STONE INDUSTRY. 223 



which there is an abrupt break in the contraction at a point 

 about halfway to the bottom may be said to be the prevailing 

 style at present. 



The first step in making a rice mortar is splitting out the 

 block of stone for it. This is accomplished by making holes 

 with chisels and driving in wedges with a sledge-hammer. The 

 block is then roughly trimmed with a hammer. The worker then 

 scratches two conce.itric circles on the stone to mark the inner 

 and outer circumferences of the rim of the mortar Thereafter 

 he hollows the stone with hammer and chisel to the desired 

 depth. Finally his hatchet is brought into use to give the finish- 

 ing touches which require several hours. Protuberances are 

 chipped off the sides; the upper part of the hollow of the 

 mortar is also treated. When the article is finished, one notes 

 the fine channels and ridges left by the hatchet around the rim 

 and in the mortar as far as about halfway to the bottom. This 

 hatchet work is often done at home, the maker sitting on the 

 ground under his house or in a shady corner of his yard to do 

 the work. 



Besides the rice mortars, all of which are heavy, a few small 

 mortars are occasionally made at San Esteban for pounding 

 spices or crushing betel-nut for the aged. Sometimes these small 

 mortars are made from the same stone as the rice mortars 

 and sometimes from the lighter colored and very soft limestone 

 found in the barrio of Apatot. In the latter case they are given 

 a final smoothing by rubbing on a hard stone on which water 

 is poured from time to time. These small mortars of Apatot 

 limestone differ conspicuously from the bulk of San Esteban 

 stone artifacts by their neatness and finish. The pestles are of 

 stone. 



CORN MILLS. 



These are of two main varieties. Those of the common kind 

 weigh, on the average, about 25 kilograms, though lighter ones 

 are not unusual. A corn mill of this sort is made up of two 

 stones, usually of about equal size and similar shape. The di- 

 mensions are commonly, for each stone, about 32 centimeters 

 in diameter and 9 centimeters in thickness. The two stones are 

 held together with a stick or peg which fits into a hole made 

 at the center of each stone. The corn is fed through a hole 

 in the upper stone. The upper stone is turned on the lower 

 one by means of a stick which fits into the former near its edge. 



