THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 403 



it is a hair ornament. A photograph of an Indian girl with this 

 object placed on her looped braid indicates the manner of its use. 

 We have no certain knowledge that an article of this kind was used 

 upon the natural or artificial crests of hair effected by some Indians, 

 but its use for this purpose in view of our information is entitled to 

 some credence. Our belief, however, is that not all gorgets were 

 used for this purpose. 



Amateur archeologists are fond of speculating upon the so-called 

 " problematical " objects and by their very speculations imagine uses 

 for things that are far from the true purposes. Gorgets are one of 

 the favorite subjects for speculation. A sensible view is to consider 

 them simply ornamental fastenings, as a large button might be. Some 

 might thus have been used as roach spreaders, similar to those used 

 by the Shoshoni, who had them of bone, or they may have been used 

 on dance bustles, pouches, on a shirt or shield. In their varied forms 

 undoubtedly they had several uses. 



Gouges. Gouges are adzlike blades having a curved cutting edge 

 at the terminus of a scoop or trough. This permits a method of use 

 not possible with a celt or adz. Gouges in general are shaped like 

 adzes and have one side (that on which the scoop or trough is 

 placed) flat, the other side being rounded or beveled up into a back. 

 Like all such cutting blades, sizes and forms differ according to the 

 material and purpose intended. The trough has several variations 

 and subvariations. Its form may be approximated in the following: 



1 Short scoop, (a) shallow, (b) medium, (c) deep 



2 Long scoop, (a) shallow, (b) medium, (c) deep 



3 Trough scoop A (a) shallow, (b) medium, (c) deep 



B (d) broad and tapering toward butt, with 



depths (a), (b), (c), as above 

 C (e) narrow and tapering towards butt 



4 Flat scoops, either as in i, 2, or 3 



The backs of gouges may be (i) flat, (2) beveled, (3) rounded, 

 (4) humped, (5) knobbed, (6) grooved. 



Gouges vary from specimens 2 inches in length to those of a foot 

 or more. The degree of finish and the polish differ as do celts and 

 adzes. Some specimens are highly polished and show little or no 

 evidence of wear; others show the picking process and are polished 

 only in the scoop or trough. 



Gouges are not widely distributed and good specimens may be 

 considered rare. Few occur in the south, though there are southern 



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