﻿32 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  uses 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  imagined. 
  The 
  larger 
  flat 
  stones, 
  with 
  many 
  cavi- 
  

   ties, 
  are 
  plainly 
  of 
  a 
  different 
  class, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  frequent 
  in 
  New 
  

   York, 
  and 
  require 
  little 
  attention 
  now. 
  They 
  are 
  quite 
  generally 
  

   considered 
  nut 
  stones, 
  used 
  for 
  cracking 
  hickory 
  nuts 
  specially, 
  

   and 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  allowed 
  that 
  many 
  had 
  this 
  occasional 
  use 
  at 
  least. 
  

   North 
  and 
  south 
  alike 
  the 
  Indians 
  made 
  large 
  use 
  of 
  nuts, 
  and 
  there 
  

   was 
  general 
  rejoicing 
  among 
  the 
  Senecas 
  in 
  1670, 
  because 
  hickory 
  

   nuts 
  were 
  so 
  abundant. 
  From 
  these 
  and 
  from 
  sunflowers 
  they 
  pro- 
  

   cured 
  an 
  oil 
  which 
  they 
  highly 
  prized. 
  That 
  they 
  had 
  suitable 
  im- 
  

   plements 
  for 
  cracking 
  or 
  crushing 
  these 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  no 
  doubt. 
  

   To 
  the 
  wooden 
  pestle 
  and 
  mortar 
  the 
  Mohawks 
  sometimes 
  added 
  

   the 
  crushing 
  of 
  grain 
  between 
  two 
  stones, 
  and 
  this 
  was 
  more 
  neces- 
  

   sary 
  when 
  the 
  harder 
  nut-shell 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  cracked. 
  

  

  That 
  these 
  pits 
  were 
  used 
  as 
  sockets 
  for 
  fire-drills 
  is 
  against 
  all 
  

   probability. 
  The 
  proper 
  socket 
  for 
  these 
  was 
  the 
  dry 
  wood, 
  which 
  

   could 
  be 
  set 
  on 
  fire 
  as 
  intended, 
  while 
  the 
  stone 
  could 
  not. 
  That 
  

   some 
  were 
  used 
  as 
  lap 
  stones 
  is 
  almost 
  certain, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  perfectly 
  

   clear 
  that 
  many 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  been 
  hammers. 
  Some 
  may 
  have 
  

   been 
  used 
  in 
  games, 
  so 
  neatly 
  are 
  they 
  finished, 
  but 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  

   their 
  use 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  farther 
  discussed 
  now. 
  The 
  present 
  conclu- 
  

   sion 
  is 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  varied 
  uses, 
  some 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  unknown. 
  

  

  The 
  ordinary 
  hammer 
  stones 
  are 
  too 
  well 
  known 
  to 
  require 
  many 
  

   illustrations, 
  while, 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  almost 
  infinite 
  

   variety 
  of 
  forms 
  and 
  combinations. 
  A 
  flat 
  polished 
  surface 
  makes 
  

   a 
  muller; 
  a 
  deeply 
  pitted 
  surface 
  marks 
  many 
  kinds 
  of 
  hammer 
  

   stones. 
  Those 
  with 
  battered 
  edges 
  probably 
  had 
  this 
  use. 
  Others 
  

   of 
  soft 
  materials 
  show 
  no 
  traces 
  of 
  this 
  ; 
  some 
  approach 
  the 
  southern 
  

   chungke 
  stone, 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  something 
  like 
  that. 
  Ham- 
  

   mer 
  stones, 
  so 
  called, 
  are 
  still 
  found 
  on 
  Iroquois 
  sites, 
  but 
  two 
  cen- 
  

   turies 
  old, 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  come 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  century. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  62 
  is 
  a 
  circular 
  pebble 
  of 
  brown 
  sandstone, 
  and 
  seems 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  worked 
  into 
  shape. 
  There 
  is 
  an 
  irregular 
  pit 
  in 
  the 
  center 
  

   on 
  each 
  side, 
  and 
  it 
  never 
  was 
  used 
  as 
  a 
  hammer, 
  being 
  too 
  soft. 
  The 
  

   diameter 
  is 
  three 
  and 
  three 
  eighths 
  and 
  the 
  thickness 
  one 
  and 
  one 
  

   half 
  inches. 
  It 
  is 
  from 
  a 
  hamlet 
  on 
  the 
  Seneca 
  River. 
  

  

  