126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 52 



these, on the sites, were fragments, chips,^ broken and imperfectly 

 shaped forms, nuclei, and other refuse of manufacture, selections from 

 which are included in the collections. 



It is a noteworthy fact that, with the exception of a single turquoise 

 bead from Miramar and a few shell beads from the Rio Negro, there 

 are no ornaments ; neither are there any articles that could safely be 

 attributed to fiducial or ceremonial use. This would seem to indicate 

 a people or peoples of simple manners and customs, little given to 

 religious practices and poor in the arts that grow out of religious 

 symbolism. It is probable, however, that the coastal districts were 

 sparsely occupied, except by roving bands which hunted deer, ostrich, 

 etc., on the land, and the seal along the shore, and gathered supplies 

 of water-worn stones found along the beach, for the manufacture of 

 implements. 



It is convenient for purposes of description to arrange the objects 

 in two geographic groups, those to the north obtained between Mar 

 del Plata and Bahia Blanca, the principal localities being Mar del 

 Plata, Miramar, Monte Hermoso, Arroyo del Moro, and Necochea, 

 and those to the south of Bahia Blanca, gathered mainly from sites 

 in the valley of the Rio Negro. This treatment has the advantage of 

 making convenient a comparison of the art of the northern area with 

 that of the southern, the differences being somewhat decidedly marked 

 and possibly ethnologically significant. 



NORTHERN GROUP 



Use of Beach Pebbles 



The seashore between Mar del Plata and Bahia Blanca furnishes 

 in certain localities a liberal supply of beach pebbles of jasper, 

 quartzite, and other fine-grained and generally black or dark-colored 

 materials. These pebbles are mostly of small size, although occasional 

 larger specimens weigh a pound or more. Since the surrounding 

 region is poor in materials suitable for the shaping of small chipped 

 implements, these pebbles were much sought after by the natives, the 

 evidence of this fact occurring at a number of points. The principal 

 shaping work consisted in fracturing the pebbles by blows with a 

 hammer-stone, delivered generally at one end of the pebble, the other 

 resting on a larger stone, conveniently called the anvil-stone. The 

 anvil-stones are of various shapes and sizes, being merely suitable 

 pieces of local rock — quartzite, sandstones, and limestone (tosca) 

 utilized for the purpose. They are characterized by irregidar, ragged 

 surface pittings, the result, it is believed, of the impact of the pebbles 



I Usage with regard to the terms chip, flake, spall, and teshoa is not well established, but, in order to avoid 

 confusion in this paper, flake is employed as a generic term; chip applies to the smaller flakes; teshoa to large 

 flakes, struck from bowlders or pebbles; and spall to large flakes derived from inchoate masses of stone. 



