de Laguna] ARCHEOLOGY, YAKUT AT BAY AREA, ALASKA 109 



arc unshapcd beach cobbles of tough hard rock, largely metamorphic, 

 and of convenient size to grasp. They range in length from 6.4 to 

 13.8 cm., in width from 2.4 to 11.4 cm., and in thickness from 1.3 to 

 6.9 cm. Weights range from 60 to 888 gm., the mode being about 

 300 gm. A few hammerstoncs, lighter than 150 or heavier than 600 

 gm., were perhaps used for special purposes. Variations in shape do 

 not seem to have any chronological significance. Thus, 43 hammer- 

 stones are ovoid, 47 have snoutlike protuberances, 29 are rather 

 angular, 10 are roughly elongated or cylindrical (approaching the speci- 

 mens described below as hand mauls), while the rest are fragmentary or 

 unclassifiable. 



About 20 have faceted ends, indicating that they must have been 

 used with a slanting motion; the rest were used to strike vertical blows, 

 as is shown by their flattened or slightly rounded ends. Some have 

 been worn almost flat and smooth by light hammering, while others 

 are heavily battered. Some show marks of abrasion on the sides 

 (pi. 10, i) as if they had been used as anvils or manos. One specimen 

 has traces of red paint on the surface. 



The proveniences are: Dolgoi Island, 1; Canoe Pass, 1; house pit 

 at Nessudat, l;01d Town III, 68; Old Town II, 24; Old Town I, 28; 

 and Old Town II or III, 8. 



An additional 29 specimens may be called hammerstone-abraders 

 (pi. 10,/) because the clear signs of rubbing on the ends, edges, and 

 sides show that they were used for pounding and later for grinding 

 with a back-and-forth motion, so that the facets made by hammering 

 were worn smooth. Seven were evidently used to crush hematite for 

 red paint. The proveniences are: Diyaguna'Et, 1; Old Town III, 

 19; Old Town II, 5; and Old Town I, 5. 



In addition, two pitted hammerstoncs (pi. 10, g) from Old Town III 

 have depressions pecked in both sides for finger grips. The edges have 

 been battered against something hard and angular. One specimen 

 may also have been used as an anvil. 



Plain cobble hammerstoncs are so universally present in sites of the 

 Pacific Northwest that they lack regional or chronological diagnostic 

 value. However, a problem is raised by the great numbers found at 

 Old Town, where ordinary hammerstoncs represent about 24 percent 

 of the total number of stone artifacts from the youngest part of the 

 site, about 15 percent from Old Town II, and about 21 percent from 

 Old Town I. The proportions would be still higher if the 29 hammer- 

 stone-abraders and the few additional miscellaneous specimens were 

 included. These figures contrast strongly with the proportions of 

 hammerstoncs from the nearest comparable sites: Daxatkanada, 

 a historic Tlingit fort and campsite near Angoon in southeastern 

 Alaska, and at Palugvik, a prehistoric Chugach village site in Prince 



