BULL. 30] 



PRESUMPSCOT PROBLEMATICAL OBJECTS 



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Presumpscot (commonly interpreted 

 ' river of many shallows,' but more j)rob- 

 ably derived in part from oinpiik 'stone,' 

 ■at the locative). An unidentified Abnaki 

 tribe or snbtribe on Saco r., Me. ; perhai)8 

 tlie 8okoki or Wawenoc. 

 Presumscott. — Sullivau in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 

 1st s., IX, 210, 180-1. 



Prickaway. One of the Diegueiio ran- 

 cherias represented in the treaty of 1852 

 at Santa Isabel, s. Cal. — H. K. Ex. Doc. 

 76, 34th Cong., 3d sess., 132, 1857. 



Priests. See 67/ (V/n, Mi'dicine imd Medi- 

 rine-moi, Religion, Secret sni'ldies, Shamans 

 and I'netits, Soc'ud orgaiihatton. 



Prietos (Span.: jiriefo, 'dark,' hence 

 ' ilark ones' ). Given in 1794 by Father 

 Jos6 Aguilar as a subtribe of the Jarana- 

 ines (Aranama). Twelve of the Prietos 

 were then in Espiritu S^nt<j de Ziiniga 

 mission, Texas, with Jaranames, Tami- 

 cjues, and others, all said to be subdivi- 

 sions of the Jaranames (Portillo, Apuntes 

 para la Historia Antigua de Coahuila y 

 Texas, 308, 1888). (h. e. b.) 



Prisoners. See Captives. 



Problematical Objects. There are sev- 

 eral groups or cla.-jses of prehistoric art 

 objects, mainly of stone, many of them 

 of wide distrilnition, the pur]iose and 

 significance of which are not fully deter- 

 mined. The possible uses, however, 

 have been much discussed, and in a few 

 cases the solution has become so nearly 

 complete that the groups have been with- 

 drawn from the problematical class. In 

 archeological literature some of these 

 groups of oljjects are referred to as 

 "ceremonials," but, besides having a 

 distinct and well-established application, 

 this term is inappropriate, since there 

 is no al)solute assurance that the objects 

 were used ceremonially. At the same 

 time there is a strong probability that 

 many of them had such use as a pri- 

 mary or a secondary function. It is 

 e^iually clear that some of them served 

 practical purposes. These groups of ob- 

 jects have been variously named from 

 their form or suppcjsed use, but in the 

 absence of definite knowledge respecting 

 their use or purpose it seems better, so 

 far as possible, to assign names suggested 

 by form only, as these are not seriously 

 misleading and serve the purposes of 

 classification and description. As our 

 knowledge increases and uses become 

 known, a[)propriate names will readily 

 be suggested. 



The names employed for the more fully 

 segregated groups, most of which are al- 

 ready in use, are Banner stones. Bird- 

 stones, Boat-stones, Cache disks and 

 blades. Cones, Cupstones, Discoidal 

 stones (chunkey stones?), Footprint 

 sculptures. Hook-stones, Hemispheres, 

 Inscribed tablets, Notched plates. Duck 



tablets. Pierced tablets (gorgets?). Plum- 

 mets, Pulley-stones (ear ornaments?). Per- 

 forated stones (diggingweights?), Spade- 

 stones (ceremonial axes?), Spineback 

 stones. Spools, Tubes (cupping tul)es?). 

 See the articles under these heads respec- 

 tively. The hyphen used in this list indi- 

 cates the omission of the word "shaped." 

 To this list could be added numerous 

 less fully differentiated groups of objects 

 in chipped and polished stone, in clay, 

 bone, shell, wood, and metal, the signifi- 

 cance and use of whicii can as yet only be 

 surmised. Some of these are of formal 

 and others of eccentric shape, while many 

 represent men, beasts, and monsters; in 

 fact, nearly all classes of prehistoric sculp- 

 tured life forms could l)e assigned to the 

 l^roblematical class, since the motives 

 which led to their manufacture, the 

 particular significance attached to then), 

 and the manner of their use, are and 

 must remain largely subjects of con- 

 jecture. It is also true that many of 

 the things of common use, as ornaments, 

 implements, and pipes, have had asso- 

 ciated with them ideas of a mystic nature 

 known only to the individual or to the 

 social or religious group to which they 

 pertained. As already stated, some of the 

 objects included in the list given above 

 probat)ly served practical uses, but ob- 

 jects designed for a definite practical use 

 are necessarily measurably uniform in 

 pattern and size, while many of the groups 

 of objects under discussion show almost 

 limitless variation as if subject to the free 

 play of fancy, untrammeled save by those 

 nebulous or plastic ideas that cluster about 

 a primitive symbol of general use. It 

 would appear also that some specimens 

 were employed on occasion in practical 

 work for which they were not originally 

 intended, while others had their origin 

 in implements of utility and probably re- 

 tained in part their original functions; 

 but in the majority of instances they 

 doubtless had definite, well-established 

 functions or purposes, the history of which 

 is connected with the history of native 

 religious beliefs and practices. The ma- 

 jority, however, can be interpreted, in a 

 general way, through knowledge of the 

 employment by historic tribes of similar 

 classes of objects, variously referred to 

 as amulets, charms, divinatory and gam- 

 ing devices, emblems, fetishes, insignia, 

 luck stones, medicine stones, symbols, 

 talismans, tutelaries, etc. Thisaffords but 

 little aid, however, since full and clearex- 

 planations regarding the ceremonial and 

 sacred objectsof living peoples are difficult 

 to obtain, if obtainable at all. This is 

 exemplified by objects of such widespread 

 use as the calumet, in very general use 

 among the eastern tribes in colonial days, 

 and the mysterious "coppers" of the 



