holmes] 



ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES PART I 



229 



Where the floor and walls of a well-developed quarry are fully 

 exposed, the details of the ancient operations are 

 The Shaping Work clearly displayed. In cases it is seen that the task 

 of cutting out the mass was just begun when opera- 

 tions in the quarry closed, while in others it was well under way 

 and the bulbous vessel nucleus now stands out in bold relief (fig. 102). 

 In cases where undercutting has taken place, the rounded form re- 

 sembles a mushroom on its stem and is ready to be removed by a 

 heavy blow; while in many other cases we see only roundish 

 dei^rossions in the quarry surface, in the bottoms of which are 



Fig. lu2. Lump of soapstone partly cut out of the mass. (Diameter, about 12 inches.) 



stumps or scars indicating that removal of the mass has taken place 

 (fig. 103). It often happened that the work was 

 Abortive Work stopped by the cliscovery of defects in the stone. In 

 very many cases defects were not discovered imtil 

 late, and the operation of removal at the last moment became abor- 

 tive ; instead of breaking off at the base, as was intended, the cleavage 

 of the stone was such that the body split in two, leaving a portion 

 remaining attached to the stem. 



A noteworthy feature of the cutting out of these masses of stone 

 is the attendant shaping of the mass, which was rudely sculptured 

 as the work went on, the contour of the vessel being approximately 



