FEWKEs] STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM LITTLE COLORADO RUINS 103 



Several of these knife-like objects had dentate edges, as though 

 used for saws. 



The author has elsewhere noted the fi-eqneiicy with which fragments 

 of obsidian, and chips from the same, occur in ancient Pueblo gi-aves, 

 or on the surface of mounds, indicating ruins. The three sites 

 of explorations in 180(5 wei'e not exceptional in this particular, and a 

 somewhat limited amount of material of this nature was collected at 

 Homolobi, Clievlon, and Chaves pass. This material was prized in 

 ancient times for ari-ow points, spearheads, and knives, and the sharp 

 edges of many of the chips were probably used for cutting. 



Arrow points were found in large numbers at the vaiious ruins 

 visited on the Little Colorado. 



The present Ilopi Indians use a grooved stone for polishing arrows. 

 These stones are ordinarily of a coarse sandstone, which acts as a file 

 on the wooden object rubbed back and forth in the groove. Similar 

 polishing stones are very common in ruins, assuming a number of 

 shapes, and made of several different kinds of rock — as sandstone, 

 lava, slate, and even claj^. It is probable that these stones were used 

 for tlie same purpose as those employed in the modern kivas, as their 

 form has not changed from ancient times. 



The differences in the polishing stones from the X"uins at Homolobi, 

 Chevlon, and Chaves pass were not very great, as the simplicity of 

 the implement admits of but few varieties. Those from Chaves jjass 

 were made of lava, which occurs onlj' rarely in the other two ruins. 

 There were double- as well as single-grooved polishing stones, and 

 shallow- and deep-grooved ones. It is possible that some of the jier- 

 forated stones may have been used as polishers for arrows in much 

 the same way as the modern grooved stones are employed. One of 

 these arrow polishers had the shape of an animal, and was narrowed 

 to a head at one end. On this end was cut a mouth and two depres- 

 sions in the proper positions for eyes. The surface of the stone on 

 the side opposite that occupied by the groove was flat and smooth, so 

 that the object could be firmly placed when in use. 



It appears to have been a mortuary custom among the people who 

 lived ill the ancient pueblos along the Little Colorado to dejiosit with 

 women and girls at death a metate and its grinder. These were ordi- 

 narily reversed when buried, as though symbolic of the death of the 

 one who formerly used them. In one of the Homolobi gi'aves three of 

 these metates with their corresponding hand stones were found, and 

 these were added to the collection. Thej' were made of rocks of dif- 

 ferent degrees of smoothness, and were evidentlj" formerly used in 

 grinding corn in the same waj- as in modern Hopi pueblos. The maize 

 was l)ruised and roughly ground on one of these stones, then it was 

 passed to a finer-grained one, and ultimately to tlie finest of all. These 

 metates were much worn, showing long and constant U'- 



