﻿8 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  York 
  but 
  little 
  over 
  200 
  years 
  ago. 
  Articles 
  of 
  shell 
  have 
  also 
  been 
  

   sadly 
  misunderstood. 
  

  

  As 
  to 
  material, 
  there 
  are 
  also 
  valuable 
  suggestions 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  

   these 
  articles 
  of 
  polished 
  stone. 
  The 
  aborigines 
  had 
  taste 
  in 
  selec- 
  

   tion 
  when 
  they 
  required 
  ornaments, 
  and 
  the 
  Huronian 
  or 
  striped 
  

   slate 
  frequently 
  appears, 
  a 
  few 
  celts 
  even 
  being 
  made 
  of 
  this. 
  This 
  

   indicates 
  commerce^ 
  for 
  it 
  came 
  from 
  places 
  farther 
  north 
  and 
  west. 
  

   Travel 
  and 
  traffic 
  existed 
  then 
  as 
  now. 
  Gorgets 
  are 
  usually 
  of 
  fine 
  

   stone, 
  and 
  are 
  rarely 
  unfinished. 
  As 
  a 
  rule, 
  they 
  were 
  brought 
  here 
  

   in 
  perfection. 
  For 
  celts, 
  however, 
  any 
  pebble 
  might 
  answer, 
  and 
  

   many 
  are 
  of 
  ordinary 
  field 
  stones, 
  always 
  accessible 
  to 
  the 
  common 
  

   people. 
  The 
  abundance 
  of 
  basalt 
  celts, 
  even 
  on 
  recent 
  sites 
  shows 
  

   a 
  choice 
  in 
  material, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  green 
  stones 
  are 
  beautiful 
  

   indeed. 
  Pestles 
  are 
  often 
  well 
  worked, 
  but 
  yet 
  oftener 
  are 
  slightly 
  

   adapted 
  pebbles. 
  Some 
  are 
  of 
  great 
  size. 
  Hammer 
  stones 
  sur- 
  

   vived 
  almost 
  every 
  thing 
  else, 
  but 
  stone 
  balls, 
  used 
  in 
  war 
  clubs 
  by 
  

   their 
  fathers, 
  are 
  preserved 
  by 
  New 
  York 
  Indians 
  yet. 
  Such 
  

   features 
  will 
  be 
  more 
  fully 
  seen 
  as 
  we 
  proceed. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  white 
  man 
  came 
  to 
  New 
  York, 
  the 
  Mahikans 
  a^id 
  other 
  

   kindred 
  nations 
  occupied 
  the 
  Hudson 
  River 
  and 
  the 
  seacoast. 
  West 
  

   of 
  these 
  was 
  the 
  territory 
  of 
  the 
  Iroquois, 
  Andastes 
  and 
  Eries, 
  also 
  

   of 
  one 
  family. 
  At 
  that 
  period 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  at 
  least 
  used 
  but 
  little 
  

   stone, 
  nor 
  are 
  the 
  finer 
  early 
  articles 
  found 
  on 
  their 
  earlier 
  

   sites. 
  As 
  a 
  rule, 
  their 
  pipes 
  were 
  of 
  clay, 
  ingeniously 
  ornamented, 
  

   and 
  whether 
  they 
  had 
  ever 
  used 
  or 
  made 
  others 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  question. 
  

   Obtaining 
  suitable 
  tools 
  from 
  the 
  white 
  man, 
  they 
  afterwards 
  made 
  

   pipes 
  of 
  stone, 
  in 
  a 
  sense 
  going 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  stone 
  age. 
  The 
  deli- 
  

   cate 
  drilHng 
  of 
  the 
  pipe 
  stone, 
  so 
  often 
  seen, 
  was 
  unattainable 
  with 
  

   aboriginal 
  tools, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  shell 
  beads. 
  Pipes 
  and 
  

   ornaments 
  were 
  articles 
  of 
  common 
  use, 
  however, 
  and 
  some 
  nations 
  

   were 
  celebrated 
  for 
  their 
  work 
  of 
  this 
  kind, 
  but 
  we 
  need 
  never 
  forget 
  

   that 
  most 
  of 
  their 
  finery 
  came 
  from 
  frailer 
  materials. 
  Within 
  the 
  

   historic 
  period 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  stone 
  

   pipes 
  were 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  Cherokees, 
  as 
  in 
  earlier 
  colonial 
  times 
  they 
  

   were 
  made 
  in 
  New 
  England. 
  Many 
  stone 
  implements, 
  common 
  

   elsewhere, 
  are 
  notably 
  absent 
  here, 
  showing 
  that 
  some 
  large 
  nations 
  

  

  