NO. 4 A FOLSOM COMPLEX ROBERTS 29 



completed implements. Ordinarily, among the later Indians, the 

 specialization of the blanks was not undertaken at the quarry where 

 they were roughed out. Instead they were taken home and then per- 

 fected as time permitted. At the Lindenmeier site, however, the proc- 

 ess was probably carried through from start to finish on the spot 

 because the material was right at hand. The present specimens are 

 not true blanks despite their close resemblance to those forms. They 

 are actual implements. This is shown by the careful secondary chip- 

 ping along the edges. Such blades may be considered as combination 

 knives and scrapers. Whether the broken ends should simply be 

 regarded as such or whether they should be classed as scrapers is a 

 difficult question to answer. Primarily they are portions from larger 

 blades, but they also served as implements in their present state. 

 The smooth-fractured surfaces on the ends of several examples have 

 minute facets, the result of chipping along their edges. In some cases 

 this appears to be the result of use. On others the removal of the 

 tiny flakes was unquestionably intentional. Points of this type, al- 

 though only a portion of the original tool, would be serviceable as 

 knives or scrapers. The ends are from 32.5 to 50 mm long, 39 to 

 48 mm wide at the base, and 7-5 to 9 mm thick. The blades measure 

 52 to 88 mm in length, 28 to 41 mm in width, and 7.5 to 10 mm 

 in thickness. 



The class of implements tentatively called choppers might well be 

 considered variations of tools generally known as hand axes and rough 

 celts (pi. 15, /, n). Because they do not answer in many respects to 

 the usual definitions of such tools and since they obviously were for 

 the same purpose, despite their diflference in form, it is thought less 

 confusing to group them together under the designation of choppers. 

 Such tools would have been efficient in splitting and hacking bones. 

 That some such implement was employed is indicated by the bone 

 fragments. One of the examples pictured (pi. 15, /) was made from 

 a chalcedony nodule and is one of the few true " core " specimens 

 found at the site. It must have been made definitely for this purpose, 

 as the flakes removed in shaping it were not large enough to have 

 served in the manufacture of other tools. Although the main chipping 

 is large, there is a fine retouch on portions of the edges. The broad 

 end of the tool is well adapted for grasping, and the smooth, flat base 

 would protect the palm of the hand from injury. This implement is 

 86 mm long, 61 mm broad, and 15 mm thick. The second specimen 

 (pi. 15, m) is a pseudo-core; it is the core of a large flake, not that 

 of a complete nodule. In its general shape it strongly suggests the 

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