48 SMITHSONIAN MISCIiLLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 



devoted to the small Haked objects, their value in tracing the move- 

 ments of tribes will become more readily understood and appreciated. 



Triangular points — some of which are found in the Rapidan- 

 Rappahannock area — are classed with those of indeterminable origin 

 just mentioned. They are rather few in number, and the majority 

 are made of a dark or black flint, others of a fine yellow, brown, or 

 gray quartzite. On some the base is straight or only slightly concave, 

 others are very deeply concave. Excellent specimens were found 

 at Rogers Ford, some of which may have been made there. Examples 

 from other sites are shown in plates 4, 16, and 19. 



Quantities of triangular points occur on the Potomac sites, and 

 they are even more numerous in certain localities away from 

 Virginia. Many have been discovered in Maryland and northward ; 

 others found in the mountainous country of Tennessee and Carolina 

 are considered by some to be the characteristic point of the ancient 

 Cherokee. Many of the scattered specimens now encountered in the 

 vicinity of the Rappahannock and Rapidan are thought to have been 

 made far away from the country of the Manahoac. 



The great majority of points found scattered over the surface 

 are made of white quartz, and are similar to others widely distributed 

 throughout piedmont Virginia. The various forms, some of which 

 are very distinctive, are illustrated in plates 6 and 20. As the 

 material of which they are made is not affected by long exposure 

 there is no change in the appearance of the surface that would 

 suggest, or aid in determining, the relative age of the different 

 specimens. Some were made and used by the Manahoac after the 

 year 1608, others belonged to an earlier period, but all now appear 

 equally old. 



Small blades and scrapers made of jasper and chalcedony were 

 discovered on several sites and may be plentiful in the area. A 

 greater number were found in the vicinity of Skinkers Ford than 

 elsewhere, and here, as already mentioned in the description of the 

 site, they occur only in a very limited space. Other examples were 

 found on the surface near Motts Run, also at Rogers Ford, and 

 larger specimens have been recovered from the site opposite the 

 large island at the falls. All are very interesting, but it is not possible 

 to determine to which period of occupancy they should be attributed. 



Part of what may have been a projectile point found at Skinkers 

 Ford was made of the same yellow jasper, as was also the pentagonal 

 point found north of Elys Ford. The latter specimen should, it is 

 believed, be assigned to an early period, to which the small pieces 

 from the vicinity of Skinkers Ford may likewise have belonged. 



