HOLMES] RAW MATERIAL • 97 



and certaiu varieties of eruptive rock were preferred ; these are heavy, 

 hard, tough, and flue grained. The tidewater country furnishes none 

 of these rocks save such as were brouglit down in fragmentary form 

 by the rivers and deposited along their banks. The search for mate- 

 rials was not confined to the tidewater country but extended far up into 

 the hills and ranges on the west. Shapes approaching the form desired 

 were selected when possible, and the water- worn pieces often had the 

 double advantage of being already approximate in shape as well as 

 especially compact and durable. The exact source of the raw material 

 used in any given case is difficult to determine, (1) because the pieces 

 used are commonly erratic, and (2) because the implements and other 

 articles made are of a nature to be treasured and hoarded up and of a 

 size permitting ready transportation. Perhaps 75 percent of the imple- 

 ments made were of the compact basic volcanic rocks of the Piedmont 

 region, and 80 or 90 percent were made from the water- worn masses or 

 bowlders. 



EXAMPLES OF THE IMPLEMENTS 



The manufacture of pecked implements can not be studied so readily 

 and satisfactorily as can that of flaked stones, for the work was not 

 often so extensive as to lead to the opening of quarries and the develop- 

 ment of permanent workshops where evidence could accumulate, yet 

 we are still able to secure full information with respect to the processes 

 and steps of manufacture. Village-sites in the vicinity of deposits of 

 the raw material yield ample evidence as to the nature of the various 

 operations. 



Two series of illustrations presented herewith will suffice to show 

 the processes and progress of the shaping of pecked tools. These 

 sei'ies (plates lv and lvii) are composed of a number of difterent speci- 

 mens selected of a size and shai>e to represent as nearly as possible 

 the appearance that would be assumed at successive stages of iirogress 

 by a single specimen undergoing manipulation. 



The evolution of the celt is shown in plate lv. The first three 

 specimens are rejects or unfinished forms thrown aside during the proc- 

 ess of shaping. We begin with a water-worn stone, 1, ai)proximating 

 in general outline the tool to be made. A few flakes have been 

 removed, making the edges thinner and sharper and thus saving a 

 large amount of pecking. In 2 the surface has been gone over roughly 

 with the pecking hammer, reducing the ruggedness; in 3 the pecking 

 is well advanced, and in 4 the grinding is well under way; 5 represents 

 a specimen well polished and with marks of use, and G is a celt that 

 appears to have been much shortened by use and resharpening. 



The range of contour is not great in these simple tools, yet there are 

 marked variations in proportion; thus we have cylindrical, flat, pyra- 

 midal, and pointed forms, and there are always local variations indicat- 

 ing differences in people, material, functions, etc. In plate LVi a group 

 of celts from the tidewater village-sites is presented. 

 15 ETH 7 



