hrdliCka] stone industries OF THE AKGENTINE COAST 125 



one of the most exposed points on the coast, its seaward edge is Hable 

 to erosion by Atlantic waves, while its landward margin is extended 

 inland as far as the sand and spray are blown together. Thus it is 

 a transient formation that may last a few score years or so, but can 

 not endure longer than the strand by wMch it is conditioned. 



The glyptodon found in this Inter-Ensenadean is said to be char- 

 acteristic of the underlying Ensenadean and to be of PHocene age. 

 If so, it is certainly older than the formation in which it was found, 

 and may be regarded as weathered out and buried again. The 

 writer questions, however, the extinction of this species in PHocene 

 time. The fact that it has been found in the eolian drift of the Arroyo 

 Siasgo, which may be Pleistocene, but not older, and in tliis very 

 recent coastal formation, suggests that the species may have ranged 

 down into the Recent epoch. 



Stone Implements of the Argentine Littoral* 



By W. H. Holmes 



The archeologic collections made by Doctor Hrdlicka, with the aid 

 of Mr. Willis, during their researches in Argentina, comprise numerous 

 articles of stone, a limited number of fragments of pottery, some 

 worked beads of shell, and a single bead of stone (turquoise). All of 

 these specimens were derived from surface sites distributed along the 

 coast between Mar del Plata on the northeast and the Rio Negro on 

 the southwest, a distance of nearly 400 miles. 



In previous sections Doctor Hrdlicka and Mr. Willis have presented 

 all necessary details with respect to distribution and manner of occur- 

 rence of the various classes of stone implements, and it remains for 

 the writer to describe and illustrate the implements themselves and 

 draw from their study such conclusions with regard to origin, manu- 

 facture, use, ethnologic significance, and chronology as may be sug- 

 gested. 



There are about 1,500 specimens in the collection, which in their 

 general aspect suggest a primitive culture comparable with that of the 

 tribes in possession of the region in the recent past, a culture correspond- 

 ing somewhat closely in grade with that of the numerous tribes of the 

 middle Atlantic coast of North America on the arrival of the English. 



The implements, under which head are embraced all artificial 

 objects that bear evidence of design, include the following varieties: 

 Mortars, pestles, mullers, grooved hammers, discoidal hammers, 

 pitted hammers, anvil-stones, bolas-stones, projectile points, knives, 

 scrapers, axes, drills, and unspecialized blades. Associated with 



1 No attempt is made in these notes to consider or weigh the pubHshed data relating to the stone imple- 

 ments of Argentina. The collections at hand are classified and briefly described, and such conclusions are 

 drawn as seem warranted by their character and manner of occurrence. 



