66 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Spool-shaped objects. Stone spools picked from tough stone 

 have been found along the Hudson river from Catskill to Glens 

 Falls. They are simple cyHnders Concaved and are not more than 2 

 inches in length. The ends do not show usage. (See plate lo.) 



Steatite vessels. Fragments of soapstone pottery are found in 

 nearly all parts of New York. Complete vessels in this State are 

 extremely rare, only two specimens being in the State Museum. The 

 great abundance of the fragments in certain localities shows a wide 

 and prolonged use of this type of dish. Many fragments ha^■e lugs 

 or projecting handles and some show perforations as if cracks had 

 been tied by cords passed through holes on either side of the fracture. 



One complete specimen was found in Saratoga county. It is a 

 thick, heavy, ellipsoidal dish with lugs, and was used as a mortar 



Fig. 4 Steatite mortar found at Saratoga. The interior is encrusted with 

 pulverized iron oxide, x^ 



for crushing red iron oxide. The pigment thickly encrusts the 

 interior of the vessel. A second specimen is a small thin vessel 

 shaped like a shallow ovate bowl. Unlike the first specimen, it is 

 smoothly finished throughout. 



The Iroquois did not use steatite dishes, and fragments are found 

 only on Algonkian and on Eskimo-like sites. A few fragments have 

 been found in the Genesee valley associated with bell pestles. 



Faces or heads of stone. On certain Algonkian sites, particularly 

 those influenced by the Delaware, effigies of human faces or heads 

 are found. At least two such faces from the State arc good pieces 

 of aboriginal scul])turc. The human features on these specimens 

 are well modeled. Otlier specimens are more or less grotesauc or 



