94 STONE ART. [eth.ann.13 



former purpose are made of any siliceous stone of convenient size and 

 suitable texture, from a coarse quartzite to a very fine close-grained 

 sandstone, according to the class of work to be done. The markings 

 on them range from the narrow, sharp, incised lines due to shaping a 

 small ornament, to the broad grooves resulting from grinding an ax or 

 celt into form. Nearly all of those in museums are small specimens 

 used for rubbing; but there are many large blocks in various localities, 

 sometimes several feet square, marked and scored in every direction 

 by grinding or sharpening the large implements on them. 



Among the polishers may be included a number of small pebbles of 

 very hard siliceous stone, generally some form of quartz, which by the 

 high polish show long use. The larger ones may have been used for 

 rubbing skins in tanning, as they can easily be grasped in the hand. 

 Very few have changed from their primitive form to a greater degree 

 than would natiu'ally result from the wear upon them. A few very 



Via. 91. — Miiller. showing polished .tiirface. 



small ones, long-ovoid in shape, usually not over 2i or 3 inches in 

 length, were probably paint muUers, as the,y are well fitted for use in 

 small paint cups. Many of the discoidal stones — which will be spoken 

 of under the proper head — may have had these functions. Thehiglily 

 polished specimens are all from the soutliern states. There is one 

 rubbing stone of pumice from Craighead county, Arkansas. 



Hammerstones. 



Hammers or hammerstones show every stage of work, from the 

 ordinary pebble or fragment, with its surface scarcely altered, to the 

 highly polished round or ovoid "ball." They are usually of the hard- 

 est available material, and seem to be of more frequent occurrence in 

 the northern districts than in the southern states, though found every- 

 where. Used in their earlier stages merely as tools with which to fash- 

 ion other implements, they were assigned to specified purposes when 

 brought to abetter finish orform. A typical example, shown in figure 

 92, is of granite, from Ross county, Ohio. 



The Siou.x used an oval stone, with a piece of rawhide covering all 



