218 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 189 



Rough splinter awls. — Seven specimens. Awls of this group are 

 comparatively few in number. They were made from rough, irregu- 

 lar splinter sections of bison ribs and long bones as well as some of 

 the long bird bones. They are unworked with the exception of the 

 tip, which is ground to a smooth point. Lengths varied from 31 mm. 

 to 118 mm. 



A combination tool, made from a splinter of a long bone of bison, 

 consists of an awl and a spokeshave. This tool, 19.6 cm. in length, 

 was brought to a sharp point at one end; the other was broken off 

 squarely. Forty-six mm. from the base there is a wide notch that 

 functioned as a spokeshave. On either side of the notch the tool was 

 well smoothed. Under magnification there is a series of parallel 

 grooves within the notch at right angles to the axis of the bone, indi- 

 cating that this was a working surface. 



Other splinter awls were made from sections of shaft of long bones, 

 mostly deer or antelope. These were well worked over most of the 

 surface. In cross section some are round, others are on the flat side, 

 and still others are shallow U-shaped. One of the specimens has a 

 V-shaped cut on three of its sides near the base as though its owner 

 intended to reduce the overall size of the implement and rid it of its 

 irregular rough butt, but the task was never completed. Lengths 

 range from 55 mm. to 131 mm. 



Specimens from another group were made from the edges of bison 

 ribs cut so that a portion of the cancellous tissue was still included. 

 The cut sides were carefully smoothed and the butt ends were finished 

 off either by working into a rounded, squared finish or bringing them 

 to an abrupt, dull point. In some, the tips were brought to a gradual 

 point ; in others the tips tend to be more abrupt. In cross section the 

 awls of this group tend to be triangular. Lengths range from 57 mm. 

 to 144 mm., the majority being around 90 mm. in length. 



In the next group, represented by seven specimens, the awls were 

 made from edges of bison ribs with portions of the cancellous tissue 

 included. As in the group immediately preceding, the awls received 

 about the same treatment to convert the raw material into workable 

 tools. Instead of being triangular in cross section, these tend to be 

 more circular with tips brought to a more abrupt point. 



Cancellous hone halls. — Three small ovoid-shaped cancellous bone 

 balls were recovered. Two of them were found in Feature 9, a cache 

 pit. One was found at a depth of between 6.5 feet and 7.0 feet ; the 

 second came from a depth of between 7.0 feet and 7.5 feet. The third 

 ball came from one of the small isolated midden areas at a depth of 

 between 2.0 feet and 3.0 feet from the present surface. Wliether these 

 were the remnant portions of bone abraders, or were actual abraders 

 intended for some much finer work, or were a form of toy could not be 

 determined from the evidence at hand. 



