28 PEKFOKATED STONES 



maim at Hassarlik may be spindle whorls, it is altogether probable 

 that they were ammunition. 



None of the authorities I have at hand mention a throwing stick 

 which is adapted to the purpose of casting the perforated stones accord- 

 ing to the above idea. 



Colonel Lane Fox 1 mentions two forms of the "stick sling," one con- 

 sisting of a stick in the upper part of which is a slit or hole in which 

 the stone is put; and another, given by Stevens, in Flint Chips, con- 

 sisting of a stick with a strap attached to one end. Whether these are 

 the only forms of sling sticks I cannot say, although I have found no 

 reference to other kinds. 



As in the case of the perforated stones described as battle axes, it 

 would seem as though it is the apparent adaptability of the stones in 

 respect to their supposed function which led Mr. Knight to class them 

 as "ammunition." 



The fine finish of many of these specimens and the amount of time 

 necessary for their manufacture would seem to be fatal to the theory 

 of their employment as missiles, in this capacity they would be liable 

 to be lost after the first throw, to say nothing of the fact that an ordi- 

 nary, smooth, unfinished pebble slung from a ribbon sling, in the use of 

 which the Peruvians are known to have been skillful, would be equally 

 effective. Unless other and better evidence, therefore, can be adduced 

 in support of the slinging stone theory, it is not likely that this view of 

 the use of perforated stones will be accepted by archaeologists. 



Stones with handles. — In connection with the subject of ceremonial 

 stones, attention may be drawn at this point to four unique specimens 

 discovered by Dr. Stephen Bowers in a cave in the San Martin Mount- 

 ains, Los Angeles County, California, and described in Pacific Science 

 Monthly, dune, 1885. They are unique because they are the only per- 

 forated stones thus far found in the United States which are attached 

 to handles. 



These specimens* have been added to the collection of the Peabody 

 Museum, and three of them are now before me for examination, through 

 the courtesy of Professor Putnam, who has kindly permitted them to 

 be figured for use iu the present paper. 



As the accompanying figures (Figs. 1-4, 15, and 10) afford an excel- 

 lent idea of their peculiarities, a brief description will suffice. The 

 disks are of a kind frequently found in California, and, in themselves, 

 are not especially noteworthy. They are made of moderately hard 

 stone, from 4j to 5i inches in diameter. The holes were probably 

 made by first being pecked from either side and subsequently drilled, 

 and, as is frequently the case, are made smaller at the center, pre- 

 senting somewhat the shape of a double cone. All three of the stones 

 retain plain traces of paint markings, which, as will be seen in the 

 illustrations, are disposed in regular patterns. 



1 Cat, Authrop. Coll., 1877, p. 160. 



