332 Memoirs Bcniicc P. Bisliof^ Miiscitni 



surfaces and true angles of the stone slabs, on the other hand, could hardly have 

 been produced with any other implement. No information as to the form or 

 material of these stone dressing tools was obtained, but it seems probable that they 

 were fragments of cellular lava having a more or less flat, natural surface. 



The rubbing stones used in wood working were of two types, abrasive 

 stones, which were used to obliterate the marks of coarser tools and to some ex- 

 tent to shape the object, and burnishing stones, which were used to give a final 

 high polish. All the abrasive stones seen were made from more or less water- 

 worn lumps of coral or coraline limestone, but it appears probable that pebbles of 

 the finer grained cellular lavas were also emploved. The texture varied consider- 

 ably and at least one specimen was so hard and smooth that it could have had 

 little abrasive effect. Several rubbing stones of increasingly fine grain were used 

 in finishing a given object, the last grinding stone being followed by the burn- 

 isher. (See PI. XLViii, C.) 



Burnishing stones were small pebbles of even-textured, rather soft rock 

 which were used only in the final stage of manufacture and had no abrasive 

 effect. They were rubbed rapidly back and forth upon the surface to be polished, 

 the workmen exerting a fairly heavy, even pressure. In time they acquired a 

 peculiar glassy polish resembling that of a gastrolith. The smoother the im- 

 plement the better the finish which it could impart to a bowl, so old specimens 

 were highly prized. (See PI. XLViii, D.) 



PERFORATED STONE DISKS 



Two perforated stone disks were collected by the expedition, one, of un- 

 known history, being obtained in the valley of Hane, Ua Huka, while the second 

 was found lying among some skulls in a Jiic'ac in the valley of Hanapaoa, Hiva 

 Oa. Both specimens are made of rather porous lava. (See PI. L, A, 1-2.) The 

 dimensions are as follows: No. i, length t,'}4, inches, width 2'^ inches, thick- 

 ness I inch, width of perforation at surface i inch, width of perforation at center 

 3-16 of an inch. No. 2, length 4 inches, width 33/ inches, maximum thick- 

 ness i;>4 inches, minimum thickness 1J/2 inches, width of perforation at surface 

 i-)^ inches, width of perforation at center 5/g of an inch. The perforation in 

 No. I is almost perfectly centered, that in No. 2 noticeably nearer one end than 

 the other. In both, the perforation appears to have been pecked rather than 

 drilled, and is formed bv two conical pits which meet in the middle of the objects 

 in a rough edged orifice. The surfaces of both specimens are rather carefully 

 smoothed. 



Both objects were identified by an Atu Ona informant as weights for 

 pump drills, but this explanation does not appear entirely satisfactory. The pum]) 

 drill was a common Marquesan tool, and if such weights were used one would 



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