PERFORATED STONES FROM CALIFORNIA. 



By U. W. IIensiiaw. 



Santa Rosa 

 Island, Southern California. 



GENERAL CHARACTER AND CONJECTURAL USES OF PERFORATED 



STONES. 



Few objects reward arclneologic search in Southern California so fre- 

 quently as the so-called "perforated stones," and in the collections of 

 any size they form a considerable percent- 

 age of the objects represented. While, 

 probably, nowhere in the United States 

 are they so abundant as in California, SS?.. 

 they occur in perhaps every portion of \is 

 this country, and also in other parts of 

 the world, as in Europe, Australia, India, FlG . L Perforated at. 

 Africa, and South America. 



As in the case of many other aboriginal relics, it has been found 

 difficult to assign definite uses to these perforated stones, especially in 

 view of their great diversity as to size, shape, 

 material, and the manner and extent to which 

 they arc finished. California specimens are 

 made of sandstone, quartzite, steatite, and 

 other kinds of stone — frequently, though by 

 no means always, such as are rather easily 

 worked. In Europe and in Peru specimens 

 are found which are made of bronze. The 



California stones are most frequently circular Fia 2 r cr XrIuXstone, San 

 or nearly circular, but occasionally they are Cruz island, southern California. 

 irregularly oblong (Fig. 1 ). In the latter case the stones appear to have 

 been left nearly or quite in their original shape, and specimens are 

 sometimes seen which arc two or three times longer than broad and 

 with irregular outlines. In the case of such specimens it is evident 

 that regularity of outline and fine finish were in no wise essential to 

 their functions, whatever these may have been; nevertheless, such 

 specimens are frequently highly polished, either on one side or on 

 both sides, perhaps intentionally, or, more likely, from the friction of 

 constant use. Occasionally they are more or less globular (Fig. 2) 



