A STUDY OF PREHISTORIC ANTHROPOLOGY. 649 



actual purpose is uuknovvn. Divers Dames bave beeu giveu to them, 

 all of which have beeu based upon a theoretical idea of their purpose 

 or because of their appearance. Some have beeu called banner-stones, 

 some drilled ceremonial weapons, some pierced tablets, others gorgets, 

 pendants, bird-shaped objects, boat-shaped objects, etc. The names 

 thus given may or may not be correct, but are as good as others that 

 have been suggested in their stead. They should be retained until 

 something more correct can be given. They are all supposed to fall 

 within the category given in the title above. 



Banner- stones, or drilled ceremonial weapons. — These are for the most 

 part symmetrically shaped and well polished. Their material is gen- 

 erally a soft kind of stone, principally slate, ofttimes banded. They 

 are all drilled with a small hole. These holes have apparently never 

 been used, for their edges (as well as the corners of the implements) are 

 as fresh and sharp as the day they were made, showing no trace of 

 usage. They have been drilled apparently with a hollow reed, and the 

 annular strise is frequently to be seen. Many specimens are found 

 partly made, then broken and rejected. These show that they had 

 been shaped approximately before the drilling commenced. 



No. 84, of serpentine, is from Pennsylvania; 85, striped slate, from 

 Wisconsin; 86, striped slate, from ludiana; 87, striped slate, from Penn- 

 sylvania; 90, striped slate, from Indiana; 92, striped slate, from Indi 

 diana; 88, brown jasper, from Louisiana; 91, translucent ferruginous 

 quartz, from Indiana. 



Pierced tablets and boat sliaped articles. —These are mostly made of 

 slate, the greenish striped variety having beeu preferred. The tablets 

 are flat and thin ; the holes may be drilled from one side or from both, 

 and are accordingly of a conical or biconical shape. They bear no 

 trace of usage. The same remarks apply to the boat-shaped articles, 

 except as to the difference in shape. 



l!^o. 127, slate, from New York ; 128, slate, from Pennsylvania; 129, 

 from Louisiana; 130, 131, 132, slate, from Tennessee; 133, potstone, 

 from Pennsylvania; 134, striped slate, from Ohio; 135, greenstone, 

 from Kentucky. 



Stone beads, pendants, and other ornaments. — Stone beads are found of 

 different forms and material. No. 200 is serpentiue, from Santa Bar- 

 bara, California; Nos. 201 and 202 are of soapstone, from Pennsylvania; 

 204, catlinite, from New York ; 203 is a straight tube nearly 3 inches 

 ill length, from Mississippi, beautifully drilled with a small hole its 

 entire length. It is of a siliceous material resembling yellow jasper. 

 A manufactory of beads of this material was discovered in Lawrence 

 County, Miss., in the spring of J87G, and four hundred and forty- 

 nine specimens were sent to the Museum by Mr. T. J. K. Keenan. An 

 account of this find was given in Smithsonian Keport for 1877, pages 

 293-298. 



