August 8, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



209 



tances for men and animals. The work, 

 however, was quite successful, 3,000 speci- 

 mens having been collected. Plans of 24 

 pueblos and maps showing the location of 

 the groups were drawn and ethnological 

 data, specimens and photographs secured 

 from the Apache, Navajo and Hopi Indi- 

 ans visited during the season. This materi- 

 al will be published in the 'Annual Report 

 of the U. S. National Museum' for 1901. 

 The paper was illustrated by a map and 

 discussed by J. Walter Pewkes. 



The Throwing-stick of Prehistoric People 



of the Southwest: George H. Pepper. 



The throwing-stick as found in the South- 

 west was used by a prehistoric people who 

 occupied a restricted area in southeastern 

 Utah and northeastern Arizona. In form 

 it is similar to the Mexican atlatl and its 

 nearest neighbor is from the State of Coa- 

 huila of that country. 



The throwing-stick from the Southwest 

 is represented by three perfect specimens, 

 so far as known ; these are supplemented 

 by a few incomplete specimens and frag- 

 ments. They are made of a hard springy 

 wood and have handles in the form of 

 loops, which are made of rawhide. 



The spears or darts used with this wea- 

 pon present many interesting features. 

 They were of the compound form, being 

 composed of a main shaft and a stone-point- 

 ed fore shaft. The main shaft Avas made 

 of wood or reed. One end presented a 

 slight depression which fitted the spur of 

 the throwing-stick. The other end was 

 drilled to the depth of an inch to receive 

 the pointed end of the fore shaft. The 

 main shaft, in some instances, was feather- 

 ed, but the evidence at hand is too meager 

 to determine whether this was the usual 

 form or merely a variant. 



The fore shafts were generally made of 

 wood, having for a point a chipped blade of 

 stone. They varied in size and form, some 



being so large that it would seem that they 

 might have been used as fore shafts of 

 spears. These fore shafts are similar in 

 form to the hafted knives used by the same 

 people; the only difference is the finish of 

 the handles, one being pointed, whereas the 

 other is squared. 



Of the three throwing-sticks mentioned, 

 one is the property of Professor Frederick 

 Starr, of the University of Chicago, the 

 second is in the State Collection in Salt 

 Lake City, Utah, and the third is in the 

 Hyde collection, American Museum of 

 Natural History, New York. In the Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania there are two speci- 

 mens, but one is broken and the other has 

 no finger loops. 



This paper was illustrated by photo- 

 graphs and discussed by Stewart Culin, J. 

 Walter Fewkes and W J McGee. It will 

 be published in the Bulletin of the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History. 



apteenoon session. 

 Meeting with the American Anthropolog- 

 ical Association. 



A War Festival of the Hopi Indians: J. 



Walter Fewkes. 



This paper discussed the room of the 

 war god, preliminary assembly, meeting of 

 warriors, greater and lesser festivals, the bi- 

 son dance, and concluded with general re- 

 marks on the festival. 



A Rare Form of Sculpture from Eastern 

 Mexico: Marshall H. Savu^le. 

 This paper described a rare form of 

 sculpture from the region of the Totonae- 

 ans in the States of Vera Cruz and Puebla. 

 Less than a dozen examples are kno^^. 

 The example in the collection of the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History is notable 

 for the striking resemblance of the masked 

 human figures with snakes in the mouths to 

 the snake dancers of the Hopi or Moqui In- 

 dians of Arizona. Other examples shovm 



