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BUREAU OF AJMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[BOLL. 176 



Figure 9. — Surface contour of molded glass vessels. 



A marked amount of oxidation is present on both inside and outside 

 surfaces. In certain types of glass such a condition can be brought 

 about rather quickly by the action of direct sunlight and rain when 

 an object lies in direct contact with soil acids. The presence of this 

 change does not necessarily denote an age equal to that of either of 

 the historic levels, and it is probable that the specimen is relatively 

 recent. 



BUTTONS 



Various types of buttons were found. They occurred mainly on 

 the floor area of the uppermost historic level, although an occasional 

 one was in the fill above the floor. Materials used in their manu- 

 facture ranged from brass, bone, china, iron, and shell to some kind 

 of base metal, probably pewter. Most of the buttons are of such 

 a nature that very little information has been published about them. 

 A number of "china" buttons of the type that were formerly used 

 on men's and boys' shirts and girls' and women's shirtwaists and 

 underwear are in the collection. They were molded in a biconvex 

 shape with a slight depression in one face. They have four holes 

 for the thread used for attaching them to garments. These buttons 

 measure 11 mm. in diameter and from 2.5 to 4.0 mm. in thickness, 

 (fig. 10, a). All are of a milk-white porcelain or glass, are very 

 glossy, and are plain on both surfaces. Such buttons are not datable 

 since similar ones can be purchased in local stores at the present 

 time. 



Two types of "mother-of-pearl" buttons were found. The earlier 

 form consists of a perforated disk through which a centrally placed 

 shank was attached. The lower end of the shank was pierced by a 

 single hole through which the thread was passed to attach the button 



O 



b 



Figure 10. — a, Cross section of milk-white glass button showing well and holes for attach- 

 ment, b, Pearl-and-brass button showing cross section, c, Details of surface treatment. 



