EAU] CONCLUDING REMARKS. 93 



The cups on the Cincinnati boulder are perfectly similar to those on 

 many stones in the Old "World, and it is probable that they owe their origin 

 to the same motives. If these motives arose from some religious concep- 

 tion, we might feel inclined to trace the origin of American cup-cutting 

 to Asia. But if, on the other hand, the cups were designed for a practical 

 purpose, the custom of excavating them may have sprung up in America as 

 well as elsewhere. 



My task is now finished. It was my chief object to draw attention to 

 a very curious class of North American antiquities as yet but little known, 

 and thus to bring them within the range of a closer observation, which 

 possibly may lead to a better understanding of their meaning. As stated 

 on the title-page, I have tried, moreover, to present the subject under dis- 

 cussion in its entirety — a mode of treatment which, I hope, will not be 

 deemed an objectionable feature of this pubHcation. 



