THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 445 



kinds of spears, one for game, one for lish and one for ceremonials. 

 These varied also in their notching, size and shape. 



Some of the finest work of the stone flaking art is found in spear- 

 heads. Some reveal the hand of a master craftsman in their delicate 

 chipping, symmetry and beautiful notching. The kind of material 

 used regulated to a large extent the size and form of a point. Thus 

 expert workers would obtain material from traders or go on expedi- 

 tions to the best quarries for it. 



Specimens. All archeological specimens must receive proper care. 

 They should be handled gently to prevent their breaking and the 

 more delicate objects should be wrapped in soft paper or cotton. 

 Bone, shell and clay articles should be allowed to dry before handling 

 to any extent. As each object is found a label should be prepared 

 and an entry made in a notebook kept as a field record. Reference 

 should be made to the site and the exact spot where found. Topo- 

 graphic maps for this purpose may be secured from the Director of 

 the United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. All speci- 

 mens should be neatly numbered and a corresponding index card 

 (see figures 65 and 66) or catalog entry prepared. Specimens pro- 

 truding from river banks or from gravel beds, where they are deeper 

 than 4 or 5 feet, must be photographed in situ ; that is, before 

 removal from their original position. 



To the amateur collector let it be said that each specimen is a part 

 of the record of some human activity. It is important that these 

 records and evidences be carefully kept. Each specimen is a letter or 

 a word from the book of man's prehistory and our duty is to gather 

 all these lost words and missing letters and place them where those 

 best able to translate and piece together such things will be able to 

 have access to them. Specimens from each site exam-'ned should 

 thus be kept together in order that the objects of one particular place 

 may be properly correlated. To place all arrowheads or potsherds 

 or other special objects together regardless of the sites from which 

 thev came, fails to tell the story that archeology would unfold. To 

 collect in this manner would be like trying to restore a book that had 

 been torn apart and scattered, by collecting all the letter a's or letter 

 £r's in boxes apart from each other. Nothing could be determined 

 by such a method. The collector, to group the elements of h's storv 

 as he digs it from the earth, must put his notched arrowpoint, prop- 

 erly numbered and recorded, with the potsherds, hammerstones, 

 axes, and other implements from the identical site. In this wav he 

 will be able to determine the material culture of the site. This 

 information with its illustrative material then affords the reconstruc- 

 tion of a page of prehistory. It is the constructive, scientific method. 



