434 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



quart or more of pure dark red ocher was found with various 

 implements lying upon it or buried within it." 



Not many '* red paint " localities have been examined in New 

 England outside of Maine, but there are probably other sites extend- 

 ing westward to the shores of Lake Champlain, w^here plummets 

 and gouges of this culture have been found. 



In New York no graves have as yet been described. The imple- 

 ments associated with this cultural horizon occur all along the Seneca 

 river, near Oneida lake, along the Oswego river, follow the coast of 

 Lake Ontario north to the St LawTence, and along the St Lawrence 

 until it passes out of the State. Still farther eastward the occur- 

 rences are along the west shores of Lake Champlain and about the 

 headwaters of the Hudson. In all these localities plummets occur, 

 but not so abundantly as about Oneida lake. Grooved axes and 

 polished slates, as gorgets, do not occur on " red paint " sites, except 

 intrusively. 



Just who the red paint people were it is not possible to state 

 definitely. They do not appear to be Algonkian or even Eskimoan. 

 In the Maine localities they are regarded as the most ancient of all 

 aboriginal occupants, antedating the coming of the Algonkian tribes. 

 It has been suggested that the culture is that of the Boethuck. 



We have just enough of the red paint culture in New York to 

 suggest its further study. More than likely many specimens of its 

 artifacts have erroneously been associated with those of Algonkian 

 or so-called Eskimoan origin. 



Runtees. Runtees are discoidal ornaments of sea shell having 

 ^.^^^:^-^.. two parallel holes drilled from 



one edge through the object dla- 

 meterlcally to the other edge. 

 They are sometimes found with 

 plain surfaces but generally have 

 an incised or picked-in ornamen- 

 tation of some kind. The orna- 

 mentation may consist of a cross, 

 a star, circles or other figures. 

 The name, runtee, is first men- 

 tioned by Beverly in his History 



of Virginia, but It is probably de- 

 Fig. 64 Shell runtee from an • j r -li ■^^ -u j- 

 ^ * . ^ rived from the French arrondi. 

 Ontario county, beneca .^l"i^e .„ 1 • t<t 



Runtees are rather rare m New 



York and occur almost entirely in the Iroquois sites of the late seven- 

 teenth and early eighteenth centuries. Among the Algonkian tribes 

 it Is said that thev were hisfhlv valued. 



