

 then turned over and the operation repeated. This produced an imple- 

 ment rhomboidal in cross-section, the faces constituting the width and 

 the edges or short sides the thickness of the blade. When viewed with 

 the point directed upward, the beveling is usually toward the left ; 



